chugger3

About 12 years ago I bought a modest trunk rack (Yakima) for my Toyota Corolla. Though good quality, it had no provision for positioning the bike, or straps to cinch it on with. Each time I used it (not very often) I'd have to re-invent the wheel to get strapped on with my collection of bungee cords etc. I said 'never again, next time a hitch rack'. So when I bought the Forrester I had UHaul install a 1 1/4" DrawTite hitch $200 unwired. My friend had a cheaper model hitch rack that suspended the bike by its wheels and I thought I wanted that one. But reading the user remarks online it seemed it wasn't very high quality or real bike-safe. So I started shopping online (only 1 store in my town carries name racks and they're in boxes, not fully inspectable). I found the Yakima DoubleDown hanger rack to be about the one I could best afford and still get quality, I thought. Then I found another way to shop - I would stop at the parking lot at our local bikepath and inspect what other hitch-rack users had. So far it SEEMS that the cars with 1 1/4" hitches and Yakima DoubleDowns have an objectionable left-right wobble when prodded by hand. Those Yakimas mounted on 2" hitches seemed SOLID when prodded left-right. (Want to get some suspicious glances? try inspecting other people's racks in a parking lot when they're not there)
Since I'm now committed to the 1 1/4" hitch I already have installed, I would very much know WHY this wobble I found is there, can it be corrected somehow? I'm not real insistent my rack be a DoubleDown, but wouldn't want to spend much more that $175, if anyone has a better suggestion? But I am especially interested in hearing from DoubleDown users.

moralleper

not sure on the wobble but you can reduce it by tightening the bolt that holds it to the hitch. Also my buddy has had really good luck with the following rack and it seems to work fairly well, https://www.performancebike.com/bikes...09_-1___400170, I personally have a combination of the Thule parkway 4 and and the rocky mounts for the factory rack.

trep53

I have a 2012 forester with a factory 1/1/4" hitch, I bought an Allen Sport 3 bike rack #532 from Wal Mart for about $95.00

https://www.allensportsusa.com/products/532RR

It has a bolt to secure it in the receiver that I tighten with two 9/16" box wrenches. Took our bikes to Florida then DC then back home to Cleveland without any wobble during a two week road trip. I like this hitch a lot, it's well made.

escarpment

I would say ditch it and get a saris that straps to the rear door. It will save you much time and agony.

I had a hitch mount rack, and was driving through wyoming where the speed limit is 80... long story shory, the steel actually bent back. Luckly i found a guy in a near by town to re enforce and re weld the rack so I could get back home.

But my neighbor has a saris, that i now use all the time..
https://www.modernbike.com/itemgroup....FUZgMgodtCsA3Q

thats just a random link but I have fallen in love with its design. Although it limits the use of the back door, it is worth it for my peace of mind.

trep53

I've a strap-on bike rack that I use on my Honda Civic and it work well. The only problem with a strap on rack is you will eventually cause some damage to the car's finish that the repair can cost is more than getting a receiver hitch and a good rack. None of these are perfect and many times I'd rather ride from home to avoid hooking everything up. But I have one of each type for my two vehicles and the hitch rack keeps the bikes far enough away from the car so as to prevent damage. Roof mounts can cause a lot of car damage too.

PhotoJoe 

https://www.rackattack.com/product-pa...tch-1-inch.asp

I love my 916 (for bigger hitches). It makes it so easy that we use it a LOT, allowing us to go ride in a variety of places, keeping it fun.

chugger3

See, I don't see how tightening that bolt could help. I'm assuming the tongue of the rack slides into the hitch's 'hollow part'. It seems to me that to tighten the fitting with a bolt you would have to crush/deform the hitch's 'hollow part' to get a tighter fit. That 'hollow part' is STEEL, not easily done? The clerk in our bike store here theorized that the mating of these parts is more a matter of luck, as these parts aren't machined precisely. But I'm guessing on this stuff, that's why I made this post.

Cowboy905

i picked up a sport rack ez2 platform and I LOVE it. at one point i was going 140km/hr with it (trying to merge off the 401 with an a*shole on my right)

great rack and the bikes feel real secure.