rumrunn6

our corolla uses a trunk style rack. my suv uses 2 diff hanging style hitch racks depending on how many bikes I'm carrying

thumpism 

I've used various racks over the years; started with a Thule roof rack with bike trays and with fork mounts. Then I became a rep and used our products at various times; Graber roof rack with fork mounts, Saris roof rack with fork mounts, Hollywood pickup truck bed rack, Saris Bones and Hollywood receiver rack with fork mounts. I also used a fork mount "bike board" in my old minivan to carry bikes inside and one of those fork mounts has been adapted for use inside my Vanagon Westy.

jdawginsc 

I had a Jeep Liberty and had to get one of the spare tire fitting ones since the tire overhung the hitch too much to use the hitch rack.

I guess I could buy a hitch kit...

Charliekeet

Those double-spoke M wheels were the best.

Charliekeet

Have you (or anyone else) with a truck or SUV used a 4-bike hanging rack? I'm looking at the Yakima RidgeBack 4 as it's still built well, but seems to be lots less money than a 4-bike platform rack from anyone I can find, and lighter.

Opinions? I don't want to use the roof for bikes, and am just wondering if something like this works in real life for hanging a family of 4's rides.

bamboobike4

I used an Allen from Wal-Mart for years, wrapped it up with all my excess bar tape.
As I worked on more and more bikes, I saw what these did to the top tubes, went to a Saris Bones and liked that.
Then I got a basic Saris hitch rack and liked that a lot more, but it was always there, subject to weather, etc.

My gal has the Yakima roof system, and a crushed head tube to show for it, so we don't do roof racks any more.
She has also decided all bikes ride inside, so there's that. Most small SUV's can hold two bikes, with wheels, on their sides.
I use cardboard for dunnage between the two bike, and the only drawback so far has been calipers pivoting a bit.

I have at least 3 friends right now, all waiting on replacement frames from Trek (for months now) due to carbon TT's cracking.
All used "hanging racks" on the rear of their cars. It might just be rough roads, for all I know, but they don't have their bikes.

A British friend swears by his 1Up, which seems crazy simple, and a couple of other love their Kuat's, Yakima's, and Thules.
The Kuat 4-bike rack asks for 350-lb tongue weight rating on the car, which rules out one of the Subarus, and a few other cars.
While I'm not sure why this is a requirement, a couple of friends worried enough about the liability for it to affect their car-buying decision.

Given the issues I've seen with TT damage, I'm sticking with a wheel-carry rack, and I like the swing-away for access to my truck.
It is all mostly redundant, because with a raised shell, I can roll the bike in and clip it up to the side of the bed, no rack required.
I'm working on a "roll-in" setup where I can roll it in from the ground, never have to climb in the truck bed (getting old).

I never thought I'd get a rack that costs more than a bike, but it's all relative.
I used to go to triathlons where the racks cost more than my bike.
When considered as protective equipment of a sorts, and with the price of bikes these days, I completely understand.

I met a couple this weekend, each with $7,100 matching gravel Cervelos. Yep, I'd shop for the right rack.

bamboobike4

A friend used a Thule 4-bike hanging hitch rack on the back of his Acura MDX. Nice rack, tilted down, seemed to hold them well without swinging.
His TT cracked 4 months ago and he was just told by Trek it will be September for a new one (Project One Domane).
The rack seemed well padded, and secure, so he's not sure about the cause of the TT crack, but we have 2 other friends-same issue.
All used hitch-mounted hanging racks. it may be coincidence, as all are carbon Treks, too. If you hang, maybe some padding would be a good idea.

PS. My Subaru Impreza came with roof side rails, and the Yakima display at the dealership wanted $300+ labor for cross rails to hold bike racks. I bought "WhisBar" cross rails on eBay for $81 new, delivered, and they are literally the same Yakima crossbars. Same part numbers, keys even say Yakima. 15 minutes to install with supplied tools, and no aero noise. I'm not a roof rack guy, but the Impreza is so low, it was doable. Plus, they clear the sunroof.

(It was a company car, and they allowed hitches for non-towing use, but not roof racks. (until mine came with one). I ended up using both, as my hitch rack was a double and my roof rack was a double, so we hauled 4, back when my lady was OK with "outside" transeport. I just stayed away from any garages.

zandoval 

Just gotta put this in...

McAllan Tx, my brother said a few moths ago an SUV with two bicycles on a Trailer Hitch Bike Rack got Five Finger Expressed at a stop light. Total cost of the bikes around 1400.00 USD. But they took the trailer hitch so it was over 1500.00 USD. Now its a felony and mandatory time in a State Jail. But they were not US Citizens so... Who knows...

Anyway my brother could not get details but the victim is out two bikes and an expensive trailer hitch carrier. I guess the victim should be glad they didn't take his SUV as well.

Securing your carrier and its bikes becomes a real issue.

Note: McAllan is a nice town as far as Boarder Town Texas goes. Allot of money, industry, trade, and transport. It has exponential growth and a stable increasing GDP. Although mostly Blue when it comes to voting most old school Mexican Americans are steadily turning Dark Red.

