I HATE my Hollywood bike rack!
 

I've never warmed up to this POS bike rack that attaches to my trunk and bumper. As careful as I am, I still manage to scratch the paint on the car. It's still a PITA to fold it back up to put back into the trunk. So maybe I need a bumper hitch and rack?

Questions: if I get a bumper hitch and rack, is that all transportable to a new car when that day comes? That sounds dangerously close to being a stupid question, but most of you know my mechanical skills, which explains where this question comes from.

Question two: How much $$$ is this going to set me back?

$350 my way.

It has been almost three years since I bought my hitch and bike carrier so I may be off on some pricing. My small truck did not come with a hitch so I went to U-Haul and they installed a 2” for about $200. You can buy a 1.25” but my reasoning was if I carry four bikes, which is the max the carrier I bought can carry; I will appreciate the heavy duty approach. Then I bought the bike rack (if I was at home I would tell you the model-I think it was the Yakima BigHorn 4 (2”)) which I am thinking was another $150 with a lock for the pin that goes through the hitch. I did not want someone to steal the carrier while I was out riding. I also wanted to access my truck bed so I wanted the rack to tilt down without having to remove it. You can not tilt it with bikes onboard. I also like the idea of dual arm support for the bike/s. I shopped and bought it online.

The carrier can be installed and uninstalled on any vechile with a matching hitch. I never travel around with the carrier unless I am using it.

BTW: They make a 1.25” adapter so you can have a 1.25” hitch with a 2” carrier. But why start out that way?

I've had the Yakima Bighorn 4 on my van since 2002. I had the 1.25" trailer hitch installed without electrical wiring for $170. I never use the hitch to pull a trailer so I didn't need lights. Two bikes is the most I ever carry. I never take the bike rack off since I ride year round.

you can use the rack on any vehicle, but most hitches are unique to a specific car/model...it's unusual to be able to move hitches between cars

The rack can move but the hitch will almost certainly not.

You may want to take a look at the Hollywood Sportrider which is identical to a hitch rack that Performance and some other locations sell. When not in use the rack folds up into a compact vertical sort of thing. Look for a price of about 150.

I like racks that I can put the bike on with both wheels still attached and where the bike is supported by the wheels as opposed to hanging from the top tube. Less paint wears off the tubes and it takes about 30 seconds to load the bike.

But with my luck at having folks cream the rack while its on the car.........

$100 at Academy.

Seems like it's time to add a folding bike to the stable.

DG:
Delta makes a rack that I purchased and I have not used my perfectly capable Hollywood hitch rig since. Mind you, you will not hook this rack up in thirty seconds, more like 10 minutes - but, you don't have to worry about whether the hitch will follow you to a new car, and, most important to me, I can take any car I choose, hitch or no, when I'm ready to transport my bike.

Delta calls the thing a Hunch Rack.

It has four foam rings that provide the typical cushion between the rack and your precious auto paint. One rail sits on the trunk, the other on the top of your rear bumper (this assumes a sedan setup - the rack will also fit on the back of a van, mini-van, or hatchback just as easily). The rack is then secured by typical straps that hook over the edges of your trunk.

What I really love about this rack is that it will hold two bikes via quick release clamp on the front wheel, and a Velcro strap that lashes around the rear wheel - not unlike my Thule racks, except there is no tray.

I have grown fond of this rack because it doesn't place any weight on the top tube or subject the top tube to scratches. Also, if you have a hitch on your vehicle for pulling things, you can still pull whatever it is that motivated you to mount a hitch in the first place, and the bike will ride on the back of the car.

You don't have to hoist the bike as high for this rack, and, while it isn't as convenient as mounting to a hitch rack, it isn't as time consuming as hooking up a Thule roof setup. This rack better distributes the weight of the bike over the rear of the car than does a hitch rack (I don't have to worry about this much any more since my C'dale (may she rest in peace) has been succeeded by my all-carbon T-Mobile.

Weaknesses.disadvantages to consider: No strap on system is as secure as a hitch or roof rack - both of which can be locked (my work around is to run a cable lock through the wheels and frames and also through the hitch's metal safety chain loop. This should dissuade casual thieves - we're all at the mercy of the pro's, so, I don't really worry about them - nothing you can do).

