"curt" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Need a rear hitch bike rack. Was thinking of a Yakima ROC
> 2 for $112 USD. The link is below. I just need a two bike
> rack and want something good
but
> reasonable to carry my $3000 road bike.
>
>
http://www.outdoorsports.com/osc/crd/item.asp?dept_id=29&pr-
oduct_id=8002573
Curt:
The place for advice on rear hitch racks is:
http://nordicgroup.us/rack.htm
What to Look for in a Hitch Rack
-Spread. If the rack holds the top tube with two arms, how
far apart are the arms? You want them far apart enough to
provide good support, but close together enough so that
short frame bicycles can be carried. Avoid hitch racks where
the frame is held by a narrow clamp of six inches or less;
they have compromised the design to avoid the cost of two
separate arms.
-Do the arms fold? When you park, or if you keep the rack
attached all the time (a bad idea), you'll want to be able
to not have the arm(s) sticking several feet out toward the
back of your vehicle. An injury could invite a nasty
lawsuit. Thule's, Rhodegear's Interstate series, and
Yakima's RimRoc all have folding arms.
-Rear access. Does the rack fold down or pivot out far
enough for you to open the back of your van or SUV. The more
expensive racks that pivot let you gain access to the rear
even with bicycles on the rack while the fold down racks
require that you remove the bicycles first. The cheapest
ones neither pivot or fold down.
-Spare tire clearance. If you have a vehicle with a spare
tire mounted on the back be sure that the rack clears it.
-Wobble. If you use a standard hitch pin to secure the rack
then it will wobble and rattle. There are several systems
designed to eliminate wobble, from a collar with set screws
to the use of a threaded bolt that secures the rack to the
hitch rather than a pin.
-Hold Downs. Some of the cheaper racks just have some hooks,
you have to use bungee cords or other tie-downs to hold the
bike. The better ones have cushioned rubber pads with
straps. Unfortunately the only ones that have integral
locking are the poorly designed single arm racks; with the
others you have to use a cable lock.
-Security. How is the rack locked to the hitch? How are the
bikes locked to the rack? The advantage of the single arm
racks with a solid mounting hold down plate over the top
tube is that it it make the rack lockable, but the
disadvantage of the single arm rack is so great that I would
not use one just for this reason; you can just use a heavy
cable lock.
-Swinging. On the racks that hold the bike by the top tube,
the bike can swing back and forth while on the car. Some of
the more expensive top tube mount racks have a bottom
support bar sticking out down near the wheels for you to
secure the bottom of the bike.
-Removeability. How fast and easy is it to remove the whole
rack? Some of the RhodeGear racks are easy to partially
remove but they leave the base sticking out beyond the
bumper which is a very bad idea.
-Storeability. How easy is it to store. The racks with arms
that don't fold down, and/or masts that don't fold, are a
pain to store because you can't store them flat. The
pivoting masts are also a pain to store, but you gain the
advantage of easier access to the rear of the vehicle.
-Odd frames and Children's Frames. A lot of the hitch racks
that hold the bikes by the top tube have a problem with odd
frames, mixte ("ladies") frames, and children's frames. The
racks that hold the bike by the wheels and crankarm will be
easier to use with these. There are attachments to create a
fake top-tube to use the top tube racks with mixte frames.
On the top tube racks with dual arms you may be able to put
children's bikes on them by hanging the bike by the wheels.
-Other accessories. Many hitch racks have attachments
available for skis.
Weeding out the Junk and Making an Intelligent Choice
-The reality is that most of the hitch racks are not well
designed and it's easy to weed out the bad ones. IMVAIO, on
the hitch racks with top tube mounts you should look for:
* Dual fold-down arms
* Pivot-out or fold-down mast
* Anti-wobble device included
* Integral locking of the rack to the hitch
* Rubber Hold-downs with straps that don't come off to
lose
* Bottom support bar to prevent bikes from swinging
* Comes with bicycle locking mechanism (standard)
For a 4 bike, 2" hitch model, this would narrow down the
choices to:
1. Hollywood Road Runner 4 (note that some older ones are
subject to a recall)
2. Thule 994 Expressway Hitch Carrier
