Old 12-08-09, 07:16 PM
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fazzman
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Originally Posted by dgasmd
Did a search, but not much of real relevance came up.

I may be buying a new car and installing a hitch with the single purpose of using it for a bike rack. I have considered the roof rack as it has some benefits (no need to take off and on, the fork mounted ones have locks, out of the way and always there), but I want to consider the hitch racks before making my mind up. The biggest benefit I see are the easy of on and off for the bike as they are at body level and the fact that they don't kill mileage as much as the roof rack. They can also be taken off when not in use.

Questions:

1. Which models are highly recommended? I am referring to the ones where the bike sits on the rails/wheels and NOT the ones that hold the bike by the frame.
2. Are the ones that have a hold down bar for each individual bike better than the ones with a single bar for 2 bikes? Why? Advantage vs disadvantage?
3. Is there a way to lock with a key the bikes in place with some models? Which ones?
4. Is there a way to easily lock the rack to the hitch receiver itself?

Anyone with a Prius with a hitch receiver and a rack in it they can show me to get an idea of what this would look like? I am a bit concerned this particular car is a bit narrow. Putting a hitch receiver and a bike rack may end up being wider than the car.
I have a mazdaspeed3 with a thule T2 and love it. Last car was a focus with a roof rack, roof racks suck. Taking the wheel on and off gets old. No problem with the bike being to wide. Hitch rack is easy on easy off, weighs about 50lbs though. I have a lock for the reciever and the bikes also lock into place. Lame car choice though.

Last edited by fazzman; 12-08-09 at 07:19 PM.
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