Bike Rack Questions
 

I was wondering what you guys (and gals) preference is on bike racks. I usually just put them in the back of my truck but I am about to head up to Colorado and need a hitch rack to put on the back of my RV. What are the pros and cons of the ones that hold the bike by the top tube and the ones that the bikes sit on their wheels??? I need to haul atleast 3 but would like a 4 bike if possible. The 4 bike top tube ones at the big box stores are about $100 to $150. I looked on ebay and one that looks about the same is $50 with free shipping. Obiously the other kind is more expensive but I just wanted to get everyones H.O. Thanks

It all depends on the bikes you want to haul. If they are conventional, traditional hardtail design, the strut types are just fine. Onece you start hauling full suspension bikes with them, you have to get real creative sometimes how you hang them; and then even more creative getting multiple bikes hung at weird angles to 'nest' with each other on the struts.

Tray-type racks are much more convenient, flexible in what they'll haul and kinder to multiple-bike hauling, IMO. Saris makes real good tray-type racks but they are spendy. Yakima and Thule make them too; but what I dislike about all three companies' offerings is the plastic wheel trays. Over the long haul of time, weather, sun exposure, etc., I don't trust plastic. I want to know five years from now that I won't be having to shell out for new wheel trays.

I went with the Hollywood tray rack - - Sportrider 4. Most people think of the cheapy trunk-mount racks when they think of Hollywood, but they actually make a pretty good product. It doesn't have some of the niceties of the Saris, like the ratcheting wheel clamp (which is mostly made of - - again - - plastic) but it's simple, straightforward, adjustable and mostly made of actual steel. There are plastic bits to make the metal parts slide better but the structural parts, uncluding the wheel trays , are metal. Added bonus of this, for me anyway, that if something needs repair ten years down the road, I can weld it back together myself. Repair spot just won't have the nice powder coat any more - - would have to get the rattle-can-chic treatment.