If you need to transport 5, 6, or 7 bikes, the best way to do it is with a vertical bike rack. There certainly are other benefits to vertical racks, but carrying a full fleet of bikes is why most bikers opt in to this newer style of car bike rack.
In this article, we’ll cover nine vertical hitch bike racks available in the US today, offering you comparisons to help you understand how they’re different, which differences matter, and which rack is best for your needs.
We’ve personally tested the 6 most popular options and will offer you details and insights you just won’t find anywhere else.
Best Vertical Hitch Bike Racks
All racks listed can accommodate 24″ bikes to 29″ bikes. How (and if) they can carry smaller kids’ bikes, fat bikes, and road bikes is detailed in the individual review summaries below.
| Model | Capacity | Weight Limit (6 Bike) | 6 Bike MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|
| WHEEL BASKETS: Most versatile style | |||
| Velocirax | 3 - 7 | 55 lbs per bike, 230 lbs max | $935 |
| Alta Rack - Original | 3 - 6 | 50 lbs per bike, 300 lbs max | $1,279 |
| Alta Rack - Superior | 4 - 7 | 60 lbs per bike, 350 lbs max | $1,750 |
| HANDLEBARS: Higher lifting required | |||
| Yakima HangTight | 4 or 6 | 37.5 lbs per bike, 225 lbs max | $1,099 |
| Lolo Racks | 4 or 6 | 200 lbs max | $890 |
| SUSPENSION FORK CROWN: For use with front suspension fork | |||
| Yakima HangOver | 4 or 6 | 37.5 lbs per bike, 225 lbs max | $949 |
| North Shore Racks | 2, 4, or 6 | 60 lbs per bike, 300 lbs max | $899 |
| OTHERS TO CONSIDER | |||
| 1-up Recon | 5 or 6 | 45 lbs per bike, 270 lbs max | $1,400 |
VERTICAL BIKE RACKS
Interested in a specific style of rack? Click the table of contents below to jump down.
Quick Tips for Choosing a Vertical Bike Rack
If you’re seriously considering purchasing a vertical hitch bike rack, we highly recommend you read each rack’s mini review below. But if you’re not interested in the long version, here’s a quick summary of what you generally need to be looking for.
HOW THE BIKES HANG
There are three common styles of vertical bike rack, classified by how they hang the bikes. (1) Front wheel baskets, (2) Handlebars, (3) Suspension fork crown. We have found the front wheel basket style to be the most versatile and easiest to load. In each section below, we’ll go into the pros and cons of the three styles.
HOW MANY BIKES
Most vertical bike racks carry up to 6 bikes, while a few can carry 7. If you currently only need to carry 4 bikes but might need to carry more in the future, look for a rack that is easy to upgrade the total bike capacity.
E-BIKES
E-bikes are heavy, and not all racks can accommodate them (or can only accommodate a few at a time). Pay close attention to the per-bike weight limit as well as the total weight limit of the rack.
KIDS BIKES
All vertical racks listed here can accommodate 24″ bikes and larger. Racks that hang the bikes by their handlebars can also fit 16″ and smaller, but you do have to make some DIY accommodations.
FENDERS
Do your bikes have fenders you don’t want to remove? Handlebar-hanging racks are your best option.
PARKING IN YOUR GARAGE
If your vehicle has a higher hitch (most large SUVs have a high hitch), the rack may sit too high above your car’s roof line to park in the garage. Additionally, some vertical racks are taller than others and wouldn’t fit in your garage despite how tall your hitch is. Check our individual reviews below if this is important to you!
Pulling into your garage with your bikes loaded is probably not going to happen on any vertical rack.
GROUND CLEARANCE
If your car has a hitch that’s lower to the ground (mini vans, smaller SUVs), the rack’s tow arm may bottom out on steep driveways or road dips. Be sure to read about the Alta Rack, which has a special design to prevent this.
WEIGHT CAPACITY
We absolutely recommend following an individual rack’s weight capacity limits (per bike and overall), but it’s also important to know that there are no testing standards for these racks. How a manufacture decides and tests their weight limits are up to them, with no third party validation.
