Show me your rack!

We have a yakima stickup.......no problems whatsoever 3 years running and it NEVER comes off of our bumper year 'round.  It can be used with a 1 inch or 2 inch hitch.  I would highly recommend it but have no experience with your other choice.

Here's an action photo.

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Thanks LB, I was hoping someone would have experience with that model. 

I have found 2 problems in online reviews.

1. Some say the rubber on the hook wears out very quickly and then you have metal rubbing the bike frame. 

I assume that could be remedied with a small towel or something between hook and frame. Have you had any rubbing issues? Paint marring from the hook?

2. They say if you don't crank down hard on the hook the front tire can come out of the front wheel track and then the bike is able to come loose and potentially fall off. Ever had any issue with this? Do you have to clamp down hard on it? 

Both of my bikes are carbon, so if it works alright with your carbon bikes it should be fine for my purposes. And like I said, I really prefer the $225 price tag over the $450. 

Originally posted by Clarkey77 Top down - leave the bikes in the back seat

Haha, I have done that. It fits if the front wheel is off. However I am not sure this is a great solution for the 9 hour drive to my IM this summer.

That is my reason for the tray mount style rather than the traditional tuning fork style.

I was given a really cheap p.o.s. harbor freight fork style rack. My roadie rode that for an 8 hour trip. I had to adjust 3-4 times as the bike kept moving back and forth on the fork, and in one heavy wind it got a bit dicey. I used that rack for a 12 mile drive the other day with my p2c and given the wide profile of the P2C, the bike was swinging away from the car, like a sail. Definitely not comfortable with that style of rack.

However I think the tray racks should work okay. Most of the bike will be behind the trunk of the car and the tray racks look very stable. I am just worried about rubbing the paint with the one and my wallet with the other. 

Do you have the gray one or the new and improved black rack?

I read that complaint about the older gray version. Supposedly it is fixed on the new black version. Also the black one comes with cable locks built into the arms which is a nice feature.

Yeah, #1 is true.....and we solve it just like you said.  But, I've had other racks and always cover the contact points on a carbon frame with something.  In this case we use a small piece of chamois.

I've never experienced #2, but I have alwasy crankes the bar down pretty hard.  I suppose if you don't that COULD happen......but it's definately not something that would happen wtih normal use.

Good idea on the chamois. I was trying to think of the best material to not scratch paint, was thinking microfiber towel but i bet chamois would work even better. 

Couple more questions.

1. Some say the hitch sways a lot, ie does not fit tight in the receiver. Mine would be the 1 1/4" so not as big a problem. But I thought the threaded hitch pin was supposed to stop the movement. Does yours move around? Are people just not tightening the hitch pin down enough?

2. Is there a way to lock the hitch pin so you can't take the rack off?

Thanks for the help. Based on my research and your good review it looks like I might be going with this rack and saving myself $225.

We have a SportRack version which is very similar to the stickup:

http://www.amazon.com/SportRack-Hitch-Platform-Bike-Rack/dp/B0036O84SM

The padding on the arm that touches the frame is very thick and I can't see it wearing out.  Comes with locks for the arms and for the hitch pin.

The bike is held in place with the ratcheting locking arm and with wheel straps, so you can't rack the bike with a rear disc or aero covers.  Not sure if you would want to anyway.

Great rack and no complaints so far.

A friend that I go riding with in the summers also has a convertible and uses the stick-up version... I don't think either of us have had any issues whatsoever with anything happening to our bikes, and they feel really secure at the back of the car...

Thanks for the input, I like the foam insulation idea. I shouldn't be so anal about my bikes, but if I can avoid paint damage I will definitely try!

Thanks for the review on the Thelma too. I did some research on that and it looks like it might not work the best with my P2 and I read the same thing you stated. The plastic bends after a while and becomes unstable. There will be a lot of wind if we put the top down so I definitely need something sturdy. 

Thanks for the review and pic Monica. That looks like the Hollywood brand that I have looked at online. Same idea, looks like it might hold the front wheel a bit better and it is even a bit cheaper. Thanks!

No problem, glad I could help!! 

If you want to know more about it - it's a BTer that has the rack so you might want to PM Whizzz for her input.  As far as I can tell though, it's been a really good one & she uses it almost every weekend in the summers.    

One quick question. It looks like the two hooks are joined together so they slide up and down together? So you have to put both bikes up there, hold them in place and then lower the hooks over both bikes at the same time?

Thanks

NVM: found another pic and it looks like they move separately. 

I bought this Nashbar version similar to the stickup.  It was a grand total of $105 shipped with one of their holiday specials on top of the sale price.

I also have one of these Yakima Fullswing racks, an older model but works great for long distance FL-NY trips with the family bikes on the SUV:

Nah, I crank my threaded pin down and it doesn't sway. (maybe a tad but I don't want it to be completely rigid so that it doesn't eat any road vibration)  We've hauled our bikes across the country numerous times with no issues.  I don't think there is a way to lock it so you can't steal the hitch, but apparently nobody wanted it in the 3 years we've had it......probably due to the bad reviews you noted.

Or perhaps because they see you get out of the Suburban with a gun on your hip!

Thanks for the info. My LBS is a Yakima dealer so I may just have to have them order me a Stickup.