Hi, everyone. I just had a trailer hitch put on my Ford Escape & I'm looking at getting a bike rack. The more I look at them, the more confused I get . I'm wondering if any of the more seasoned cyclists have an opinion of whether to get a tray carrier type or the standard hitch carrier. I've not had very good experiences with the trunk type carriers and if I'm going put the money out for another bike carrier, I want to invest wisely. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
I prefer the tray type as it puts the loads on the wheels instead of the top bar. This type also better handles bikes that don't have the usual diamond shape frame. Tray style usually only handle 2 bikes with out an optional extension. Unfortunately, these do tend to be more expensive than the upright style.
That said, my brother bought a Thule (914 I think) that has a very slick system allowing the upright post to fold away even when bikes are attached. The arms also fold easily when not in use. He leaves it attached to his vehicle throughout the year.
I have a similarly sized GM small suv...it came with factory racks and it is really easy to install a bike carrier onto the existing bars (2 minutes per yakima bike carrier to put on/take off) and I can install 1, 2, or 3 carriers (I have the "wheel on" version"). I know any rack is expensive, but you might compare to see if a roof rack is more expensive or not (if you don't have the factory rack and bars already, I doubt it will be). The height isn't a big issue (I'm 5'10") since road bikes are pretty light I can put a bike on unassisted in under a minute.
Rack Attack is a great store, bought mine from there last year. I bought the Saris T-Bones 2 hitch rack, its great! Easy to load and unload, has a built in lock so that you can secure the frames when you pop into a store and then it disconnects from the car and comes with a base that it fits into and turns into a bike storage rack for your garage.
The disadvantage is that it does not fold down but can be removed quite easily to get access to the back of your car/suv.
. I'm wondering if any of the more seasoned cyclists have an opinion of whether to get a tray carrier type or the standard hitch carrier. I've not had very good experiences with the trunk type carriers and if I'm going put the money out for another bike carrier, I want to invest wisely. Any input would be greatly appreciated. 