Customer Question:
Hi – I bought a Yakima rack for my current car – a Chevy Cobalt and it's worked great. Now, I'm thinking of a new car (actually, a small SUV – a Honda CR-V) and I wanted to ask someone (other than a car salesman) about my best options for hauling my bikes.
I'd like a rack that would hold two bikes. Others have told me that the easiest bike racks to "handle" are those that are hitch mount – would you agree? Someone also told me that some of the racks can "swing away" from the rear of the vehicle to help load things into the back of the SUV.
If I decide to go this way, would I have to have the dealer mount an optional hitch? Do you have any advice for me? I'm not stuck on the Honda CR-V so I'd appreciate any advice/war stories you might have about them. I've looked at the Toyota Rav-4 but it has a spare tire mounted on the back which appears to stick out a ways – maybe inhibiting a hitch-mounted rack.
Racks for All Recommendations:
The CRVs are very popular these days, and a dealer-mounted hitch receiver would be an excellent choice. Using the hitch is far more convenient than using roof mount racks on a CUV or SUV. Once you have the receiver, you can then pick from many different hitch rack sizes and styles to find the one that suits your application – there are several excellent choices for two bikes.
Presuming you will have a 1.25 inch hitch receiver mounted, here are a few recommendations:
The Thule 990 DoubleTrack:
My personal favorite is the one I own, the Thule T2 917 (for 1.25 inch hitch). This is a great rack that is easy to loand unload, tilts down while loaded for access to the rear of the vehicle, and up when not in use. It is a bit more expensive:
Don't forget the Thule STL2 locking hitch pin and and if you buy the 917 or the 990, get Thule lock cores for the bike arms and the hitch lock pin that match the same key by buying one extra lock core.
