LCBCForum

Bike rack recommendation -- I have an Access 4 Bike Rack. It goes into a 2" hitch receiver. It is sturdy and durable. Its best feature is it can be lowered when loaded with bicycles and allow access to your car. This is especially convenient with a hatchback tailgate on my CR-V and MPV.

It supports the bikes with the top bar. This can get awkward with mountain bikes and mixtee frames that have top bars that are not horizontal.

Eventhough the rack is strong enough for 4 bikes, it is difficult to arrange four bikes to fit, so I only carry three.

The Access rack is now listed as "Softride Access" and is available at Dick's and many web sites. The manufacturer's website is http://www.softride.com

Just thought that I would pass along that I ended up buying the Thule Helium 2-bike rack. Although the price was a serious investment into my biking habit, I think it will pay off down the road. It is one of the lightest racks on the market which is a huge improvement over the tonnage I've used for the past two years. The other features that sold me on it were the self-contained bike lock and the fact that the rack itself locks into the hitch. And, compared to my last rack, it is a cinch to set up for my bike.

(03-16-2010 05:15 PM)debbieb Wrote: [ -> ]Just thought that I would pass along that I ended up buying the Thule Helium 2-bike rack. Although the price was a serious investment into my biking habit, I think it will pay off down the road. It is one of the lightest racks on the market which is a huge improvement over the tonnage I've used for the past two years. The other features that sold me on it were the self-contained bike lock and the fact that the rack itself locks into the hitch. And, compared to my last rack, it is a cinch to set up for my bike.

So where's the picture?

I put a 1 1/4" hitch on my Camry and bought an adapter so I could use my Allen bike rack made for a 2" receiver. Had to get a special hitch because Camry is so low to ground. With the adapter the rack is about 12" from the rear of the car. Every time I go over a hump or down a steep drive the hitch drags the pavement. Not a great solution. It's pretty solid and gets me away from driving my truck every time I want to haul my bike. Hitch was $200. Adapter $15. Allen rack is about $160. Rack handles 3 bikes, but all simply hang.