Charliekeet

Thanks, good to know. Everything we would travel with is aluminum or steel. But there's a range of toptube shapes and I keep thinking I'd prefer a platform. I just admit I don't want to pay twice as much!

Re: the roof, we have rails on it, but I was thinking of doing cargo box up there.

bamboobike4

Get a deflector if you can, the wind noise can drive you nuts. Unless you have kids, and you're used to it.

bamboobike4

I use a hitch lock, to prevent the hitch being stolen, but this is a good reminder to secure the bikes as well. Holy cow. At least it's still a crime on paper....

mstateglfr 

Just add a hitch. I have had them added to a couple vehicles- a Chrysler Pacifica and a Subaru Outback(actually 2 Outbacks). They were $150 and installation took less than an hour so I had them installed during my lunch break while at work. You dont need the electrical so its cheaper and faster.

tiger1964 

Not sure how many C&V/BF'ers have this problem, but few options for my Porsche Boxster. A hitch would be nice but the few out there require cutting the car . The other choice is a rack from a company called Bird Automotive where the rack slides into two tubes mounted permanently under the rear of the car (bolt-on, no cutting/welding). Alas, $500 new the last time I checked but a fellow owner offered me his for $100 if I wanted to come get it... 475 miles away round trip. Yeah, it was worth it. As installing the rack onto the tubes just about requires laying on the ground to insert, I tend to leave it on for long periods during the cycling season. My wife's Honda S2000 has a hitch, so a regular hitch-mount rack fits easily.

Squeeze

I have an older, but very similar, Yakima 4-bike hanging rack that goes into the receiver hitch of my truck. We are a family of four who all ride 1990s rigid steel mountain bikes. Well, my wife's is a 700c hybrid, but still...

I've found that I can't really get four bikes on the 4-bike rack because there's always a handlebar, saddle, cranks, or something else interfering with a "tight fit". I put two on the rack and one or two in the bed with their front wheels removed, since my little truck bed is only five feet long.

If we had disc brake bikes, I'd try a tailgate pad or a thick old blanket, but I'm thinking cantilever brake arms would rub and scrape on the pad and probably the tailgate underneath the pad too. That's just an assumption; I've never tried one.

Seriously, if I lived in a state that didn't require front license plates (mine does), and if I needed a new bike rack, I'd get one of those platform racks that fold up to hide the rear license plates from view. The extra cost of those racks might be offset by free rides in toll lanes and on toll roads that use cameras instead of toll booth attendants. A vehicle so equipped would also be anonymous to dashcams and red-light cameras if not required to have a front plate.

This might be the only picture I have of it from a couple years ago, posted only for C&V mountain bike content. The kids have since outgrown the two on the ground and have moved up to larger frames but we're still riding like it's 1999 with rim brakes and triple chainrings all around!

tgot 

I've got the Thule hitch-mount two-arm bike hanging rack, one of the few choices for 5 bikes. Getting all five on there with bars and pedals interleaved is a chore. It's a contact sport.

Once they're on, I stuff pool noodles into the gaps and Bungie them together.

NOT a way to transport precious cargo. But our family bikes are tools, not art.

rumrunn6

yes, I use a hitch mounted Swagman Titan w/ stability straps. it works for me but I'm reluctant to recommend it

rumrunn6

yup it's a labor of love

P!N20

Hard top? https://www.seasucker.com.au/for-cyclists/bike-racks/

Kabuki12

We use a Thule T2 pro XTR on my wife’s Tacoma and it works great. It holds my wife’s Townie step through pedal assist and my classic. It tilts down for tail gate access without taking the bikes off. If I have more than two bikes, I can use the Rhode Gear fork mount flat rack for the bed ,but I have to remove the front wheels on that one.

squirtdad

Neighbor uses these for ski racks on his Audi RS5, works well, he is looking into the bike option. Audi sells a branded suction bike rack not sure it it is seasucker or other

squirtdad

I have a thule pro xtr, but havent used it yet also have a saris bones for trunk (used once really solid) long story on how i got n+1 going on racks

Andy_K 

I use a Kuat rack, seen here as @SquireBlack and I were about to depart for Eroica California in 2018.



I like that nothing touches the paint. I've since added sections of an old inner tube to the plastic straps that secure the rear wheels in place because those will scratch up polished rims if left bare.

The rack has a built-in cable lock that I might trust if I'm with the vehicle or (very briefly) if I'm not in an urban area. I have a 12-pound chain and pad lock that I call "The Discourager" that locks the bikes to the rack when I'm going to step away from the vehicle, and the rack is locked to the hitch. It's a Harbor Freight chain, so you could probably cut through it pretty quickly, but my philosophy on bike security is that the important thing is for it to "look" secure. A determined thief will cut through anything given enough time (usually only a few minutes). My goal is for would-be thieves to move on to the next target without trying to steal my bike.

nlerner

You people need to up your games:

jdawginsc 

Oh...my...gosh...

dedhed

With many hanging racks take the capacity with a grain of salt. Depending on the bikes you can't always fit as many as they say. I rarely can fit 2 on my ridgeback 2