Bike Rack

[cookietom]

Bought 2017 Lexus CT200 H, ordered 1.25 trailer hitch, I need to know who makes the best bike rack for two road bikes,,, any ideas??? ( no mountain bikes)

[AngryScientist]

we have recently had quite a few threads on bike racks, especially hitch racks. check them out. (not a snarky reply by the way, there is just a lot of good recent information on topic that will be helpful to you...)

[dustyrider]

1up USA is the benchmark in these parts. Seems like someone recently pointed out that there is two variations of the brand name. Definitely worth a search!

[AJosiahK]

1up USA is the benchmark in these parts. Seems like someone recently pointed out that there is two variations of the brand name. Definitely worth a search!

+1 FOR 1up racks.

Well designed and easy to use.

As for the variations, Im not sure whats up with that. I ordered from the website with the dash. Rack arrived and seems to be the real deal.

Maybe an email or phone call might clear that right up.

cheers

edit: https://1upusa.com/support/faq for the reason there are two websites.

[Epicus07]

I love my Kuat.

[45K10]

I love my Kuat too. I had a NV 2.0 ('14) but recently replaced because we got rear-ended. I just bought NV base 2.0 from Backcountry a couple of weeks ago. Very nice and they have made some improvements from the one I previously had.

[Vientomas]

Kuat Sherpa here. Nice and light. I don't leave my rack on my vehicle so I appreciate being able to easliy move it about when it's time to load up the bikes.

[cookietom]

Still looking...Hanging or platform rack for two very light road bikes?

[htwoopup]

Platform. Prevents them banging into each other. Better for paint etc. Better for carbon now or in the future. 1upUSA has been great for me. Easy to convert one tray to fat (really fat) bike. Think not only this car but cars and bikes in the future. That’s how I ended up with 1up.

[happycampyer]

The original question was, who makes the best hitch rack for two road bikes, and you got the answer: Kuat and 1Up (the new 1Up/1-Up looks even better than the original 1Up). It's all downhill from there. Thule and Yakima make nice racks, but they are not as nice as the Kuat. The Kuat is more finished looking than the 1Up and has some nice features such as the built-in workstand (if that matters to you), but the 1Up is super light, folds up neatly for storage and has an ingenious system to secure the wheels. The newer version fixes some of the quirks with the original design.

I have a friend who owns a rack store, and we looked at pretty much every rack available. I originally got the Kuat NV, but later sold it to get the 1Up.

[sitzmark]

Still looking...Hanging or platform rack for two very light road bikes?

If you're concerned about bikes banging together - paint scratches/possible derailleur issues and ease-of-use, then platform.

If you want to spend more time loading bikes - strapping them down/protecting them, then hanging works too. Or maybe you just want to quick strap them and go...

Very light often means expensive. I personally don't load carbon bikes on a hanging rack. I have platform, hanging, and roof trays and use the platform 99% of the time unless I need to carry more bikes. When it's grungy and wet and I'm traveling alone I throw the bike in the back of the vehicle. My platform is a 1.25 Yakima Holdup that I purchased ~10 years ago. It has worked flawlessly and is still going strong. 1-keys with my snow racks et. al., which is why I selected Yak.

Kuat was introduced around the same time, maybe a little later. When Kuat came out, I bought Kuat's adapter plate for Yak and added their trail doc work stand to my Yak. Most ride buddies now have Kuat. It's a nice rack. Doesn't integrate with my 1 key system, so if buying again today I'd probably still go Yak, but they all work ... Thule, Yak, 1up, etc. 1-Ups are lighter and modular which can be nice for off-vehicle storage. Now that I have a platform and have interfaced with all of them over the years, the choice isn't as important to me as I thought it was when first making the decision.

[Vientomas]

Kuat Sherpa is lighter than a 1 Up.

[Ralph]

I have a 1UP for 2 with 3rd bike add on. For 2" receiver. The deciding factor for me was how easily it folds up and stores in corner of garage, or in trunk of car.

[tombtfslpk]

Still looking...Hanging or platform rack for two very light road bikes?

Very light? Carbon light?
Platform racks only (for me) with carbon. I have seen a couple of carbon frames damaged from hanging racks.
If I'm not going somewhere that I can't put the bike(s) in my van, then it's on my Kuat Transfer. It's not as pricey (or light) as the NV racks and is my budget alternative, works on 1.25 too.

[tombtfslpk]

whoops

[AngryScientist]

the hanging racks that hold the top tube with rubber straps seems like they would definitely damage the paint if you have a brake cable run along the top tube...

[cookietom]

Great, you guys are big help!!!! I am looking at Kuat and 1up platform... Thank you! Riding today with cool weather........

[cmbicycles]

the hanging racks that hold the top tube with rubber straps seems like they would definitely damage the paint if you have a brake cable run along the top tube...

The bike cradles usually have relief cuts in them for the cable to sit in without resting on the tube, at least the better hanging style racks and my older Thule are like this. If you mean in cases where the cable runs on the top of the top tube, then all bets are off and it will rub unless you put something under the cables. Platforms are still usually better at holding the bikes, they just take up more room and are more $$.

[cookietom]

The bike cradles usually have relief cuts in them for the cable to sit in without resting on the tube, at least the better hanging style racks and my older Thule are like this. If you mean in cases where the cable runs on the top of the top tube, then all bets are off and it will rub unless you put something under the cables. Platforms are still usually better at holding the bikes, they just take up more room and are more $$.

My bike is Cannondale SuperSix do have brake cable on side of top tube. So thank you for your advices.