WINTER SPORTS CONVERSION KITS
Both the Alta and the Velocirax offer winter conversion kits to allow you to transport skis and snowboards on their racks.
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS OF VERTICAL BIKE RACKS OVER PLATFORM RACKS
(1)Better visibility out your rear window, especially unloaded
(2) Tail lights are usually more visible when loaded and unloaded
(3) Usually offer better spacing for less potential contact between bikes
(4) Some styles can carry 16″ bikes or smaller
(5) If you only need 4 bike capacity, less expensive than high-end platform racks
VERTICAL BIKE RACKS – Wheel Baskets
Wheel Basket Overview
HOW IT WORKS: Vertical racks with wheel baskets hang the bikes by the front wheel. There is no frame, fork, or handlebar contact with your bike.
BIKE COMPATIBILITY: This style is highly versatile. While you do need to order the right baskets to fit your wheel diameter and tire width, we’ve found wheel baskets generally fit most bikes quite easily.
Racks that hang bikes by the handlebars may not fit with common non-MTB handlebar designs. With racks that hang the bikes by the suspension fork crown, if you have a bike without a suspension fork, you may not be able to carry it.
EASE OF USE: The mast of the rack tilts toward the ground to lower the baskets for loading, making loading the bikes a task our tween kids have been able to do on their own. (They don’t have the strength or height to lift bikes high enough to load a handlebar-hanging rack like the Yakima HangTight.)
The mast also tilts when fully loaded with bikes for rear hatch access at any time.
VelociRAX
Key Selling Point: Hydraulic dampening system for lowering bikes
VELOCIRAX QUICK FACTS
MSRP (6 bike): $935
CAPACITY: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 bikes
WEIGHT CAPACITY: 55 lbs. per bike, 230 lbs. total
TRUNK ACCESS: Yes, when loaded or unloaded
PARKING IN YOUR GARAGE: Rack height from bottom of the hitch bar to top of the tire basket is 58″. Likely that it will have enough vertical clearance for an average garage.
STORING IN YOUR GARAGE: The bike baskets make the rack cumbersome to store on the garage floor. The Velocirax comes with a system to mount the rack to your garage wall, making it a garage storage rack as well!
AVAILABLE ADD-ONS: Light Bar, Winter ski/snowboard conversion kit, Rolling Base, Integrated Cable Lock
Why a Velocirax?
Many families and crews are choosing Velocirax for its high quality construction and easier-to-swallow price tag. While not as fine-tuned at the more expensive Alta Racks, the Velocirax does a solid job for a very fair price.
The most unique selling point for Velocirax is its hydraulic dampening system. While several vertical racks can lower to the ground while loaded, the Velocirax’s system allows you to slowly lower a fully loaded rack to unload the bikes (or just to access the rear hatch of your car if you forgot to put something in there before you loaded all your bikes up!)
The Velocirax is also the most affordable option for transporting 7 bikes.
Like most vertical bike racks, the hinge point of the Velocirax’s tow arm and vertical mast can bottom out steep driveways or dips if your car has a lower hitch (smaller SUVs, minivans, etc.). If you will be keeping your rack on your car most of the time and are worried about clearance, you should consider upgrading to the more expensive Alta Rack.
Bike Compatibility
TIRE BASKETS
- Standard Basket: Fit 24″ – 29″ tires up to 3.1″ wide
- Fat Tire Basket: Tires up to 5″ wide, will work with 20″ fat tires
- Small Wheel Basket: Fits 20″ kids bikes. Can be modified with a pool noodle to haul 16″ bikes in a pinch
EBIKES: As many as will fit under weight capacity limits
ROAD BIKES: 4 on a 7 capacity, 5 on the 5x
Alta Racks
Key Selling Point: Highly customizable and more ground clearance
ALTA RACKS QUICK FACTS
MSRP (6 bike): $1,279
CAPACITY: 3, 4, 5, 6 bikes
WEIGHT CAPACITY: 50 lbs. per bike, 300 lbs. total
TRUNK ACCESS: Yes, when loaded or unloaded
PARKING IN YOUR GARAGE: Rack height from bottom of the hitch bar to top of the tire basket is 56″ (in middle height position). Likely that it will have enough vertical clearance for an average garage.
