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The Best Bike Racks for Every Kind of Rig

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The Best Bike Racks for Every Kind of Rig


There are a vast number of bike racks on sale today, all variations of the same idea with the same end goal: to safely transport your bike to your destination without having to contort it to fit inside your vehicle. Some racks attach to become semi-permanent extensions of your car (think hitch and roof), while others are designed to be more portable (trunk or tailgate pad).To get more news about ebike car rack, you can visit magicyclebike.com official website.

Some, like the Thule ProRide XT, for example, attach to factory crossbars on a roof, while others—the Saris Bones 2-Bike—hook onto your trunk and can be removed when not in use. The best rack for you will depend on a few things: the type of mount (your car may not have a hitch), the type of bike (all racks come with weight limits), tire size (if you want to haul a fat bike, keep that in mind), number of bikes you want to carry (most racks accommodate two), and your budget (the racks in this list range from $150 to $1,395). First decide what kind of rack you want, then narrow down within that category to find the right one for your needs.
There are three types of roof racks: complete rack systems that mount to your bare roof, trays that attach to your factory-installed crossbars/side rails/tracks, and suction cups that vacuum seal to almost any surface. And there are two ways to carry bikes on them: with or without the front wheel attached. Remove the wheel and you lower the height and lighten the bike, but that may not be so easy with some disc brake-equipped bikes. Adapters are available for thru-axles, though it’s wise to check compatibility before you buy. Leave the wheel on and you eliminate any concern regarding disc brakes and having to stash a muddy tire in your car, even if you sacrifice a bit of stability. Other bonuses of using a roof rack: On most options, everything locks (bikes to rack, rack to roof), and there’s no chance of a damaged bike should you get rear-ended on the highway. But there is the possibility that you’ll forget that your bike is up there as you pull into the garage, so beware.
Of the three styles here, the hitch rack is the most convenient. Once it’s installed, nothing more needs to be done, and lifting bikes up and onto the trays (or, in some cases, hanging them from the top tube) is easier than lifting them over your head the way you do with a roof rack. Hitch racks slide into your vehicle’s receiver tube, and most are available for 1.25- and/or two-inch receivers. Most newer options lock to your hitch, are hinged to fold up and out of the way when not in use, and have a cam to firm up the rack inside the receiver tube for a jiggle-free connection. Many also now have an integrated lock to secure bikes to the rack and use arms that extend up and over the front wheel. A downside to hitch racks: They effectively make your car longer, so you’ll have to be extra cautious when backing up and parallel parking.

This type of rack attaches to your trunk using straps and hooks, and upper and lower feet stabilize it against the car. It’s typically the cheapest and lightest option of the three and the most portable. Once you get the hang of how the straps and hooks work with your car, removing and installing the rack becomes easier. And if you park in a high-crime area, you’ll want to remove it and stash it inside your car or house (trunk racks don’t lock to your car). Other downsides include the potential for a pedal or wheel to flop around and scratch your car’s paint, limitations with where the hooks attach (weather stripping and spoilers may present a problem, for example), and that it may not work with some funky-shaped bikes (think mountain bikes) since it holds them up by the top tube.

A tailgate pad, which attaches to and covers both sides of the gate on your pickup, lets you safely drive with multiple bikes (up to seven with the Dakine Pickup Pad). Simply drape the pad over the tailgate and attach it via a series of webbing straps that loop around the gate. Load bikes in rear-wheel first so only the front wheel hangs over the tailgate, and use the looped straps to secure each bike by its down tube. The grooves in the bed liner act as natural trays for the rear wheel.

How We Tested These Racks and Pads
Our bike-crazed editors have driven hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of miles with their bikes entrusted to these racks. We research the market, survey user reviews, speak with product managers and engineers, and use our own experience to determine the best options for you. We haul road bikes, mountain bikes, e-bikes, and city bikes, as well as bikes with disc brakes, big wheels, fat tires, and more. We keep these racks and pads on our vehicles for months, using and abusing them until we know what works and what doesn’t. If we weren’t satisfied with a particular rack, we didn’t include it. So far, these are the 14—divided into roof, hitch, trunk, and tailgate categories—that earned their spots as the best.
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