back-up safety chain for 1up rack
 

On the verge of buying the rack and was searching the web for whatever info available. Came across this tube re: homemade gizmo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYzZo8seZaQ

Saw another photo of something similar but chain was attached to rack side bolt rather than drilling the hole.

The velcro strap that came with my rack has been sufficient ha.
This rack looks great but the usability and functionality is not that great.

what's not so great about it?
 

Save me from myself.

I've had a single tray on my van for several years now and recently added a second tray. It's by far the sturdiest, rack I've owned. Super easy to load/unload and construction seems bombproof. The only issue I've had is on occasion the hitch mount will loosen a bit in the receiver. Just like any rack, you need to make sure it's tightened down before each outing.

I lost the velcro strap that came with the rack, which worked perfectly fine so I've resorted to a Voile strap which has worked great.

For the way I use my 1UP rack....day trips with 2 or 3 bikes, the Velcro strap is fine. I just check the bolt on return trip from wherever we go. Not many security allen wrenches floating around.

However....if doing multi day trips, with vehicle sitting in hotel parking lots, might put a chain on it somehow, not that that would deter a thief.

It's by far the best rack I have ever seen or used....unless your bike has fenders.

U-Lock
 

For longer trips - I just use a small U-Lock to secure the rack to the hitch tab. You could leave it on all the time if the rack is always on.

M

I lost the velcro strap day 1. I connect a cheap cable lock on longer trips and have not had problems.

There's a velcro strap?

Have used mine extensively for many years without it, and also without worry or incident. That's with both leaving it on the car for weeks, and installing/removing it frequently. When I would leave it on, I would try to remember to check the tightness once a week or so.

Great rack, some of the best cycling money I've ever spent. I acknowledge it's not the absolute best design for fender'ed bikes.

Eddie, I would recommend buying it & trying it - you'll likely thank yourself for doing so. And it you find it's not for you, resale would be quick & fetch a good price. There's a reason you rarely used ones for sale.

There's probably more of me hating on the 1up in other "what bike rack should I get?" threads BUT

- you need two hands to operate the ratcheting arms, opening it at least
- locking mechanisms (rack to hitch, bike to rack) aren't really integrated into the rack, it's just a threaded pin with a lock at the end
- slides into hitch, fastens using a wedge "nut". Mine hasn't had issues loosening up but a pin going through rack AND hitch provides more peace of mind for me.

I guess that's all I can really think of so I suppose it's not as bad as I make it out to be. The only other tray rack I've owned was a thule t2.

back-up safety chain for 1up rack
 

Am I reading this right that the rack inserts into the receiver hitch and stays put using some kind of bolt driven expander?

It's not secured using a hitch pin?

And so therefore if the expander fails the safety Velcro is there to prevent the rack from sliding backwards out of the receiver and onto the roadway?

Yes, that is how it works.

thanks for the confirmation. I did not know this prior but like hummus, that would be hard for me to tradeoff the ease and weight of the rack against this attachment mechanism that relies on velcro to avoid worst case scenario of ejecting my bikes onto the freeway.

the expander wedge is a pressure/friction connection. off hand it seems like this works great until it doesn't. I wonder if the still to be released evolution of the rack by the original founder addresses this?

In all the years I've had a 1Up rack, it's never come loose. It takes a lot of force to overcome the velcro strap as well. In that vein, a backup safety chain is unnecessary. I'd consider a lock as an anti theft device, however.

This makes me glad that I purchase a Kuat. It has the expander/ball bearing to stop the rack from moving in the hitch and rattling, but it still is fixed in place with a locking hitch pin.

Can't believe some on here seriously think a 1UP is going to fall off the rear of your vehicle after bolt is snugged up. Nonsense. And even if you put the rack on without snugging up the security bolt, the Velcro strap would hold it in place. The tongue of the rack slides in a good way, and the strap will hold it in place....if necessary. A long shoe string would work well also, or any light rope. The rack doesn't want to come out on it's own. I also wouldn't mind if it had a bolt that went all the way thru the rack tongue, and bolted to one side of the hitch, to keep it snug and tight so as not to rattle around. But the engineers at 1UP seem to prefer their current engineering. Fine with me. Mine doesn't come loose and the rack tongue is tight in the hitch. And I'm yet to see anyone have a 1UP security wrench in their tool box who doesn't have a 1UP rack.