Hey Guys,
Need a new bike rack for the car for my Madone.

Would prefer the rack not make contact with the frame. Probably opting for hitch mount due to ease of use and budget. Would prefer something that won't sway. Only needs to hold 1 bike, but will settle for 2 if that's the minimum.

Recommendations?

I'm in the same boat. Not sure what your budget is, but I'm leaning toward the Kuat NV.

Well considering I've just spent $4000 in the last week on bike stuff, I'd rather not cheap-out on the thing that is to carry my bike, while attached to my vehicle, at high speeds on the highway. So my budget, while still expecting to be reasonable, is flexible depending on what I am going to get.

Thule t2, hitch mount, won't sway, no contact with the frame, about $400.00 dollars.

I think I'm going to pick up a 1up quick rack. I have a Saris Thelma that blocks my tag when folded up and the 1up will hold 1 bike and seems to fold smaller

I was a lucky recipient of a Yakima Holdup in a raffle. It's an awesome rack.

I've looked into a couple of Raxter racks, Thule t2, 1up, Saris Thelma and the Kuat NV. I'm impressed with the Kuat features and build quality.

I have a Kuat NV. Love it. The built in lock is worthless (way to short to lock up even one bike), but everything else about it works incredible.

Another vote for the Yakima Holdup. I have one and so does my father...comes in 1 1/4" or 2" hitch mount. Great rack.

I just went through this about a couple of months ago. I debated between the kuat and thule for a couple of weeks, and in the end, I decided I needed a single bike rack more than a double (99%) of the time. I went with the 1UP USA and could not be more impressed with it. No plastic, all high quality aluminum, weighs less than either of the other two racks I looked at. It is definitely the best rack I have owned.

I have the one up rack, it take less than 10 seconds to secure the bike, nothing touchs the frame. I highly recommend it. Best rack I have ever had and everyone that sees it wants to know about it.

Yakima roof-top fork-mount (Viper).

Love it. I can install it in about 8 minutes, and remove it in about 4 minutes. Loads in seconds and is held VERY securely.

You do need to take the front wheel off. Not a big deal for me but many don't like it.

Yakima and Tule both make good stuff; my suggestion is see what local shops (LBS, large sporting good stores, etc) are carrying and buy from them.

Bloody things are pricey but I bought mine 10+ years ago and it is still in excellent shape. I don't leave it on the car often since it is so easy to install/remove. It does whistle a bit and the added drag doesn't help the aerodynamics, so off it goes when I don't have the bike on it.

The fellow across the street from me has Yakima stuff that has been on his car for years; he likes his too.

We are fortunate to have several very good choices.

-Tom in SoCal

If I were in the market for a hitch mounted bike rack. Here would be my three choices:

#1

https://www.1upusa.com/quik-Rack.html

#2

https://www.raxterracks.com/

#3

https://kuatracks.com//

So I did some research

Adding a hitch to my car is pricey...$220 from UHaul, or around $300 if I go to Rack Attack or Hitch City in Toronto....at this point, I could almost just as easily consider going roof mount considering I still have to buy a rack too.

Any more recommendations / suggestions for my predicament.

What kind of car do you have? Look into eTrailer dot com. They have install videos for most hitches to save some money & DIY.

2009 Nissan Altima 4DR

+1 on looking into DIY install for the hitch. Some vehicles are ridiculously easy to install a hitch on. As an example, I installed a hitch on my wife's VW Tiguan. The hitch cost $80 from Amazon and the install took 15 minutes. It took a bit longer to install one on a VW Touareg, but it was still an easy process and I think the hitch was a little over $100 from eTrailer.

I am a bit surprised no one mentioned the Saris Cycle-On Pro. I am not a fan of those locking straps that a lot of racks use for securing the wheels. I think the Saris Cycle-On is a more elegant solution, and it feels more sturdy than the Thelma. It of course comes at the expense of weight. The Kuat NV sure looks nice though even with those darn straps.

From what I understand, the muffler needs to be removed to install the hitch (3 shops have told me this...shops which come highly recommended).

Make sure the hitch price does NOT include trailer wiring (my UHaul hitch on my Jetta was $160). I had to explain to the guy that I was buying the hitch for a bike rack, who in their right mind would tow with a Jetta, etc., and he quickly realized that I had two good points. I would also point out the damage risks when roof mounting: you have fork ends near your car's paint/sunroof, you have a valuable bike in a position to meet with garages, and you have a valuable bike eating bugs and other airborne objects at speeds well above what you ride. Think about the paint job on the bike and how it'll look after some long drives.

All that said, I have a Thule T2 rack for the Jetta (1.25" mount), a Thule T2 rack for the Excursion (2" mount, four-bike version), and a four-bike Thule roof rack for the Excursion (on the rare occasion that I haul a group). I haven't seen a rack I'd rather have. Admittedly, with a $17k tandem now as our primary ride, all of the racks sit idle and the tandem gets to ride inside the Excursion (sacrificing a seat, but oh well).

Some good points on the roof rack.

The UHaul quote specifically excluded the trailer wiring (had to uncheck a box)...but as my car requires removal of the muffler, installation is about $50 higher.

I should add that I do get 30% discount on any Thule, Yakima, or Saris branded units...with Yakima being the easiest / quickest for my LBS to obtain.

From a budget standpoint...I may have to do a trunk rack...but then, I don't get the option of platform mount which means I risk "damaging the frame". Something like a Saris RS looks pretty stress free to use though.

For trunk mounting, the Saris Bones RS is probably the best rack out there. It will attach to almost any vehicle (even mini vans) and the ratcheting metal straps make for a quick, easy, and sturdy installation. I can install or remove my rack in about 30 seconds. The only vehicles it won't fit are ones with a spoiler integrated into the back edge of the trunk. It easily fits my Mazda6 with a spoiler located above the trunk lid. I've discovered that it helps to use a few small bungee cords to secure the wheels from spinning and to keep the fork from turning

I would get a roof rack. the ones where you don't remove the front wheel are best. the bike is slightly higher, but don't kid yourself-- it's way the hell up there even with the front wheel removed.