The Right Bike Rack for My Family

I didn't know which rack to buy, but I did know what I needed. I had five (not so) simple requirements:

1. The rack should hold as many bikes as possible
   
2. My wife should be able to load it by herself
   
3. We should be able to access the cargo area in the back of the vehicle when the rack is fully loaded
   
4. It should fold neatly out of the way when not in use
   
5. The rack should mount securely to the vehicle, and bikes should mount securely to the rack
   

The rack should hold as many bikes as possible
My wife and I have five children--that's a lot of bikes! The two youngest hadn't yet shown an interest in cycling, but I recently bought my own bike so I didn't have to chase the three older children on foot! That's four bikes so far, with more on the way. So the more bikes I could fit on one carrier, the better.

My wife should be able to load it by herself
We needed a rack for two big reasons: going camping and going to local parks. My wife frequently takes the kids to parks during the day when I'm at work, so we knew we needed a rack she could load by herself, without a lot of fuss. The simpler it was to operate it, the more likely she'd actually use it.

We should be able to access the cargo area in the back of the vehicle when the rack is fully loaded
When my wife takes the kids to a park, she doesn't just bring bikes. She might bring sand toys, a picnic lunch, and a chair and umbrella so she can relax in the shade. Where does all that stuff go? In the back of her car, of course! We have a 2008 Chevy Suburban, with a lift-gate in the rear to access the cargo area (you can also lift just the glass to access smaller items). It was absolutely essential that she be able to get her stuff out, even if the kids decided not to unload their bikes.

It should fold neatly out of the way when not in use
When not in use, I didn't want the rack to just hang out there, waiting to cause problems. And I knew from just a little research that I didn't want to be in the business of installing and uninstalling the rack every day. Most racks are heavy, cumbersome, complicated or all of the above. The best solution I could see was for the carrier to stow neatly out of the way when empty. (If you read on, you'll see that some bike racks ARE designed to be easier to install and uninstall, but "easier" doesn't mean "easy".)

The rack should mount securely to the vehicle, and bikes should mount securely to the rack
I'd prefer to at least deter thieves from taking my bikes and my rack. Also, the easier it is to secure the system, the better. Refer to #2 above.

Using my requirements, I was able to dismiss several classes of racks altogether.

Roof racks were out--I can't imagine lifting bikes way over my head to load them on top of the Suburban, let alone anyone else in my family.

Trunk mounted racks didn't make the cut either. They generally have straps that secure them to the trunk or hatch in all four directions. Because the 2008 Suburban has a plastic spoiler-ish thingy along the top of the rear window, you can't cinch down a strap without causing undue pressure and probably damage. You also can't easily open a lift-gate loaded with lots of bicycles.

(I have to admit, however, that if I were GOING to buy a trunk rack--maybe for my little Audi--I'd have to go with the Saris Bones. Great quality and beautiful design!)

For completeness, I'll mention that you probably can't use a truck bed rack when you don't drive a pick-up truck. :-)

Our Suburban came with a 2" hitch, so a hitch rack was the obvious choice. But there are two styles of hitch racks. Ugh.

The most common is the hanger-style rack. You hang your bikes from two parallel poles extending from the rack frame. The great thing about hangers is that you can often get a lot of bikes on them. By a lot I mean as many as five--at least that's what they claim. In talking to various salespeople, I learned that you can generally expect to load one less bike than the manufacturer says. Also, hangers are generally designed to carry full-size bike frames with a standard design. Crazy full suspension bikes and (the kicker for me) children's bikes often pose a problem. One solution is to buy "frame adapters" or poles that attach to the bike's seat post and handle bars to give you a nice straight surface to hang from. But they may not help you for kids bikes, and if you remember requirement #2 above, that's just one more step--added complexity. Speaking of complexity, trying to load bikes on the hanger is like solving a rubik's cube--its mind boggling. So the hanger style was out.

My first purchase was actually a hanger-style hitch rack, because I didn't know that hangers would be so difficult to load. I purchased the 4-bike Thule Revolver, which is a great rack for many reasons. Some hanger racks will tilt down to give you access to your cargo area, but trying to push a rack full of bikes back into the upright position can be difficult (again, requirement #2). The Revolver, on the other hand, has an arm that lets you swing it out sideways--easy! The hangers also fold down when not in use, meeting requirement #4. Other racks require you to simply remove the hanger bars and store them in the back of your vehicle, which isn't as elegant. And some don't stow away at all. Also, the Revolver had a really slick built-in cable locking system. So the Thule Revolver seemed to be a winner. But the big problem was that the swing-out arm didn't work as advertised, at least for my '08 Suburban. When I loaded it with bikes and swung it all the way out, I couldn't open the hatch--my bikes weren't quite out of the way. That and the fact that it was a nightmare to load. The Revolver was returned.

