Hitch mounted bike rack

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The north shore is extremely to take on and off as well as store off the vehicle. It will pretty much only carry bikes with a suspension fork due to where it grips the crown.

I carried bikes on the roof for years however on taller vehicles more than 2 gets tough. about 10 years ago when I went from a ALLROAD to a G500 I had to carry a ladder with the roof rack so went to a hitch, same for my LX. I still use roof racks with my wifes e-class.

As for weight, my north shore 4 bike is ~55 lbs. My Yakama 4 bike was over 80 lbs as is the other tray 4 bikes.

If you don’t have to carry full suspension bikes and want to routinely haul more than 2 bikes have you looked into hanger style? Like the yakama ridgeback or Thule hitching post?

Do you have a good local bike shop that carries racks? Some have demos you can try out. Or REI I’m pretty sure still has a nonquestions asked return policy if you but something you hate, that is how I got rid of my 4 bike tray, took it back to REI after a few weeks of use.
 
My buddy had the NS years ago. Scratched up my bike pretty good after a few dozen shuttles. His rack rusted so bad he scrapped it. Attached are a couple rust pics other users posted online. The NS had a 1 yr. warranty and my friend got no support from NS. The arm ls that hold the bikes were starting to rust through. You can see in the 2nd pic that the mounting arm is rusting. On my buddy's all four were rusting through to the point he was worried they would break.


Thule and Kuat have lifetime warranties, and both companies support their product.

When I bought my Kuat, there was a tiny paint ding. I emailed Kuat to see about touch up paint. They sent me a replacement piece immediately. Kuat also spends a lot to support the biking community. Seems they offer prizes in essentially every race I have been in.

I have the T2 and the NV 2.0. The NV works better on the 200, as I can open the lift gate without dropping down the rack (no bikes on). The T2 has to be moved down to get the liftgate open. Not sure about the T2 pro. Since I leave my rack on most of the year, having easy access to the rear makes the NV the winner in my book.

Als.com always has a 20% off coupon on their homepage. Sign up for emails to get on their VIP program (free) which gives even better discounts. I picked up the Kuat and T2 for 25% off. No tax outside Utah IIRC.

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I also like the built-in locking features of the Kuat and Thule. I saw a bike get stolen off a moving car (stopped at a light). I think the thief got away. I always lock mine now.

Here is a video of someone trying to steal a bike off a rack:

http://www.cyclingweekly.com/videos...-to-steal-a-bike-off-the-back-of-a-moving-car
 
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I just picked up a 1UP and can say its one of the few products I've purchased recently that surprised me (in a positive way) in terms of product quality. I'd say they are actually worth their money!
 
40Man said:
open the lift gate without dropping down the rack (no bikes on). The T2 has to be moved down to get the liftgate open. Not sure about the T2 pro. Since I leave my rack on most of the year, having easy access to the rear makes the NV the winner in my book.

Als.com always has a 20% off coupon on their homepage. Sign up for emails to get on their VIP program (free) which gives even better discounts. I picked up the Kuat and T2 for 25% off. No tax outside Utah IIRC.
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Thanks, I'm leaning towards the Kuat NV2.0; the T2 seems nice as well and less costly than the Kuat, but some of the Amazon reviews tell of rust and inferior bolts, which makes me pause.

The 20% off is a nice find. I'm waiting for the 25% off, which would be even better.
 
Here's another vote for the Kuat NV. I've had mine for about 3 years. The LC tailgate clears with no issue with the rack in it's deployed or tilted rearward position (with bikes tilted back only). I regularly ride and do trips with folks who have the 1up so I feel qualified to give an objective comparison. The reasons I chose it over the 1up are as follows:
  1. The Kuat actually locks to the vehicle using the hitch pin with a lock cylinder. It also has an effective tool-free anti-rattle mechanism built in. While the 1up has anti rattle, it relies on that mechanism for a friction fit within the receiver tube to stay attached to the vehicle and there is no integrated keyed lock. The 1up also requires a tamper-resistant Torx wrench to tighten/loosen the mechanism.
  2. The Kuat has integrated bike locks that provide a little bit of deterrent for opportunistic thieves. They'd be super easy to cut through if someone were motivated, but it stops the casual bike theft and let's me feel safe leaving my bike on my rack in the parking lot at the office, grocery store, or post-ride brew pub. I paid a lot of money for my bike, I'd rather it stay in my possession. There are non-integrated lock solutions for the 1up, but I like it easy and to all use the same key.
Now, to be fair, there is one feature of the 1up that is superior to the Kuat - the ability to adjust bike position laterally to clear saddles, handlebars, etc while carrying more than one bike. This isn't a showstopper, but is convenient.

I haven't tried the Kuat 2-tray add-on (4 bikes total!), but it does exist. Almost as expensive as buying a whole new rack, though!
 
Docboy said:
Thanks, I'm leaning towards the Kuat NV2.0; the T2 seems nice as well and less costly than the Kuat, but some of the Amazon reviews tell of rust and inferior bolts, which makes me pause.