[Pierre]

Agreed - the hanging racks do scratch the frame if there are external brake cables on the top tube. Happened to me once and I successfully polished the scratches out. Since then I've always kept a small piece of bike tube handy which I slide in between the cable and the frame before putting the bike back on the carrier. Ideally I don't use the hanging rack but when the roof rack is filled with bikes I drag the rear mount rack out of the shed as well.

[pncguy]

edit: https://1upusa.com/support/faq for the reason there are two websites.

I think it is unfortunate that the answer in that link doesn't really answer the question.

See this for more information (or confusion?): http://forums.mtbr.com/cars-bike-racks/1up-usa-com-vs-1upusa-com-who-knows-what-1055205.html

[cookietom]

I think it is unfortunate that the answer in that link doesn't really answer the question.

See this for more information (or confusion?): http://forums.mtbr.com/cars-bike-racks/1up-usa-com-vs-1upusa-com-who-knows-what-1055205.html

Thanks for updated. I am ordering Kuat Sherpa 2.0 from Outdoorplay for $415 with coupon.

[cmbicycles]

I think it is unfortunate that the answer in that link doesn't really answer the question.

See this for more information (or confusion?): http://forums.mtbr.com/cars-bike-racks/1up-usa-com-vs-1upusa-com-who-knows-what-1055205.html
I don't think either side will offer much more information until this is settled by attorneys. Until then both companies will lose out with the uncertainty of it all.

[srcarter]

I have a Kuat NV (found at slight discount on Craigslist) that I love, it is 4-bike set-up for a 2inch hitch. It is easy to load and has a great mechanism to tighten it in the hitch. I liked it so much I bought a 2-bike Kuat Transfer for other car with 1.25inch hitch. Every so often Backcountry.com has a 20% off coupon for one item, so can bring the price down.

A good friend has a 1up and generally liked it too. None are perfect, but I agree that Kuat and 1up are great.

[happycampyer]

Thanks for updated. I am ordering Kuat Sherpa 2.0 from Outdoorplay for $415 with coupon.You won't be disappointed. Kuat's build quality is first rate.

[htwoopup]

I can understand why people might be put off with what seems to be a fight between former co-workers/owners or copyright infringement. It may be a fight of a developer against a copier.

That said, the site with the hyphen (1up-usa) in it has the EXACT products that I have and think are fantastic.

Importantly, it is the only that uses the registered trademark on the product shots which is the same as the one on what I have. If you look at the other site, they do NOT use the protected trademark. There is surely a legal reason that the other site does not use the registered trademark.

Oh, and the hyphen site physical address is the same address as where my stuff came from. The other site is in a completely different town.

So, I am not a lawyer but I am an educated consumer. And I will say again that the product is baller.

[Team Murray]

For my CT, I went with a roof rack. I thought the 1.25" hitch was a bit small. No matter how beefy the rack is the overall setup will still vibrate and wobble.

[pdmtong]

For my CT, I went with a roof rack. I thought the 1.25" hitch was a bit small. No matter how beefy the rack is the overall setup will still vibrate and wobble.


A hitch mounted tray rack does not vibrate or wobble

That said a CT is low to the ground and that means unless you are careful you will bottom a tray hitch rack and hear that nasty grinding sound unless careful.

I have a 2012 CT and use other vehicles for bike transport. If i was using the CT the bike would go inside

[cookietom]

A hitch mounted tray rack does not vibrate or wobble

That said a CT is low to the ground and that means unless you are careful you will bottom a tray hitch rack and hear that nasty grinding sound unless careful.

I have a 2012 CT and use other vehicles for bike transport. If i was using the CT the bike would go inside

Now you are making me nervous.......

[happycampyer]

I think it is unfortunate that the answer in that link doesn't really answer the question.

See this for more information (or confusion?): http://forums.mtbr.com/cars-bike-racks/1up-usa-com-vs-1upusa-com-who-knows-what-1055205.htmlDigging this thread up because I was interested in the "new and improved" version of the 1UP rack but it appears that the original manufacturer of the rack was successful in getting the new company's website taken down. Does anyone know if they are still making the new rack under a different name? It did seem boneheaded for the original inventor to sell the company, wait out a non-compete, design improvements to the rack, and then introduce the new and improved rack to the market using the exact same name except for a hyphen removed...

[NYCfixie]

https://www.quikrack.com/about-quik-rack

[JAGI410]

RockyMounts Monorail is just as functional as the Kuat and 1Up, at a fraction of the price. It’s not as fancy, but it works awesome. For 2 bikes on a 1.25” hitch, I think it’s the best value around. I use it with a 2” adapter on my van, or as-is on my Subaru. Road, mountain, fat, kids...the rack doesn’t care.

[ORMojo]

RockyMounts Monorail is just as functional as the Kuat and 1Up, at a fraction of the price. It’s not as fancy, but it works awesome. For 2 bikes on a 1.25” hitch, I think it’s the best value around. I use it with a 2” adapter on my van, or as-is on my Subaru. Road, mountain, fat, kids...the rack doesn’t care.

Hmmm . . . just took a quick look, and the RockyMounts MonoRail Solo is actually more expensive than the QuikRack (formerly 1-Up) single, and the 2-tray version is only ~$60 less expensive than the comparable 2-tray QuikRack.

And if you add the MonoRail 1-tray add-on to the Solo, that also ends up being more expensive than a QuikRack single plus 1-tray add-on.

[Ralph]

1UP and the new version fold up into a small package that I can put in a corner of my garage, and it takes up very little space. I have the heavy duty for two bikes with one addition. Folded up they just aren't in my way. That's a big deal to me. Non folding platform racks almost use up a whole wall. It also works great also...can load bikes in a few minutes.

[xander1027]

I have the 1Up rack as well, exceptionally designed and very well made

[SpokeValley]

I love my Kuat.

Ditto. This is a great rack.