Best Bike Rack for Model X

[EV-lutioin]

Does anyone have any experience on the best trailer hitch bike rack for the Model X. I am looking for a hitch that holds 4 bikes and swings out of the way of the hatch. Which is better, Yakima Full Swing, Thule Vertex or Apex, Saris, or something else? I have seen some on the forum that tilt away, but I think I would prefer one that swings to the side, unless there is some disadvantage to the swing away racks?? Also, I like to take remove my rack each time I am done using it, so I am looking for the easiest and lightest rack to install/uninstall. Thanks!

 

[7racer]

I have a Thule, but plan to sell if for a Kuat.

Consistently gets rated one of the best racks out there. The only thing I don't like about these are that they are heavy and not the easiest to store. Would love to see Tesla finally release the one they demo'd to compare

Products | Küat Racks

 

[7racer]

 

[EV-lutioin]

I have a Thule, but plan to sell if for a Kuat.

Consistently gets rated one of the best racks out there. The only thing I don't like about these are that they are heavy and not the easiest to store. Would love to see Tesla finally release the one they demo'd to compare

Products | Küat Racks

That looks like a great rack, do they make one that swings out rather than tilts?

 

[afdfog]

I just purchased this rack and love it........Dave

 

[Porfiry]

That looks like a great rack, do they make one that swings out rather than tilts?

If you really need swing-away capability, you can always buy an adapter that will turn an ordinary hitch rack into a swing-away. I know MWE makes one such adapter, I'm sure there are others also.

 

[Roamer]

1 UP USA amazing racks. We run a heavy duty three bike setup to haul Pedego electric bikes. They are heavy bikes making a strong rack important.

A bike can be loaded and unloaded so fast that tilt or swing is not needed. If I need to raise the rear hatch I just release the front bike and lean it back. Can be done in seconds.

Or add a six inch extension on the receiver.

 

[EV-lutioin]

1 UP USA amazing racks. We run a heavy duty three bike setup to haul Pedego electric bikes. They are heavy bikes making a strong rack important.

A bike can be loaded and unloaded so fast that tilt or swing is not needed. If I need to raise the rear hatch I just release the front bike and lean it back. Can be done in seconds.

Or add a six inch extension on the receiver.

Thanks for the information, that looks like a great rack. Do you have any photos that show how easy it is to get into the rear hatch by releasing and leaning the front bike?

 

[flar]

Thanks for the information, that looks like a great rack. Do you have any photos that show how easy it is to get into the rear hatch by releasing and leaning the front bike?

The rack actually comes with a tilt feature. While I agree that releasing the front bike is pretty quick too, so is the regular tilt feature that makes it really easy to get into the hatch, though you have to come at the hatch from the side.

The problem with a swing-away rack is that it needs to be so sturdy to support the bikes at an angle from the car that it will get that much heavier to put on and take off. Tilt-away may not have the total access that swing-away might have, but it has it pretty quickly and with a much lighter mechanism.

The 1-Up racks also fold up for easy storage - the arms on which you put the wheels fold 90 degrees towards each other to make a compact rectangular footprint.

This video shows unfolding it, attaching it, loading, and tilting it. Note that he only has a single rack model, but each rack allows 2 single-bike extensions so the single rack can take up to 3 bikes and the dual rack can take up to 4 bikes. With one bike the tilt feature would be as easy to use, if not easier, than releasing a bike, but with 4 bikes loaded up, then it might be less unwieldy to just unlock one bike instead.

 

[vangogh]

Yeah...Get the 1 UpView media item 107587

 

[EV-lutioin]

The rack actually comes with a tilt feature. While I agree that releasing the front bike is pretty quick too, so is the regular tilt feature that makes it really easy to get into the hatch, though you have to come at the hatch from the side.

The problem with a swing-away rack is that it needs to be so sturdy to support the bikes at an angle from the car that it will get that much heavier to put on and take off. Tilt-away may not have the total access that swing-away might have, but it has it pretty quickly and with a much lighter mechanism.

The 1-Up racks also fold up for easy storage - the arms on which you put the wheels fold 90 degrees towards each other to make a compact rectangular footprint.

This video shows unfolding it, attaching it, loading, and tilting it. Note that he only has a single rack model, but each rack allows 2 single-bike extensions so the single rack can take up to 3 bikes and the dual rack can take up to 4 bikes. With one bike the tilt feature would be as easy to use, if not easier, than releasing a bike, but with 4 bikes loaded up, then it might be less unwieldy to just unlock one bike instead.

Thanks for the video. Is there any way to use the 1-Up to carry skis?

 

[EV-lutioin]

I probably should just take your word for the awesomeness of the 1-UP since pretty much every Tesla owner has recommended it, but there are a few things holding me back.

1. I want to be able to carry 3 bikes, which brings the price up to about $800 (I know, I know, you get what you pay for)
2. I don't really like the tilt mechanism, it seems very awkward to reach under the bikes to tilt the rack and then crawl out from under them.
3. Weight: a three bike 1-Up system is 64 pounds!!

I am wondering if anyone has experience with a Softride rack? It is only 21 pounds and has a super convenient tilt feature.

Hitch mounted bike rack || Alumina 3 bike rack (Lightest)

 

[goneskiian]

I probably should just take your word for the awesomeness of the 1-UP since pretty much every Tesla owner has recommended it, but there are a few things holding me back.

1. I want to be able to carry 3 bikes, which brings the price up to about $800 (I know, I know, you get what you pay for)
2. I don't really like the tilt mechanism, it seems very awkward to reach under the bikes to tilt the rack and then crawl out from under them.
3. Weight: a three bike 1-Up system is 64 pounds!!