STORING IN YOUR GARAGE: The bike baskets make the rack cumbersome to store on the garage floor. Alta Racks sells a mobile floor stand. They don’t recommend a DIY solution of hanging it on the wall. The rack plus the weight of the bikes is likely too much for the studs.
AVAILABLE ADD-ONS: Swing Out Hitch Arm, Winter Sport Conversion Kit, Work Stand
Why an Alta Rack?
Of all of the vertical bike racks we’ve tested, the Alta Rack is the easiest to use. With the most features and the most customization, it’s also the most expensive. But well worth the price if you can expand your budget.
We encourage you to read our full review to really understand the benefits of the Alta, but here are the four features we think make the biggest difference compared to other racks.
(1) High ground clearance – the tow arm angles upward so that the hinge point where it meets the vertical mast is much higher off the ground than other vertical racks. As a result, we have never bottomed out the Alta Rack on a steep incline or big dip, even when on our lower hitch vehicles. We keep our racks on our cars almost all of the time, so this is a huge deal for us.
(2) Adjustable height – the top horizontal bar can be lowered to bring the bikes closer to the ground. For tall vehicles with high hitches, this makes loading the bikes and pushing the loaded rack up to vertical significantly easier.
(3) Fits a wide range of bikes – wheels basket options fit just about any wheel size, and they also easily slide along the horizontal top bar to adjust spacing between bikes as needed. 20″ baskets are a great fit for every 20″ bike we’ve tested.
(4) Retractable stabilization straps – an optional feature, these straps are an additional connection point between the rack and the crossbars on your car’s roof. When traveling at highway speeds, and especially on bumpy terrain (like fire roads), these straps minimize movement of the rack for a smoother ride.
Bike Compatibility
TIRE BASKETS – Baskets fits all Alta racks and are interchangeable. For example, a 6 capacity rack can hold up to 6 baskets of any size.
- General Tires Basket: Fit 24″ – 29″ tires up to 2.9″ wide. 24″ and 26″ wheels will need a wheel choke for best fit.
- Mid Tire Basket: Fit 24″ – 29″ tires up to 3.8″ wide.
- Fat Tire Basket: Tires up to 5.8″ wide.
- GROM Kids Basket: Fits 18″ and 20″ kids bikes with tires up to 2.8″ wide (Fits most standards kids bikes. Can be modified with a pool noodle to fit a 16″ bike in a pinch)
- Mid-fat GROM: Fits 18″ and 20″ kids bikes with tires up to 3.8″ wide (Fits most 20″ fat tire bikes ex: RadPower RadRunner)
EBIKES: As many as can fit under the 300 pound weight limit.
ROAD BIKES: 4 on a 6 capacity
Alta Racks Superior
Key Selling Point: Extra durability for lots of heavy ebikes or a 7th bike
ALTA RACKS SUPERIOR QUICK FACTS
MSRP (6 bike): $1,750
CAPACITY: 4, 5, 6, 7 bikes
WEIGHT CAPACITY: 60 lbs. per bike, 350 lbs. total
TRUNK ACCESS: Yes, when loaded or unloaded
PARKING IN YOUR GARAGE: Rack height from bottom of the hitch bar to top of the tire basket is 56″ (in middle height position). Likely that it will have enough vertical clearance for an average garage.
STORING IN YOUR GARAGE: The bike baskets make the rack cumbersome to store on the garage floor. Alta Racks sells a mobile floor stand.
Why an Alta Rack Superior?
The Alta Rack Superior has all the benefits of the original Alta Rack, but has additional supports to raise its total weight capacity to an unmatched 350 lbs! Considering some emtb can weigh 50+ lbs., the Superior is the only rack that can easily haul 7 full-size ebikes without skipping a beat (when used with their ebike straps).