The 20% off is a nice find. I'm waiting for the 25% off, which would be even better.
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The 25% off coupons only come to your inbox if you sign up on their email list. The 20% is (almost) always on their home page. They'll hopefully have another 25% off for Father's day (they emailed me a 25% coupon for Mother's Day).
 
I would remove a hitch rack before automatic car washes for sure. You could possibly get away with it in the touchless style but would probably hinder the back of the truck getting washed. Don’t know if you noticed but It weighs 94 lbs
 
I've been using a Kuat NV 2 rack with the 2 bike Add-On on a Highlander and 2016 LC since 2013.

I like how the lower portion of the Land Cruiser gate can lay down flat when the Kuat rack is installed. I also like that Kuat has a safety pin to prevent the rack from sliding out of the hitch receiver.

there's a couple of issues:

The rack tilts to one side. Doesn't seem to bother any functions, but it bugs me that its not level. Could have taken a hit from another car. I seem a lot of rack from Kuat and 1-Up that have this issue.

The cable locks are barely long enough to be useful. The locks can become clogged with dirt and difficult to open.

The bike repair mount on my older rack has a turn pin that's painfully stabbed me in the chest when raising and lowing the rack. the new version being sold looks like it has a turn knob. I've permanently removed the mount from my rack.

The added weight of the rack and 4 bikes causes my low beam headlights to shine to high. On a 16 hour road trip to Colorado, this gets old pretty quickly when on coming cars hit their brights at you constantly.

Would consider the Quck-Rack if they ever start shipping: Quik-Rack Bike Racks The owner of Quik-Rack was the designer of the 1-Up rack.
 
I was in my local REI the other day despiretly looking for a high quality non wire bead 26” tires for my daughters trail bike. Crazy, after six LBS then REI nothing in town so I had to order online.

Anyway, while in REI I noticed they rent Kuat, yakama, and Thule racks. So if on the fence you could try before you buy.
 
I loaded up our two bikes today and was again reminded of how much I like the "open" track of the 1-Up. So much easier to accommodate positioning of multiple bikes without having the wheels locked in to a specific position.
 
Update because I feel like I owe it to Thule:

Some of the rubber straps on the rack below have begun to degrade. I contacted Thule and asked how to purchase replacements. Turns out even though the rack is discontinued, the straps are available for about $5 each. However, they sent me a full replacement set of 12 straps for free. I bought this rack in 2011!! I'll be good for another seven years at least.

Can't beat that with a stick!! Thanks Thule.


FinallyGotOne! said:
I've been using a Thule 4-bike rack a couple of times a week for many years. It's simple, solid, and gives me a bit more ground clearance if necessary off road than does a platform carrier. Tilts back to allow full hatch access and tailgate opens almost completely...the edge just touches the latch on the rack. But I've been sitting on it and climbing in and out with no problems.

On my way to a NICA race this morning...try not to look at the crummy truck.

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Docboy said:
Thanks, I'm leaning towards the Kuat NV2.0; the T2 seems nice as well and less costly than the Kuat, but some of the Amazon reviews tell of rust and inferior bolts, which makes me pause.

The 20% off is a nice find. I'm waiting for the 25% off, which would be even better.
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@Docboy : Got an email yesterday from Als.com. 25% off w code DADSDAY. Says it is good through the 17th. Works on regular priced items only.
 
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I have the Kuat NV 1.0 with the two bike add on so it holds 4 bikes. It is a good rack but I can echo others when I say it is not level and tweaks easily. Once you set it up for 4 bikes it is long, bulky and heavy. Also because of the weight and length the tilt function is basically useless. The rack hits the ground and it is almost impossible to tilt by yourself. So the NV as a two bike rack is very useful and I would recommend. As a 4 bike rack I would not recommend. The Trail Doc bike stand is also stupid and tore two of my jackets. I did get a plastic cover for that piece from Kuat that basically deletes the Trail Doc. The 4 bike version is very awkward and hard to carry and it is too big to stay on all the time.

If you are going to carry 4 bikes you need a swing arm like the Kuat Pivot or the RackAttach that 1Up sells. You have to be able to swing the bikes out of the way with 4 bikes. I personally have the Kuat Pivot but I don’t recommend it for 4 bikes. I am on my second one and it is also crooked/not level and seems flimsy when carrying 4 bikes.

I recently bought a 1Up single rack as most of the time I just carry one bike and the 4 bike NV is a total pain for weekly use. The 1Up rack is the best one on the market and I will continue to buy their products in the future. I use it with the Kuat Pivot also and it works well even though the Pivot makes it sit crooked.

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I second all the notions. I have the 1-up USA 2 bike rack and i would also say it is “the land cruiser of bike racks”. Heavy, but super quick to load and unload, and with the stadium seating approach they step each bike up so you don’t lose departure angle. I’m pretty sure it’s the only manufacturer that actually says it can be used off-road
 
208Cruiser said:
The 1up bike rack is hands down the best choice. This rack is the land cruiser of bike racks. It is amazing how well the rack fits on the truck and how well the rack holds four bikes. Amazing product!
tailgate down

tailgate down

rack up

rack up

rack down

rack down

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All I get when I click your links is:

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Can you allow us access?

TIA
 
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