I am wondering if anyone has experience with a Softride rack? It is only 21 pounds and has a super convenient tilt feature.

Hitch mounted bike rack || Alumina 3 bike rack (Lightest)

I'm sure it's fine but I will NOT hang my bikes by the top tube. Just a personal preference since just about every bike I own retails for more than what my current car is worth (OK, slight exaggeration but not by much! ).

Anyway, I will only have wheel mounted racks and the 1up seems to be the most robust. I've had issues with the tilt feature triggering at highway speeds on other similar racks and it's not comforting hearing a huge clunk and seeing your bikes fall away from the car on the freeway.

 

[Festerfeet]

I'm sure it's fine but I will NOT hang my bikes by the top tube. Just a personal preference since just about every bike I own retails for more than what my current car is worth (OK, slight exaggeration but not by much! ).

Anyway, I will only have wheel mounted racks and the 1up seems to be the most robust. I've had issues with the tilt feature triggering at highway speeds on other similar racks and it's not comforting hearing a huge clunk and seeing your bikes fall away from the car on the freeway.

This...very much this. Hanging bike racks don't have very generous space between the bikes so are not great for mountain bikes, need an adapter if your top tube is not horizontal and the rubberised straps tend to get brittle over time so need replacing or you risk losing your bikes.

Also it can be difficult to stop the bikes rubbing together.

On the other hand I have used the 1Up on a couple of occasions and will be getting one when I have a realistic date for my X. They are built like to last for years, simple to use and give peace of mind. The company stand by their products as well.

 

[goneskiian]

This...very much this. Hanging bike racks don't have very generous space between the bikes so are not great for mountain bikes, need an adapter if your top tube is not horizontal and the rubberised straps tend to get brittle over time so need replacing or you risk losing your bikes.

Also it can be difficult to stop the bikes rubbing together.

On the other hand I have used the 1Up on a couple of occasions and will be getting one when I have a realistic date for my X. They are built like to last for years, simple to use and give peace of mind. The company stand by their products as well.

And, like the X, made in America!

"America, F&*$ Yeah!"

 

[flar]

I have the Softride Dura. It's very robust, but weighs a lot more than the smaller aluminum version that you pointed to. The reason I switched to the 1Up was the amount of time it took to secure bikes to it and the fact that it hangs them from the top tube. They make you think that all you have to do is lay the bike on top of it and wrap the strap around it, but...

The straps would rub against any external cables you had.

If the top bars are not all level, the bikes are hard to get on and stick out at odd angles (I once transported a bike for some people I ran into on the trail with a flat tire - they couldn't ride home so I gave them a lift, their bikes had odd top tubes and they were balanced very precariously on the rack).

The bikes are so close together that it takes many minutes of delicate bike tetris skills to fit them all together, not counting odd fitment for bikes with angled top tubes or small triangles.

Even if the rack has an anti-sway feature (my Dura has the same one the Alumina shows), they still sway a bit and can bonk against each other so I would take to strapping them to each other. Then the wheels would turn and turn the cranks and the cranks might then start bonking against the car so I took to strapping the wheels to prevent rotation while transporting them. By the time I was done I would have about a dozen little velcro and bungee straps just to secure the bikes.

So, I was looking at 5-10 minutes of fiddling just to transport my one bike, and longer periods if I was going with a friend.

With the 1Up it is about 15 seconds to grab it and attach it to the car. Then it is about 15 seconds per bike to place them on the platform and cinch the arms down nice and tight. Then they don't move so there is no having to strap anything down to keep them from tangling or spinning and bonking things. I'm done in less than a minute and on my way.

Another difference with those Softride racks is that they attach via a bolt through the side. I found that way more fiddly to attach and detach than the rear-mounted wrench activated lockdown of the 1Up. Maybe 30 seconds for the 1Up vs. 2 minutes (and crawling underneath) for the Softride. (The main fiddliness is having to get the hole in the rack lined up with the hole in the side of the hitch so that the bolt can go through - you can generally position yourself so it is easy to see the alignment, or so that it is easy to slide the rack in and out a little without accidentally dislodging it and dropping it on something ouchy, but not both at the same time. However, I have since discovered "Hitch Bar Stop" accessories which take out all of the guesswork since you can attach them to a rack at the proper depth so you just slide the rack on until the stop hits the hitch and it's at "the right depth" right there, so YMMV...)

I still keep the Softride as a backup since technically I could take 4 bikes on it, whereas I went for only the 1+1 on the 1Up (given that I'm travelling alone 90+% of the time and only have one other bike the remaining times - until an emergency transport scenario happens out on the trail some day and then I guess I'll start throwing bikes through the hatch...).

 

[Rdainer]

can someone steal the bikes off the 1-UP rack or do you lock them down if you are going to be parked for a while?

 

[goneskiian]

can someone steal the bikes off the 1-UP rack or do you lock them down if you are going to be parked for a while?

There are options to lock your bikes to the rack and the rack to the car. 1up offers lockable skewers to put through the rack and your wheel. Another would be a good cable lock. Some hitch racks have built this into the rack but a nice long cable isn't very expensive.

1UPUSA.com Security Options

 

[Skryll]

The question is, how can you prevent the rack from being detached from a model X hitch and stolen along with the locked bikes by somebody with a truck and a strong buddy.

 

[goneskiian]

The question is, how can you prevent the rack from being detached from a model X hitch and stolen along with the locked bikes by somebody with a truck and a strong buddy.

Not sure what you're asking. The hitch locks to the car, the rack to the hitch, and the bikes to the rack.

Then again, if someone really wants something, they'll find a way to take it. All we can do is make it as hard as possible for them.