Finally we come to the second style of hitch rack, the platform. The basic idea is that there's a large tray (of sorts) extending from the hitch, and you stand your bicycles on top of the tray. There are arms with hooks on the end that swing over each front tire and lock down over it. Then there's some kind of strap or hook around the rear tire. These are GREAT racks because in just a few seconds you can load or unload several bikes! There are a few different brands and they are roughly equivalent in quality. But as you'll see in the YouTube video below, the devil is in the details! Thule, Saris and Yakima racks both hold four bikes if you have a 2" hitch and buy an extension. The Thule is the only one the tilts down so you can access your cargo. The Saris has an easy system for installing the rack to the hitch. The Yakima comes with a cable lock out-of-the-box. The Thule has locks (sold separately) built into the hook-arms. Etc, etc, etc...

We ended up purchasing the Thule T2 with the extension (total of 4 bikes), and a matching lockset for the hook arms and hitch pin. We probably spent about as much as you can possibly spend on a bike rack, but we could not be happier! If we had spent less money it quite probably would have been money wasted, because we wouldn't have used the rack. But we use our T2 all the time and we're loving it. It claims to hold 4 bikes and it actually holds 4 bikes!

Requirement #1: Check. It is ridiculously easy to load.

#2: Check. It tilts down so we can access cargo (or we can pop the glass hatch without dropping the rack). One downside is that my wife may not be able to bring it back into the upright position with four bikes loaded.

#3: Check. With the click of a lever, its easy to bring upright when empty.

#4: Check. There aren't any extra pins to remove, you just pull the lever and lift until it locks into place.

#5: Check. The rack bolts and locks to the hitch, and the bikes are easily locked into the hook-arm without wrestling with a cable. Note that a cable is probably more secure than locking the hook-arms, but you can add the cable as an accessory if you like.

The only thing I could ask for is more capacity, but that's a problem with any rack. I can say with confidence that the extra money you spend on this rack will be money well spent!

Thule 916 T2 2-Bike Hitch Mount Rack (2-Inch Receiver)

Thule 917 T2 2-Bike Hitch Mount Rack (1.25-Inch Receiver)

Thule 918 T2 Hitch Mount Rack 2-Bike Add-on (2-Inch Receiver Only)

Thule Snug Tite 2 Lock

Thule 596 Lock Cylinders for Car Racks (6-Pack)

Thule Store @ REI

Thule T2 Hitch Mount - 2 Bike

Thule T2 Hitch Rack Add-On

Thule Snug-Tite Lock II

Thule Keyed Alike Locks-6 Pack

Yakima hitch racks at REI


Yakima racks were on sale at REI in early August. I took the opportunity to compare the Yakima HoldUp against my Thule T2. The sale is over, but I'll leave this info here in case someone finds it helpful.

The HoldUp looks like a great rack. There are a couple reasons why I chose the T2 instead, but if these aren't important to you then you might take advantage of the savings.

HoldUp vs T2

1. Each bike tray on the T2 is independently adjustable, in case bikes are touching each other. I must admit, however, that I haven't made any adjustments to my rack since I bought it.


2. Stowing and preparing the rack to receive bikes is slightly easier with the T2. You have to remove two pins to raise/lower the HoldUp, whereas the T2 has a spring-loaded lever.


3. The T2 rack lowers--even when fully loaded with bikes--to give you access to the rear of the vehicle. From what I can tell, you have to remove bikes from the HoldUp if you want to open your hatch. This was an important difference for me, although I suspect I would still be able to pop the glass on my 08 Suburban if I had the HoldUp.


4. The HoldUp appears to come with a locking cable. Though not as convenient as the T2's locking mechanism, it is more secure (convenience has its price). I can't tell if it comes with a locking hitch-pin as well, or if you have to buy that seperately.

Yakima HoldUp Hitch Rack - 2 Bike

Yakima Holdup Hitch Rack Add-On