BlackBoost

Hitch-mount racks are nice, but I think 4 bikes would be heavy and it would sway around a lot.


Only 2 on mine but I also use ratchet straps which stops it from moving at all. This style also straps the wheels in to keep them from moving.

KevinInTexas

I work for a bike company and am often carrying 4+ bikes at once. I am totally for the tailgate pads if you are carrying mountain bikes. They work great until you also need to fill your bed with stuff (i.e. going on trips with the family and you want to take your bikes also). Right now I have a Yakima Bed Rider with 4 Kuat Trio trays across the top of my bed. I also have a One Up heavy duty hitch mount. It is hands-down the best hitch mount out there. Very stable and holds nearly any tire size. Con, it's expensive. With out doubt you should get a tray style rack. The Kuat NV 2.0 and Thule T2 are excellent hitch racks. Again, do not go for the cheaper racks that just strap around the top tube, especially if you are carrying 2+ bikes.

Kingofwylietx

You should expand on that and educate us, since you appear to have experience with different types of racks.

-What is the advantage of a tray style?

-What is the major flaw with top tube style inexpensive racks when carrying 2+ bikes?

I don't mind spending more money for good reasons....I just don't know what they might be.

BlackBoost

I read about a lot of different styles of racks before buying mine and found out a few things.


The tray style (same with the type I posted above) keeps the weight of the bike on the wheels, like a bike is designed to do. This is especially important if you have suspension.


Which also leads to the top-tube only mounts issues. For one, if you have suspension, you're letting the suspension "top out" (opposite of bottoming out) which is not good, and also why you don't use a full suspension bike for doing jumps. The top-tubes also let the bikes sway and knock into eachother, and don't keep the handlebars from turning. The cheaper ones also only have one long clamp for all 4 tubes of each bike. So if the tubes are different sizes, you won't get equal clamping force on them all. They also pinch the cable/hydraulic brake lines that run along the top tubes if your bike is designed that way.


There's another style out there that looks like a "V" where you hang the bikes upside down from the wheels. These are the worst. Even if you don't have suspension, one loose wheel nut means your fork will come out and the bike will hit the ground. WITH suspension, not only are you topping-out the suspension, but you're doing it with the weight of the bike pulling on the stanchions hard. This is really really not good.


If you have a tray rack like mine where the wheel are strapped in, there's also a few things to consider when strapping it in if you have suspension. For one, make sure the wheels are strapped in tight. Make sure your suspension is NOT locked if you have that option. And don't press that top holder down onto the top bar so hard that it compresses your suspension. You don't want the suspension to be partially compressed the entire trip (a tiny bit is fine though, like 1/4"). The bottom straps will hold the bike just fine. The top bar is just to keep the bike from moving side-to-side.


I did lots of reading and found all this out during my research. I really didn't want to damage my Fox shocks and have to replace them because of the rack...


Hope that helps.