It will fold into a relatively narrow package, but, folding does not decrease its length (about 40 inches or so), and I find unscrewing the knobs that keep it from folding while in use more trouble than it's worth. Besides, if you fold it, you have to then unfold and re-adjust the angle of the bumper support - not a big deal, just not something I want to deal with every time I load my bike. I usually just store it in the unfolded position so i can just stick it on the car when i'm ready.

Probably more than you wanted to hear about this rack, but, my "finners" needed to knead.

Let us know what you decide to go with.

Caruso

If you want a setup that you can throw on and load in less than a minute, this rack is not for you. OTOH, it's far less cumbersome and time consuming to hook up than other trunk mounts that I've seen.

Get thee a minivan or an Element or a hatchback and put your bike INSIDE where it is more protected.

Yep. My Honda Civic (back seat folds down) works perfectly for one bike with the front wheel removed.

If you decide to go the trailer hitch route, you can go to a site like etrailer and buy a hitch with all of the hardware for most vehicles that you bolt on yourself. We bought one for my wifes Honda Pilot and my then 16 year old put it on in about a half hour. If I had a dream bike like you do, I would carry it inside my vehicle as much as possible. With the front wheel off my bike fits behind the seat of my Tacoma extended cab and I don't worry about going in stores or getting it rained on etc.

Got to come to the defense of Hollywood. They made the only trunk mount that I could use on my wifes car due to a rear spoiler on the trunk. Never scratched anything and never lost a bike off the back. I think there stuff is good quality for the price. I do not know the model but it was the most expensive one in the line and only spent the $ because of the spoiler thing.

What vehicle is this going on? If it's a car, then 1 1/4" is going to be your only option. Some SUV's don't get a 2" either. I replaced the rear bumper on my Wrangler and got a 2" receiver hitch.
If you watch the sales at Performance, Nashbar, REI, and other rack sources, you can find a good rack for two bikes for under $200.

Sell the car and go carfree. Problem solved. ;)

My Acura Integra hatchback swallows a bike with ease. My Bridgestone fits even with the front wheel still on, it has 26" tires. The Trek w/700 wheels is just slightly too big, so I have to take the wheel off. Once I do that, it fits with lots of room to spare.

The other day I had the Trek along with 7 bags of groceries stuffed back there.

With the hatch popped up, it is quite easy to just lift a bike and drop it in, only takes a few seconds. I bet I can take my bike out faster than someone can get one off of a rack.

Two bikes is the number you can carry on that rack without the bikes rubbing on each other and beating the paint off. I've carried up to three on the same exact rack that you have is how I know. Four would be the same effect, amplified. I have a pickup and so does son Chris. We've mounted these traps to allow us to carry up to three bikes upright and secure. Best solution found to date.

Sell me your old rack. :D

I am also using the traps in my pick up, much better for me than the hitch rack i used before, and easier on the bikes too.

Sidenote to Terrierman, I had a Jack on my farm, what a varmint dog!

I use the 1 1/4" reciever type rack. It fits my car and it has a spacer to make it fit the 2" reciever on my truck. So it can be moved to any reciever hitch equipped vehicle. There are various models. I chose a type that the bicycle wheels sit in carriers and are held in place (down) by the frame.

The downside to this type is that just behind the back bumper of the vehicle is probably the dirtiest place on the vehicle if the weather is bad or you have to drive over dusty, muddy, oily, wet roads.

Thanks Oilman!

Fortunately we've had thousands of happy customers over the years, the vast majority of whom have scratched neither their car, nor their bikes, when using our racks.

I agree with other posters who recommend a hitch rack for this gentleman, and for two bikes the 1-1/4" size would be quite adequate. I use the Sport Rider on my car (with a 1-1/4" hitch), and it works great, no problems with fitting the bike(s), be they road or mountain.

If anyone has Hollywood Racks questions, please contact me!

Best Regards,
Rick Burneson / Hollywood Racks Customer Service
800-747-4085 ext. 208
rick@hollywoodracks.com