The Superior features the same hitch arm and mast as the original Alta, but has a longer top and bottom horizontal bar, as well as additional angled side supports. All Alta racks can also be upgraded to a Superior rack via their upgrade kit.
The Superior utilizes all the same tire baskets as the Alta outlined above.
VERTICAL HITCH BIKE RACKS – HANDLEBARS
Handlebar Hanging Vertical Racks Overview
HOW IT WORKS: These racks hang the bike’s handlebars (around the stem) in a pair of narrow u-shaped padded cradles.
BIKE COMPATIBILITY: While you don’t have to worry about wheel size or tire width, unique shaped handlebars may not be a good fit in the cradles. Prior to purchase, it’s hard to tell if your unique bars will work or not.
Handlebar racks do have the advantage of being able to carry many 16″, 14″, and 12″ kids bikes if they have relatively flat handlebars. (Although the rear wheel won’t be able to reach the bottom horizontal bar, and you’ll have to secure it with a bungee cord.)
These racks are also some of the only racks on the market that can pretty easily accommodate bikes with fenders, because the primary point of securing the bikes is the handlebars, not the front wheel.
However, the rear wheel fender will have to lay against the rack, and potentially could get damaged… but we’ve seen pictures of bike owners putting a piece of foam (like a pool noodle) between the fender and the rack when tied down.
Handlebar hanging racks have the lowest per bike and overall weight capacity of any vertical bike rack style. If you own or plan to own e-bikes, this style is not your best bet.
EASE OF USE: The process of loading bikes on handlebar vertical racks is a bit awkward. You must lift the bike up over your head and turn it so the handlebars can drop into the cradles.
While you do get used to this, it is never easier than loading a bike into wheel baskets. If you are short, have a high hitch, or weak upper body strength, you should consider a different style of vertical rack.
Yakima HangTight
Key Selling Point: Can remove a bike from the middle
YAKIMA HANGTIGHT QUICK FACTS
MSRP (6 bike): $1,099
CAPACITY: 4 or 6 bikes
WEIGHT CAPACITY: 70 lb. per bike on center cradles, 37.5 lbs. per bike on outer cradles, 225 lbs. total (for 6-bike)
TRUNK ACCESS: Only when unloaded
PARKING IN YOUR GARAGE: The HangTight is taller than other vertical hitch racks, approximately 65″ from bottom of hitch to top of handlebar cradle. We were not able to park in the garage with our low-hitch Honda Pilot. You can lower the mast to park inside, but it requires tools and is not convenient if you’ll need to lower and raise it often.
Why a Yakima HangTight?
Compared to the Alta Rack and Velocirax, the Yakima HangTight isn’t as fine tuned and is harder to load. So why might you want a Yakima anyways?
In our experience, there are three compelling reasons.
(1) You can buy it at REI and get all of the amazing customer service that goes with that. Additionally, if you’re an REI member, dividend baby!
(2) You can load bikes with wheels as small as 12″. If you have many years of littles in your future and don’t want to deal with putting 12″, 14″, and 16″ bikes inside your vehicle, the HangTight is a solid solution.
(3) The wider spacing between bikes makes it possible to unload a bike out of the middle. The Velocirax 5x is also great for this, but if you need to carry 6 bikes, go for the HangTight.
Bike Compatibility
WHEEL SIZE: Best fit for 20″ to 29″
HANDLEBARS: Flat MTB style handlebars are the best fit, but other styles may also fit. See our full review for images and discussion.
KIDS BIKES: Many 16″, 14″, and 12″ bikes can also be mounted on this rack. For 14″ and 12″ bikes with shorter wheelbases, you will need a bungee cord to connect the rear wheel to the lower horizontal mounting bar.
EBIKES: 70 lbs. weight capacity for two center cradles are great for full size ebikes, but the two outer cradles are limited with a 37.5 lbs. weight capacity per bike.
