Forgive me if this has been covered elsewhere. I’m looking for a hitch mounted bike carrier, any suggestions? Thanks in advance
Bike carriers
- Thread starter Sgn2bapt
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The One-up is nice. Several friends have the Kuat and like them. I made mine using an old roof rack bike tray. It depends on how many bikes and how much you want to spend.
- Thread starter
- #3
Sorry should’ve been more specific. 2-3 bikes
I have the Thule T2 Pro XT 2. I love the thing and it is rock solid even on cross-county trips and light off-roading. I almost picked up a Kuat, but found the Thule for $150 off during an Amazon sale and pounced on it. I highly recommend, especially if you can find it in the $450 range like I did.
The 1up is king. Holds bikes the best, easy on/off, plenty of ground clearance. Would ask them its height first is you're not planning to use a lowering bracket.
I have a Kuat and like it, but it's tall enough that the barn door doesn't swing open cleanly. Plus the 4 bike extension piece was painfully expensive.
The new style Thule racks are really good too.
I have a Kuat and like it, but it's tall enough that the barn door doesn't swing open cleanly. Plus the 4 bike extension piece was painfully expensive.
The new style Thule racks are really good too.
I owned a bike shop for years - sold both the Kuat and the Thule rear racks. The One-up racks are really nice, very light and have a great mounting system, but get obliterated if you get bumped in a rear-ender. The Kuat and Thule are a good bit tougher, but also weigh a lot more. If you get hit hard, the rack (and possibly your bike(s)) are toast. I saw the aftermath of a couple of big rear-enders where the bicycle/rack damage bill was over $14k, and it could be higher. The One-up only allow up to 2 bikes, while Kuat and Thule offer extenders for up to 4 bikes. Again, with the side-swing door, clearance can be an issue. The Thule and Yakima offered a rack that swings out of the way potentially. Personally, one of the reasons I own an SUV is to carry my expensive ride INSIDE my vehicle. Even my little CR-V allows me to get 3 bikes and people in the car with the front wheels off. Haven't tried it in the GX yet, but with the 3rd row out should be able to duplicate that feat and get into places the Honda won't. All the racks mentioned are good - and if you can find a deal on a used one, just do a little pre-purchase reasearch to make sure that parts are still available for that model. Some of the really old Yakima and Thule racks were discontinued, and parts were getting scarce. Kuat and One-up haven't been around as long, so hopefully that situation is still a ways off. Good luck!
1up *does* allow 4 bikes. But holy smokes do you pay for it...
Super Duty
The most durable and capable rack, made for transporting any bike under 100lbs, including e-bikes.
www.1up-usa.com
SHOP - Add-Ons - 1UP USA
www.1up-usa.com
1-up vote here. Had the others it’s the best. 2nd is the kuat.
- Thread starter
- #9
I must be a cheap a$$
I like my Thule
Simply put, there is no rack superior to the 1UP.
Made in USA of unusually high quality components.
Incredibly sturdy (especially when off-road)
yes, you PAY for it, but it really is hard to overstate just how superior it is to any other hitch mounted option.
You can get a floppy, plastic, foreign-made rack for $400, or you can get the right one for $100 more. It’s worth it.
(not to mention it’s the most attractive and low profile option out there)
Made in USA of unusually high quality components.
Incredibly sturdy (especially when off-road)
yes, you PAY for it, but it really is hard to overstate just how superior it is to any other hitch mounted option.
You can get a floppy, plastic, foreign-made rack for $400, or you can get the right one for $100 more. It’s worth it.
(not to mention it’s the most attractive and low profile option out there)
I've got a Rocky Mounts rack to a Kuat lowering bracket so that the door will open. Works well enough, but plan to get something that swings out eventually.