This rack is one of the only ones that combines affordability with extremely high quality *and* carries the full weight of two Juiced RipCurrfent S ebikes! It is out-of-stock almost everywhere it’s sold as soon as it’s in stock so if you need one and it’s available I highly recommend you GET ON IT NOW!
This heavy duty rack is made for a 2” hitch receptacle and won’t work with anything smaller. Anything less would probably not hold two of these 80 lb bikes and survive a road trip.
Pros:
It’s super easy to put together; I did it without reading the instructions and only had to do a couple things over because I didn’t foresee the sequence. That said the instructions are very simple to read and follow. No tools needed that aren’t included except for one bolt which requires a crescent or open-end wrench and plier or socket wrench as it isn’t the same size as the nuts the included “plug-wrench” is for.
It is HEAVY duty but not extremely heavy! I’m 62 and can easily put it on and take it off by myself. If you can lift your ebike you can install this assembled rack on your hitch.
Getting it to fit your bike is fairly simple you just adjust the sliding wheel holders until your bike fits snugly in them set fully down into them so the tire hits both front and rear contact points then tighten them in place.
The tilt-down feature will make getting into your hatchback or pickup bed easy and is easily done alone as well. Older people may want to enlist the aid of their co-rider if two bikes are on board.
The tilt-up feature for getting the rack out of the way when bikes are off the rack is simple to use and solidly locks in place.
The anti-rattle/shake feature that grips the hitch pin works really well and is easy to set once the hitch is installed and the pin in place. It pulls the pin toward the hitch pulling it tight against a welded stop on the mounting tube where it goes into the hitch effectively keeping the rack from wiggling in the hitch. It will still move but doesn’t clatter around noisily.
The provided cable lock is pretty high quality! Like any other cable it’s not going to stop a thief who has time to spend getting it off but it will keep your bike(s) safely on the rack if you’re not leaving it somewhere unattended for long. It also doubles really well as an added safety feature to wrap around your top tubes while transporting your bikes on any truck with a rack and rear crossbar; I just wrap the cable lock around my rear rack bar and the top tubes on the bikes and if there’s somehow a failure of the rack/hitch connection (pin breaks something else breaks and connection fails - highly unlikely) it will keep the rack and bikes from bouncing down the highway. It also works well for securing the rack to the vehicle by running it through the safety-chain hooks on the hitch as additional security to compliment the less-than-optimum pin lock that’s provided (more on that in Cons)
Overall considering how good this rack is the price is the final Pro it has going for it. It’s cheaper than anything else on the market that does what it does. Period. Which is why it never remains in stock for long. If you buy directly from Hollywood Racks you’ll get in line for delivery when it’s in stock which could be a while. If you buy from Amazon you’ll get it an a couple days because if it’s not in stock it says “Item Unavailable”. eTrailer.com also sells them but they run out quickly too though they do a great job of keeping in touch to let you know they haven’t forgotten about you plus they have a ton of trailer-related items on their site and really knowledgeable staff for answering questions and steering you to the right accessories for anything you may need.
The Cons:
Not too many but a couple in particular like the above-mentioned pin lock. It’s just not a confidence-inducing lock all things considered. With the anti-rattle tightening mechanism tight this hitch pin is locked in place well enough so that the pin won’t fall out while driving if the lock happens to come off (not properly installed/locked fails for some reason etc) but if the steel band that wraps the pin ever rusts it may break someday and the pin will be loose in the receiver. The lock fits loosely on the pin the cap covering the key hole doesn’t seat well over the lock and the whole thing feels just a bit like a weak point. A higher quality pin and lock would be a good investment even though those provided are of fair quality.
One thing to note is that you can install the pin end of the cable lock into the lock itself without turning the key which makes it a lot easier to lock and this may translate to the pin lock as well though I haven’t tried it yet. I mention it because getting the key into the lock while it’s under the rear of your vehicle and trying to get it seated and locked is a pain but if it pushes on this will be a much easier process.
The tightening grips on the nuts that hold the tire seats in place on the rack are set so that whe...
