Sports 3-Bike Hitch Racks for 1 1/4 in. and 2 in. Hitch

This is I think the most basic offering by Allen Sports for a 3-bike hitch-mount bike rack. Allen Sports offers quite a range of racks and features at higher price points, so feel free to ignore reviews criticizing this model for not having this or that. At this price, this is a great bike rack. You probably already know that for cars/SUVs you can do hitch-mount, trunk-mount, roof-mount and put-it-the-trunk-mount. Hitch-mounts come in hanging and "tray" versions. If you already have a hitch, this hanging version a great bargain. You can easily pay upwards of $800 for the fancier hitch-mounts. Also, if your car is hitchless, buying and installing a car hitch will cost you several hundred dollars, so maybe this is not the way to go. The advantages of hitch-mounts? Generally faster and more convenient bike mounting/unmounting than trunk- and roof-mounts, much faster trunk access (for rotating or swinging hitch-mounts) compared to trunk-mounts, and better gas mileage than roof mounts. One of the bigger annoyances for hitch mounts is having to use straps and padding in strategic places to keep the bikes from rubbing against each other and the car. If you are getting a lightweight hitch-mount, like this one, it also has the big advantage of ease of removal and transport and storage. So...IF you will be using this rack only occasionally for that beach weekend or road trip, but otherwise want to store it in your home or garage, this is a great choice. It is well made, solid, lightweight and does the job. You are "giving up" many features, but if you need those, simply pay more. What you get: solid construction, fold-down arms, rotation for trunk access, a decent look (compact with stylish logo), ease of removal, compactness, and light weight. Here's what you don't get that might move you up the price scale (and how far up the scale is indicated by $$ signs): fast hitch removal (e.g. via a twist knob instead of a bolt) ($), lever for hanging bar rotation (instead of a removable pin) ($), lever for hitch rotation release (instead of a removable pin) ($), built-in hitch lock ($), built-in security cable ($), tray-style ($$ to $$$), super-rigidity ($$), rust-proof (all aluminum) ($$$). By the way, you can loop a cable through any "hole" in your car hitch or chassis then through the triangular opening at the bottom of this rack then through your bike frame/wheels. This will probably achieve better security than the thin cables and unsophisticated key locks that come built-in with pricier units. Also, getting more than 2 bikes on any hitch-mount rack is a pain. I got the 3-bike version because it makes a 2 bike mounting easier. BOTTOM LINE: Gets the job done AND can be removed and stored relatively easily.

You can't beat this bike rack for the price. I have it installed on my 2011 Honda Fit Sport. I uploaded a few pictures that show the bikes loaded on the rack (Three 20 inch bikes, 2 boys and 1 girls) which went on very easy and are secured nicely in the holders. The buckles are also easy to use. I drove about 30 miles at fast and slow speeds. The rack moves slightly so I put a couple of bungee cords on to help keep it from swaying but nothing to worry about. Being able to pull a pin and lower the rack to open the hatchback even with the bikes loaded on is a nice feature. It's somewhat of a pain to have to bolt on the rack to the hitch every time I want to use it so I keep a couple of 9/16 socket wrenches handy for that. Now a suggestion to Allen Sports. Please put in the description that this also fits Class 1 receivers. The bike rack shaft has 3 holes in it that allows it to fit Class 1 1 1/2 inch and Class 2 1 1/2 inch receivers. It will also fit Class 2 2 inch receivers with the included adapter. This omission causes confusion as to whether or not it will fit a class 1 1 1/2 inch receiver. There are some folks that aren't aware that you can't put a Class 2 1 1/2 inch drawbar into a class 1 1 1/2 inch receiver because the class 1 hitch purposely prevents it by now allowing the pin to line up with the hole. That does not apply here because you made the rack able to fit both 1 1/2 inch receivers by putting 3 holes in the tube. Hope this helps.

I am very pleased with this rack. As a previous owner of multiple Thule and Yakima systems I decided to take a leap of faith on this rack because of the price and good reviews. I have been pleased with my Thule products and I better be for what I payed for them which is why I am still scratching my head on the price of this. The comparable Thule rack is 3 times the price. My expectations weren't that high because of the price, but like I said, good reviews, so I bought the 3 bike hitch mount rack. Assembly was stupid easy. Functionality is great. Quality seems to be very good but I have only had it less than two months so hopefully it will stand the test of time. I had to upgrade from my Saris rack because it was scratching up the paint on the car. The Allen rack holds 3 bikes with a bit of maneuvering. I knew it would be tight but so are all the other brands from what I read when trying to put the full compliment of bikes on. We fit 3 adult mt. bikes no problem. The one thing I would change would be some kind of quick release bolt where it attaches in the hitch. You need a couple wrenches to remove or install the rack but I keep the two wrenches in the car and no biggy. The fold down hardware is easy to use, no wrench needed. I live on the bay and salt water spray is an issue here so the nickel plated hardware is going to rust at some point, but I will look into some extra hardware from Allen. There is a slight bit of wobble at the hitch but I could shim it with something if it was an issue - it's not. It doesn't rattle or cause any issues so no biggy. All in all, if you are looking for a hitch mount rack and want to save a couple hundred bucks, this is your rack. I only gave it 3 stars for security because it doesn't come with a lock but nobody elses racks do either and I suppose if you really wanted to be a low life and steal my rack all you would need is a couple wrenches but in the very low likelihood of that happening, I could buy two more of these racks and still be less than what I would have payed for the Thule or Yakima.

