Bike rack advice - 3 bikes on a hitch

[sk8r]

Need a new rack to transport 3 bikes, one to two mountain bikes at a time, or 3 hardtails (kids' bikes).

e.g., Saris T-bone 3, Thule Helium...

Any buying advice, pricing seems all over the place, found the Saris locally for less than REI, but the Helium was $100 more than the REI locally, yet both are MSRP the same???

Oh and the other issue, I'm limited to a rack that doesn't sit out more than a foot (both the Helium and T-bone pop off and could be hung up out of the way if need be).

[shoredad]

http://www.orsracksdirect.com/bike-racks.html

Originally Posted by sk8r

Need a new rack to transport 3 bikes, one to two mountain bikes at a time, or 3 hardtails (kids' bikes).

e.g., Saris T-bone 3, Thule Helium...

Any buying advice, pricing seems all over the place, found the Saris locally for less than REI, but the Helium was $100 more than the REI locally, yet both are MSRP the same???

Oh and the other issue, I'm limited to a rack that doesn't sit out more than a foot (both the Helium and T-bone pop off and could be hung up out of the way if need be).

[Feral]

Originally Posted by shoredad

http://www.orsracksdirect.com/bike-racks.html

And ship to any of the dozen or so receivers from Sumas to Pt Roberts. Got my 916XTR for $350, and the border agent at the Sumas crossing was nice enough not to charge me anything extra either.

[Sublime]

1up usa. Expensive, with a crappy website..., but hands down the nicest, most well thought out bike rack i have ever used. Comes fully assembled. Reasonably light. Literally takes 10 seconds to instal, or take off, on the hitch. Loading a bike once rack is on hitch adds another 10 seconds to your rack time.

Greatest rack out there.

Www.1upusa.com

[C.Lee]

Originally Posted by Sublime

1up usa. Expensive, with a crappy website..., but hands down the nicest, most well thought out bike rack i have ever used. Comes fully assembled. Reasonably light. Literally takes 10 seconds to instal, or take off, on the hitch. Loading a bike once rack is on hitch adds another 10 seconds to your rack time.

Greatest rack out there.

Www.1upusa.com

at that price, I'd rather just get NSR

[Sublime]

Originally Posted by C.Lee

at that price, I'd rather just get NSR

For a 4 or 6 bike i agree. For a two or three, 1up wins hands down though.

[C.Lee]

Originally Posted by Sublime

For a 4 or 6 bike i agree. For a two or three, 1up wins hands down though.

i suppose, even for 2, I'd go for saris or others.. just the way it's built, I do not like. seems "cheap"

[woodyak]

Originally Posted by C.Lee

i suppose, even for 2, I'd go for saris or others.. just the way it's built, I do not like. seems "cheap"

Yeah, these things are not cheap in price or quality. I have one and it is freaking solid. All of the metal bits are nicely machined and there is no play or wobble in any part of this rack when carrying bikes. Between me and my buds I've seen/handled pretty much every hitch rack that's out there and the 1up is the best of the bunch. The NSR is a close second but the 1up edges it out in my book for a couple of reasons. Most of us only have 1 or 2 bikes to carry at a time but want to be able to expand. With NSR you're locked in to whatever size you choose. The NSR6 is pretty sick for shuttles but you're not going to buy an NSR6 if your toting 1 bike around most of the time. So what do you choose? 2,4,6? With the 1UP you can get the 2 rack and then get individual trays to expand to get 4 bikes. You are able to add more but that is at your own risk. Then there is the fact that you can't carry road bikes and some kids bikes on the NSR.

The others aren't even close. Thule, Yakima, Saris, etc. are all have lots of plastic and steel. They work nicely when they are new but over time and use the plastic parts weaken and break causing issues with keeping the bikes snug. The steel rusts causing the hinges to break down causing more instability. Since the 1up uses AL and Stainless Steel bolts rust and wear is kept at bay. This is important for me since I live in the coastal Boston area and I leave the hitch attached pretty much year round. What seals the deal for me is there is a lifetime warranty on the rack. I'm not aware of anyone else that does that.

[Sublime]

Originally Posted by C.Lee

i suppose, even for 2, I'd go for saris or others.. just the way it's built, I do not like. seems "cheap"

Looking at the website, i would agree. However, if you are someone who likes fancy/sexy machined parts like Chris King, or Straightline, then this is the rack for you. It is friggin beauty. Not only that, but everything is well thought out and functional. My favorite part is that the rack does not wiggle at all in the hitch. I can't say this about any other rack ( nsr, sportsworks, thule, yakima etc.) i have used.

[sk8r]

Because of high broker fees, taxes and shipping we no longer ship to Canada

-1up

Would have to pick up in Blaine of course, but ow $$$, generally I only have the one bike, but I need something for the kids too, but I was hoping to spend the money on my daughter's new bike and not the rack to carry it.

But that 1up does look nice.

I'm taking people are recommending a tray-style over the top tube "fork" catcher style?

[sk8r]

Thule or Yakima?

I need something light I can pop on and off the hitch, and these are readily available and price is about equal (just discovered Costco carries Thule, but actually had a lower quoted price locally).

So any pro and con for the Thule Helium vs the Yakima Highlite?

[seannyl]

I worked for Rack Attack for 5 years, and Yakima bike racks have always been just a slight cut above Thule (in my opinion). First, be sure your hitch can carry the weight, for 3 bikes of regular to heavy weight you really need a class 3 hitch. You have to divide the tounge weight in half for the amount of weight of bikes+rack you can carry (leverage and whatnot). You can get support straps to go from the rack to your trunk if you have a class 2 hitch and are close.

But I say Yakima, and I still suggest buying from Rack Attack. They'll match/beat any price out there, good guys, know their stuff and will treat you well. But I'm biased.