ROAD BIKES: 4 on a 6 capacity, handlebar cradles can be re-positioned for a better fit.
Lolo Rack
Key Selling Point: Can fit bikes as small as 12″
LOLO RACK QUICK FACTS
MSRP (6 bike): $890
CAPACITY: 4 or 6 bikes
WEIGHT CAPACITY: 50 lbs. per bike on two center hooks, 39 lbs. other hooks, 220 lbs. total
TRUNK ACCESS: Best when unloaded. Can technically lower it when loaded, but it’s tricky.
PARKING IN YOUR GARAGE: From bottom of the hitch tow arm to top of handlebar cradle is 64″. This is much higher than a wheel-hanging vertical rack, so measure your garage opening and car before you buy.
Why a Lolo Rack?
This is one of the vertical bike racks we haven’t had the chance to test yet, so we can’t speak to the specifics of loading or functional use.
But from the many forums and reviews out there, we’ve heard many parents fanatically rave about how easy it is to carry small kids bikes – as small as 12″.
It’s also the most affordable rack on our list, especially if you live in the Portland area and can pick it up to avoid shipping.
Bike Compatibility
WHEEL SIZE: Any wheel size, but handlebar shape must be considered.
HANDLEBARS: Flat bars are a natural fit, but some swooping bars may have issues.
EBIKES: 2 bikes max, on the center brackets which have a higher weight limit (50 lbs. vs. 39 lbs.)
ROAD BIKES: 4 on a 6 capacity
VERTICAL HITCH BIKE RACKS – SUSPENSION FORK CROWN
HANG BY SUSPENSION FORK CROWN OVERVIEW
HOW IT WORKS: These MTB bike racks hang bikes on a set of narrow prongs that fit in the space between the top of your front tire and your suspension fork crown.
BIKE COMPATIBILITY: This style is the least versatile rack. It’s meant for hardtail and full suspension mountain bikes, 20″ to 29″. If you plan to also carry road bikes, casual bikes, or cruiser bikes, these racks aren’t really designed for that. You may be able to get non-suspension bikes to fit, but it will depend on the brand of rack and the geometry of your bike.
As far as small kids bikes go, we’ve seen videos of parents mounting bikes as small as 12″, but because this wasn’t the intended design, your bikes may or may not work.
EASE OF USE: Like handlebar-hanging racks, you have to lift the bikes up over your head to load the bikes via the suspension fork crown. But unlike the handlebar bike racks, you don’t have to also turn the bike in mid-air, so that’s a win.
How difficult loading and unloading will be is highly dependent on your car’s hitch height, which determines how tall the rack is. (Although both the Yakima and North Shore are height-adjustable to accommodate lower or higher hitch vehicles.)
Other factors to consider are how tall you are, how much upper body strength you have, and how heavy your bikes are (do you really want to lift a 50 pound ebike in the air?)
Yakima HangOver
Key Selling Point: Best for Yakima Fans with only Full Suspension Bikes
YAKIMA HANGOVER QUICK FACTS
MSRP (6 bike): $949
CAPACITY: 4 or 6 bikes
WEIGHT CAPACITY: 37.5 lbs. per bike, 225 lbs. total (6 bike)
TRUNK ACCESS: Only when unloaded
PARKING IN YOUR GARAGE: The mast can be shortened without the need for tools. If it doesn’t fit in your garage fully extended, you can lower it.
Why a Yakima HangOver?
The Yakima HangOver was one of the first vertical bike racks on the market (Yakima actually claims to be the first!), but there has been a lot of innovation by other brands in the years following. While the HangOver may be a great option for very specific uses, it lacks versatility.
The 37.5 pound per bike weight limit will be plenty for your average mountain bike, but if you’re looking to haul ebikes, it may become an issue.
While we haven’t tested the HangOver ourselves, Yakima is pretty clear that you can only carry bike with a single crown suspension fork. If these are the only style of bikes that will ever be in your stable, go for it, but if you may need to carry different styles of bikes, this is not the option for you.
