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

Love this product. Fast and efficient connection. Bikes very safe. I bought a 3 bike holder but I feel it will only hold 2. Seems very compact to hold 3 bikes although I haven’t tried yet.

Solid and sturdy

I am impressed with this rack. I bought it for my son's 2013 Kia Soul. Fits great into the 1.25" hitch on the Soul. You will need two 9/16" wrenches to bolt its anti-wobble bolt/nut into the hitch. I suggest getting at least one Gear Wrench 9/16" wrench if you need to order another wrench. They are about $10 on amazon and work very nice - the ratcheting end makes it quicker and easier to bolt into the hitch. My other, older, hitch rack is a 4 bike Thule rack. The Thule just requires one wrench to secure it into the hitch. The rack itself was quick to assemble and seems to be of high quality. I like that it folds relatively flat when not in use. I actually fits into the back storage area of the Soul when not in use and it does not take up too much space. The rubber bike holding straps are of good quality although I always use a secondary tie-down (bungee) as a back-up. The tilt-down feature also seems well designed - I prefer its method over the push button method on my older Thule rack (10+ years old).

Don't review most amazon purchases and always wait until I've used the product enough to give a fair review. This is one item that I felt deserved a review as people can spend a considerable amount of money on a bike rack. First of all the rack came well packaged and assembly was easy. My first test run with the rack was in the city with one bike loaded. Most people consider hwy driving to be more demanding on a bike rack, but I feel that city driving places more stresses on the rack due to constant turning, pot holes, etc. Only used the available straps on the rack and the bike was stable the entire drive. Have since driven on the hwy. approx 700kms and the rack was good. I did notice some slight movement in the rack, but I think all racks would do this. Also used a couple of extra straps to secure the bike. I read one review where the entire rack came out of the hitch on the hwy so as a precaution I cut down a ratchet strap and was able to loop it through the bottom post of the rack and onto the hitch loops. This was not necessary, but just provided peace of mind that if the pin failed or rack became loose there was no way for it to completely fall out. The locking knob is a nice feature, but I've only used the rack about 10 times, so I can't comment on it's longevity. So far so good. Would recommend this rack 100%.

Good quality and value, well designed, easy to assemble and fairly easy to load; there are just a couple of very minor irritants. The quick release bolts are not so easily detached as you might imagine, and you will need to be very agile to detach, angle away from the trunk, and re-attach a loaded rack.

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.

This bike rack worked well for us with three large bikes, using a 1 1/4 inch hitch. It was relatively easy to hang the bikes, we hung them all facing one direction since it was easier to position the handlebars so they overlap each other. The bikes never came loose, and the rack itself was nice and stable on our trip across the country and back. I used some extra bungee cords with hooks to secure the bike frames so they wouldn't swing back and forth and bump into the rack or each other. It does move down so you can open the hatchback of an SUV, though with the bikes on it it'd be quite heavy and more difficult. Overall a great product for the price!