One up rack

[jm714]

So I bought a Santa Cruz Tallboy XXL and it has a wheelbase of 1291mm. I have a Thule XT2 hitch rack and the whellbase limit is 1240mm and my rear wheel is on the edge. 1291mm is 50.8” equivalent.

So I was thinking of getting a One Up rack, either the Heavy Duty or the Equip D. Any suggestions from the group as to which one I go with? Right now I only need one tray, but I could see needing another one. It will go on a SUV with a 2” hitch. I dont plan to get a e-bike, but I am e-bike curious.

Thx.

[emoorhead]

I have the heavy duty and the release mechanism for raising and lowering the rack is a PITA. Generally I'm happy with that rack, but it always gets jammed slightly with that handle. Its not the end of the world but the equip'd seems like a great upgrade.

[kppolich]

Originally Posted by emoorhead

I have the heavy duty and the release mechanism for raising and lowering the rack is a PITA. Generally I'm happy with that rack, but it always gets jammed slightly with that handle. Its not the end of the world but the equip'd seems like a great upgrade.

A little grease on the interface will solve that.

[p nut]

I’m happy with my One Up SD, but I used a friend’s Kuat Piston Pro last week.

If I were buying again, I’d get the Kuat. Push a button to open up the arms. Very cool integrated lock. Very nice.
We had a couple of XL bikes (Pivot Firebird and SC Megatower) and they fit with more than enough room.

[hokoman]

Originally Posted by p nut

I’m happy with my SD One Up, but I used a friend’s Kuat Piston Proladt week.

If I were buying again, I’d get the Kuat. Push a button to open up the arms. Very cool integrated lock. Very nice.

This is nice to read. I just got rid of my 1up racks in the US (the hitch racks are different in europe), and shipped 2 kuat piston roof racks to portugal. It was those or the 1up roof racks, and I am short and the automatic arms seemed like an easy decision.

If you do get the 1up HD, get the handle extension, it makes it way easier to put up and down the rack.

[benb]

That is one heck of a long bike. My longest bike is my fat bike with a 1182mm wheelbase, although the tires are so big (27.5x4.5) it might be longer than what you're looking at if you were to measure total length.

In any case with the Equip-D that is using most of the available space and the tires and the total length of the bike is wider than my car is so it still sticks out both sides. In terms of just where the wheelbase is there is plenty of room.

I would definitely get the remote release if you get the SD/HD/whatever that doesn't come with it. It's not just about how far you have to reach. If you're talking a 3 or 4 bike setup you are reaching very far and awkwardly and then lifting a rather heavy object.

Whichever one you get think through your locks very carefully. It's really important to get all the locks in one purchase so they can key them all the same. If you have to order more locks you get stuck with a 2nd key.

These ultra lux Kuats look cool but I would not want to deal with one of those pistons failing... it seems like unnecessary expense/complication to me.

[fourflys]

Originally Posted by p nut

If I were buying again, I’d get the Kuat. Push a button to open up the arms. Very cool integrated lock. Very nice.
We had a couple of XL bikes (Pivot Firebird and SC Megatower) and they fit with more than enough room.

these looks awesome, but I would wonder about those pistons getting gummed up after a year or so if the rack lives on your vehicle 90% of the time.. probably as big a deal if you take it on and off, but road dust/muck could make a mess of that I bet..

[p nut]

Originally Posted by fourflys

these looks awesome, but I would wonder about those pistons getting gummed up after a year or so if the rack lives on your vehicle 90% of the time.. probably as big a deal if you take it on and off, but road dust/muck could make a mess of that I bet..

Certainly could be an issue. I take my rack off when not in use. Good thing about 1Up is it’s light and packs up nice for storage.

[jm714]

Jeeze that Kuat is cool looking but it is $1100. Ouch!!!!

[tuxbailey]

I got a heavy duty single and 2 extra single expansion ones if I need to to carry more bikes.

The thing I really about 1-up, aside from the ease of operation is that when folded up, it has a very slim profile.

[benb]

Originally Posted by jm714

Jeeze that Kuat is cool looking but it is $1100. Ouch!!!!

It looks like that's the 2 bike price.

It's $1600-2000 if you want 3-4 bikes. Ouch indeed.

My 3-bike 1UP setup was about $1100 too though.

[EB]

I have a 1UP Equip-D and it quite easily fits both an XL Transition Spire (1320mm wheelbase) and an XL Santa Cruz Megatower 2 (1298mm wheelbase). Even larger seems like it would be possible.

[BeRad]

I have a heavy-duty 1-Up 4 tray with the extended handle. It’s heavy as hell. My wife can’t handle it and I’ve had a stiff back more than once from shuffling it around. It’s just awkward.

If you have the extended handle and you need to lower the bikes then watch your fingers. The weight of the rack rests (and sometimes bends) the extended handle when it’s lowered too. You can rig up some system so that it rests on wood blocks but it’s a pita.

All that said, it’s bombproof. I don’t have a problem with it fully loaded on dirt roads. It’s easy to use when you figure out how to release the pressure and position the release lever in the right location (exactly parallel to the tray). For my use I probably wouldn’t buy it again but at the same time I’m not going to sell it either.

[JAGI410]

I have the 3 tray Heavy Duty, and it fits my ~55lb eMTB with a 1260mm wheelbase with ease. I recently did a 5 hour road trip with 2 eMTBs and a standard MTB, and it was rock solid.

I was also intrigued by the Kuat, but it weighs 24lbs MORE than the 1up. Since I'm moving the rack between vehicles often, and thinking that my wife would need to put it on if I'm out of town, I wanted the lightest/strongest possible. That's the 1up.

3 bike Kuat Piston Pro X = 89lbs
3 bike 1up Heavy Duty = 47lbs + 18.5lbs add-on = 65.5lbs

[nspace]

Recently bought a 1 up QuickRack with the smaller hitch size.

Not sure of exact wheelbase but I know he has a YT Izzo XL that fits with absolutely no troubles and it has quite a long wheelbase.

Thoughts so far:

Pros:

• love having nothing touch the bike frame
• adjusting the arms to different wheel sizes for kids bikes etc is easy
• love having a single tray that I can add to, a lot of the time I just need one bike on there and it is nice and compact when not in use
• love the ability to easily offset the bikes in the trays to avoid the bikes colliding (I hated not having the ability to do this on my old Kuat sherpa)

Neutral:

• TBD on the ball cam to secure/eliminate play in the receiver, seems to work really well, I am always surprised at how much force I need to tighten it, and how little far I need to loosen it after driving around with the bikes

Cons:

• the ratchet system feels very unrefined, the teeth are already showing wear after a few months of ownership. It is very finicky to hold the lever in the right position to open them
• the lever to adjust the tilt sucks—it is so clunky to pull and gets stuck
• everything I have read (after purchasing) says that customer support is hit and miss and they can be quite defense so a bit worried about that (Kuat has fantastic support/warranty)
• the little velcro security strap feels cheap, hitch pin would have been way better