The best bike racks for cars mean that you’ve got the flexibility to take your bike with you to ride further afield, be that for events and races, for a vacation, a trip to the trailhead or bike park, or simply because you want to ride somewhere different.
Whichever you choose, you’ll need to be able to attach your bike easily enough that you’re not spending ages mounting and dismounting it, but securely enough that it won’t work loose on rough roads. You also need to ensure it’s not easy for a thief to remove if you stop for a break.
It’s worth thinking about how much lifting you need to do too. If you’ve got a lightweight bike, lifting it onto the roof of a car might not be too much effort, so one of the best roof bike racks might be a good option, but if you’re riding an electric bike and driving an SUV, roof mounting could be back-breaking work. In this case, a hitch-mounted rack might be a better option. Of course, those whose cars don’t have a tow hitch will be best served by the best trunk bike racks.
Whichever you choose, there are a lot of things that separate the best bike racks from the rest, so making a decision might at first feel overwhelming. Luckily for you, we’ve done a lot of the hard work for you. We’ve spent years testing all bike racks to find which offer the best build quality, security, ease of use and more, and we’ve rounded up what we think are the best bike racks available for each different type of mount.
Fear not, if you get through our list and you’re still a little unsure, at the bottom of the page there’s a buyer’s guide on how to choose the right one for you.
Best bike racks that mount to a hitch or tow-ball
Tow ball, or tow hitch, based racks are not the cheapest option but they are often the most convenient and accessible to most people. Trucks and larger vehicles will come with a 2in receiver tube. However, even if your vehicle doesn’t have anything from the factory, there’s almost always a retrofit kit available. You’ll want to look for a quality system that mounts to the frame rails and not the bumper and what’s available will depend on the tow ratings for the vehicle in question.
Keep in mind that in the US, a 1 1/4 receiver tube can be one of two different types of receivers. Both class 1 and class 2 hitches use the same size but they are different. You’ll want to search carefully to see what the rack manufacturers rate their racks for. A class 1 hitch limits the insertion depth and, in some cases, even if a…
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