provenance61 Posted May 8, 2018 Share Posted May 8, 2018 We have a Honda Odyssey and just installed a 2" tow hitch. We'd like to get a 4-bike carrier that fits on the hitch. I need something absolutely POSITIVELY EASY to load bikes onto. Ideally, I'd like to be able to lock them on the hitch if we make a stop somewhere, and also not worry about the bike rack being stolen. All I really want to do is take the kids and go to a park to bike on trails. If anyone could help or make suggestions I'd so appreciate it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 I would stop by your local bike shop and ask what’s available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 We have a Thule that locks to the hitch and also has keyed locks to secure the bikes to the carrier. No idea of the model because we’ve had it for years, but my sister just bought one and it has the same features. Love it, but it’s pricey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
provenance61 Posted May 9, 2018 Author Share Posted May 9, 2018 Thank you both! I do plan to stop at some area bike shops. But I'm also hoping to get comments like Annie's about what features to look for. We rushed into getting a car-mount carrier for 2 bikes on our sedan some years back. Oh my goodness! Even my husband had difficulty getting the bikes secured onto it. It was just unmanageable. Going for a bike ride seemed to require more preparation and fiddling than an expedition across the Sahara. So we went rarely if ever. I don't want to spend MORE money and end up like that. And, now I have a bit more issues with lifting and the kids' bikes are bigger. Lately we've been trying to load bikes into the cargo area -- but really it doesn't work well. We need a carrier. I have heard many good things about Thules, that's one name I know. Now I'll know to look for locking features like this. Hopefully I'll be able to find one in our budget. Thanks again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 Three things I would take note of before buying: 1. Some straps are more difficult than others to use. We once had a bike carrier with rubber straps with holes that you pulled around the bike frames to secure on buttons (for lack of a better word). I found the strength needed to get these tight enough to prevent the bikes from bouncing around to be too much for me. I do better with a buckle system. 2. The size and type of bike will matter in the bike rack "tetris" required. Some kids bikes do not mesh well with bigger bikes. Usually this can be fixed by figuring out the direction of each bike to make them fit well (sometimes turning a kid bike upside down helps too), but not always. Dd's kids' mountain bike had too little clearance between the top bar and the rest of the frame to get it on the rack properly so we had to stow hers inside the car until she upgraded to an adult bike. The worse they "mesh," the more scratched up they will get, if that matters to you. Physically taking your bikes with you to the shop to test out or getting a rack from a place with a very good return policy will be important. We visited an REI that had them set up so we could try them all out. It turned out the one we thought would be perfect just did not work well with our particular bikes. 3. Some hitch mounted racks have all of the bikes on one side of the post and others split the bikes back and front. I would go for the split if possible. Less bouncing of the whole rack when driving and it makes the "tetris" easier, IMO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimom Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 They are pricey, but hands down the best and easiest bike racks are 1Ups.... Once the rack is on your car (installed in your hitch), your bike is loaded in about 10 seconds and SECURE. They are heavy but install easily and quickly in the hitch and from what I remember 1Up guarantees the rack will not be stolen or they will replace it. My sister had one first and I loved it so much I got rid of my Saris rack and purchased one. Bikers that has see mine always ask about it. They are only available from the website as far as I know. https://www.1up-usa.com Buy the $19 wheel locks for each bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimomma Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 17 minutes ago, ZiMom said: They are pricey, but hands down the best and easiest bike racks are 1Ups.... Once the rack is on your car (installed in your hitch), your bike is loaded in about 10 seconds and SECURE. They are heavy but install easily and quickly in the hitch and from what I remember 1Up guarantees the rack will not be stolen or they will replace it. My sister had one first and I loved it so much I got rid of my Saris rack and purchased one. Bikers that has see mine always ask about it. They are only available from the website as far as I know. https://www.1up-usa.com Buy the $19 wheel locks for each bike. I have seen these and wondered about them. But it looks like they hold no more than 2 bikes? Is that correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 We have this Thule rack and have been very pleased. The instructions tell you how to load the bikes (by weight and which way to alternate handlebar directions). One thing you will want to look at is how the bike swings away from the hatch. The one I linked lowers down, but not all the way to the ground (you can see it on the link when you click through the photos). We can fully open our hatch with no problem as long as there are no bikes on it. We can't open the hatch at all with the bikes on it. Some racks swing to the side, which means you don't have to unload the bikes. If you plan to take your bikes on a lot of road trips, this might be important to you. I looked at a few different places for the rack, and if I recall correctly, they all priced the same for the rack, but check your local area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimom Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 1 hour ago, skimomma said: I have seen these and wondered about them. But it looks like they hold no more than 2 bikes? Is that correct? Yes and no. You would need to purchase the double bike rack with two add-ons making it a 4 bike rack. It starts to really add up. I have just the double. https://www.1up-usa.com/product-category/bike-racks/ Double bike rack https://www.1up-usa.com/product-category/bike-racks/add-ons/ Add-on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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