I've read several reviews that mention there is a lot of wobble or movement when installed in 2" hitch. Given the price it was worth the gamble since Amazon has great return policy. I'm glad I took the gamble as after installing it I see there is literally no wobble once installed (see video). Perhaps people with the wobble didn't install correctly, or perhaps their hitch was defective by being larger than it should be. You'll need to use the bolt provided as it is designed to create a firm seating for the hitch. If you use a standard trailer pin or lock pin, you'll probably have wobble. Assembly is very easy and straight forward, taking maybe 10 minutes. Slipping the rack onto the hitch and tightening it down (with no wobble) and bike's installed without any issue. I only have 2 bikes, bought this 1) because it was less expensive than 2 bike model and 2) gives me plenty of room to get bikes installed easily. The mounting straps are OK, they do the job well, but seem to be more effort than it needs to be. You'll also want to purchase a set of bungee cords or long velcro type strap to secure the bikes to prevent bikes from swaying or wheels from spinning. The instructions mention using a 70" strap and notes as "not included". Not sure why Allen doesn't include strap as you'll def need it and their instructions seem to confirm that. But no knock on the rack for this as price is reasonable and I have several bungee cords laying around. It's easy to drop the arm when not transporting bikes, just simply pull the pin, drop the arm, reinsert pin - done. The only downside to this rack is there is no easy way to prevent someone from stealing your rack from back of your vehicle as the anti-wobble bolt provided can't be secured. Anyone with a pair of sockets or wrenches can have it off your vehicle and be gone in under a minute. Nothing would be more disappointing that to come back from a ride and find the rack missing.

Product works as intended. I drive a jeep with an after-market rear bumper/tire carrier so I have clearance issues when using anything that attaches to the receiver. I purchased an 8 inch receiver extension and that solves that problem. The rack itself seems sturdy enough. The tie straps are standard 1 inch webbing material with plastic buckles. I was initially concerned about them staying cinched tight during the drive, but they did fine and were just as tight when I got to my destination as they were when I tightened them down in the driveway. The rubber pieces that the bikes lay on can rotate freely around the bar they sit on. I wasn't expecting that, but I guess it makes sense in case your bike frame is a non-traditional shape and requires the piece to be a certain orientation. Overall I'm very pleased with the rack and if I lost it or it was stolen, I would purchase it again. Edit: I forgot to mention, I've driven with the rack mounted with 2 bikes on it for a total of about 10 hours so far

This seems like a well made bike rack. I have it fitted to a 1.25" curt hitch on a 2013 Prius. A lot of people have mixed ideas about this rack due to wobble. It comes with an anti-wobble bolt for 1.25" and 2" hitch. The 3/4 bolt for the 1.25" goes through the small hole on the bike rack (i initially put it through the bigger hole and it wobbled so much I thought of returning the item) . The thick end shouldn't pass through the hole in the rack, but rather squeeze the whole rack to one side of your hitch. This means minimum wobble left and right, it still goes a bit up and down but with three bikes it seems to sort itself out. The rack straps seems simple but they do work. I'm driving on bad roads and while it moves a small bit - due to fold down mechanism - it hasn't given me anything to worry about.

This is an excellent rack: Easy to assemble and install, totally rigid, with well-designed pads and straps to hold the bikes in place. Well-designed quick-release mechanisms make it easy to pivot the loaded rack away from the car so you can load or unload the trunk while the bicycles are still attached. Buyers should be aware of three potential problems: (1) For typical adult bicycles, expect to find that this rack will hold only two, not three. The carry arms are 16" long and have three attachment points, but when we tried to hang three adult road bikes, the spacing was tight enough that handle bars and carrier racks bumped up. We tried different arrangements, but nothing came close to fitting. To carry three bikes, you'll need to be lucky in the way the configurations fit together. This problem is the reason I give 4 stars rather than 5. (2) For some receiver hitch configurations, the diagonal reinforcement at the bottom of the bike rack will prevent you from inserting the rack far enough into the receiver hitch. For us, the rack inserts correctly into a hitch where the opening is about 2 1/2" inside the fender, but fails for a hitch 4 1/2" inside. (3) Several reviews complain that the rack wobbles badly; I suspect that this problem results from installing the "No-Wobble Bolt" incorrectly. The written instruction, the short (1:43) video on Amazon, and the longer (2:48) video on the Allen Sports FAQ don't give you much help, but the Allen Sports website has a much better video "Installing the No Wobble Bolt on a Allen Sports Hitch Rack" (3:43) at Resource Center > Video > Miscellaneous Videos.

Some pros and some cons, but overall, a very good value. When I hooked this up for the first time, I noticed how bouncy it was with three bikes on. I took them off to verify I wasn't exceeding the weight limit, and I wasn't. It flexes a lot at the bend near the hitch (where the bar is welded at a 45 degree angle). But I've been using it for several weeks now and I haven't had an issue. The cons are very simple to fix, the manufacturer should really look into this: it needs a security hole, so that you can secure it to the hitch and secure the bikes to it. I wrapped a security cable around the hitch, snaked it around this rack, and looped through my bike with locks. It works, but it's a little clunky. In the end, it would be impossible to steal the bike, but the rack isn't 100% secure. Oh well, it would take someone a lot of work to get it out. The other con is the straps that hold the bike. My old rack had velcro hoop look straps and they worked great. These are ANNOYING. I even tried to buy my own velcro straps but the ones on this rack just aren't going anywhere unless I cut them off. It's hard to complain about a $90 bike rack, but if they reinforced the first bend better, fixed the straps, and gave this thing a security hole, it would be AWESOME. EDIT - 8/3/15 - I added a picture to show how I use the security cable. Again, the cable connects the bike to the hitch. The rack isn't 100% secure, but that's the least expensive part anyway. At least the bikes are secure.