Should I buy?

[crewcabrob]

I needed a rack that would not only carry my bike by the tires/wheels, but one I could carry 4 bikes with. I haven't checked yet, but does the 1upusa.com rack have add-ons to carry 4+ bikes?

My wife and I have 3 teenagers living at home. When we go some place with the bikes, (which isn't very often) it's a struggle to get all 5 of them transported. I normally have to brake mine down and show it in the back of the truck with the cooler.

This tread has gone off topic a bit. Maybe we should start a new thread about bikes/canoes/kyaks/toys we use our LR4 for.

Rob

 

[tazdevl]

I needed a rack that would not only carry my bike by the tires/wheels, but one I could carry 4 bikes with. I haven't checked yet, but does the 1upusa.com rack have add-ons to carry 4+ bikes?

My wife and I have 3 teenagers living at home. When we go some place with the bikes, (which isn't very often) it's a struggle to get all 5 of them transported. I normally have to brake mine down and show it in the back of the truck with the cooler.

This tread has gone off topic a bit. Maybe we should start a new thread about bikes/canoes/kyaks/toys we use our LR4 for.

Rob

North shore offers a rack that can carry 6 http://northshoreracks.com/NSR 6-bike.htm Good company and great customer svc though you cannot put road bikes on it. Other options, get a 4 (1up, T2, kuat etc...) and put a roof tray on, get a toy trailer or Thule and Swagman make hitch mounted mast 5 bike racks. Problem with these Ive found is actually getting the max number of bikes on this style of rack.

 

[suvowner]

I needed a rack that would not only carry my bike by the tires/wheels, but one I could carry 4 bikes with. I haven't checked yet, but does the 1upusa.com rack have add-ons to carry 4+ bikes?

My wife and I have 3 teenagers living at home. When we go some place with the bikes, (which isn't very often) it's a struggle to get all 5 of them transported. I normally have to brake mine down and show it in the back of the truck with the cooler.

This tread has gone off topic a bit. Maybe we should start a new thread about bikes/canoes/kyaks/toys we use our LR4 for.

Rob

one of the thule t2 models can use a 2 bike add on, i have it, but dont put it on until i need to carry 4 bikes, other wise just use the 2 bike version...

major advantage of the thule is you can open the upper and lower rear door of the lr4 with the bikes on the rack.....b/c of the t2 simple rearward tilting feature....

 

[suvowner]

Had a T2, which is not a bad rack, is not even in the same league in terms of ease of use or quality of workmanship than the 1up. Granted you pay for it. But you're going off the beaten path with a lr4, pun intended, why not be consistent with your rack. If you're doing serious offroading to the trail head, north shore rack may be a better choice.

Carbon is a lot more resilient than you give it credit for. If it wasn't, would have more and more mtn bike frames and components made from it.

carbon frames are not desinged to have vertical stress forces in the middle of the top tube.....my local dealer has seen carbon frames damaged in bike racks, and it aint coverred by frame warranty.....so highly recommend a platform style rack that grabs the wheels not the top tube for a carbon frame......why even take the chance when such racks exist...

 

[tazdevl]

one of the thule t2 models can use a 2 bike add on, i have it, but dont put it on until i need to carry 4 bikes, other wise just use the 2 bike version...

major advantage of the thule is you can open the upper and lower rear door of the lr4 with the bikes on the rack.....b/c of the t2 simple rearward tilting feature....

Downside of the t2 918 is it starts getting pretty heavy when it's added to the 916, thinking of my wife, around 70 lbs rack alone to maneuver. Also you lose clearance on hills, driveways etc and off road trips to the trailhead since it sticks straight out the back of the car with no incline about 5'

1up angles up with each tray added per bike and is made of cnc aluminum, so you maintain clearance and save weight. Trays are easier and more secure than Thule and you can use 2 one day, add 3 the next and drop back to 1 or up to 4 the next. Also at the trailhead you can fold the rack up and stow it in the rear, very compact.

Tilt or swing feature is common with pretty much every rack on the market these days.

No issues with my carbon racer-x or carbon mojo, granted I use a top tube adapter with mast style racks when I'm out with buddies.

 

[mateored]

I got a new bike rack a few weeks ago that I'm REALLY happy with, and because it's a bit obscure, I thought I would share it here. The rack is the Küat NV. It is a platform rack like the Thule T2, but with some different features. The basic rack holds 2 bikes, but you can buy an add-on kit to make it a 4-bike rack.

here it is in 2-bike mode, folded up:

Here it is in 4-bike mode:

(The little doo-dad at the top of the rack is the "trail doctor" work stand, that holds your bike up by the seat or top tube to do maintenance in the field. It is removable.)

Note also the black, round knob toward the bottom. Once you've slid the rack into the hitch receiver and put the locking pin in place, you turn this knob to tighten an expansion plate within the receiver. This is one of the best features of this rack. Once you've tightened the knob, there is absolutely no play at all in the rack, and it acts like it is solidly welded to the truck - even over speed bumps, dips and around sharp corners.

It also has built-in locks, is built really nicely (largely out of aluminum), and looks better than the other racks (IMHO).

Lastly, the rack tilts down to allow you to open the back of the truck. I can tell you that, if you put the LR4 in off-road height, you can tilt even the 4-bike rack down far enough to open the top and bottom of the rear hatch.

I ordered mine from backcountry.com, which has a no questions asked return policy.

Highly recommended.