Bike Compatibility
WHEEL SIZE: 20″ to 29″, MUST HAVE A SUSPENSION FORK
EBIKES: With only 37.5 lb. weight capacity per bike, this is not your best option for ebikes.
ROAD BIKES: No
North Shore Racks
Key Selling Point: Vertical mast folds down for rear window visibility
NORTH SHORE 2023 QUICK FACTS
MSRP (6 bike): $899
CAPACITY: 2, 4, or 6 bikes
WEIGHT CAPACITY: 60 lbs. per bike, 300 lbs. total
TRUNK ACCESS: Best when unloaded, but possible when loaded. Depending on your hitch height and how you have the rack height set, the rear tires of the bikes may come into contact with the ground, with the weight of the rack resting on the bikes.
PARKING IN YOUR GARAGE: The vertical mast folds in half for easier storage in the garage, or for driving around town without bikes.
Why a North Shore Rack?
North Shore was also early into the vertical rack game and has built up a fair sized following over the years. While hanging bikes by the fork crown is considered by many to be old technology, you’ll still find plenty of passionate NSR fans who insist that it’s better than hanging by the handlebars or the wheel. (Read the comments section at the bottom of this Pink Bike article for a passionate discussion!)
Compared to the Yakima HangOver, the North Shore is more versatile. With a 60 pound per bike weight limit, the North Shore is quite capable of carrying ebikes, but lifting that ebike up and over your head for loading may be a bit arduous.
Additionally, while the North Shore is designed mainly for bikes with front suspension forks, they do claim you can carry many rigid fork bikes as well. (See below for bike compatibility.) Also, in fall 2022 they debuted their Road Bike Adapter that can be used with bikes with 9 mm or 12 mm axles, but you do have to remove the front wheel to use it.
Our favorite feature of this rack is that the vertical mast can fold in half while not in use. This would completely free up your rear-view window visibility, as well as make it more compact for garage storage.
We also found that positioning a 20″ hardtail next to a 29er was an easy fit, while this same combo on our Alta Rack doesn’t work. If you’ll need to carry a 20″ next to your full size mountain bikes, you should highly consider the NSR.
Bike Compatibility
WHEEL SIZE: 20″ to 29″, ideally with a suspension fork. Bikes without suspension forks may fit if there is 3″ between fork blades and 3/4″ between tire and fork crown. Bikes with v-brakes may have an issue with the rack’s cradle prongs contacting the cables or calipers.
KIDS BIKES: The website states that they’ve used the North Shore with 12″ and 16″ bikes (without a suspension fork) as long as there is 3″ between fork blades and 3/4″ between tire and fork crown. In our large fleet of kids bikes, there were only a few that met these required measurements.
We tested the 20″ rigid Cleary Owl, which was a surprisingly solid fit. But when loading a 14″ bike that technically fit, the rack’s cradle prong was in direct contact with the brake arm, making it a no-go for us.
EBIKES: With 60 lb. weight capacity per bike and 300 lbs. total, this is an affordable option for carrying a lot of ebikes. Remember that you have to lift the bikes over your head to load them, so the loading process may be difficult.
ROAD BIKES: Yes, with new Road Bike Adapter for 9mm or 12mm front axles. Requires removing front wheel.
OTHER VERTICAL BIKE RACKS
In the interest of covering every vertical bike rack available in the US, here are two other options you could consider.
1up Recon
Key Selling Point: For 1up or Recon fans
1up RECON QUICK FACTS
MSRP (6 bike): $1,400
CAPACITY: 5 or 6 bikes
WEIGHT CAPACITY: 45 lbs. per bike, 270 lbs. total (6-bike)
TRUNK ACCESS: Yes, when loaded or unloaded
PARKING IN YOUR GARAGE: Rack height from bottom of the hitch bar to top of the tire basket is 57.3 – 62.3″ (depending on the chosen height setting).
Why a 1up Recon?
The 1up Recon (formerly just Recon) belongs in the wheel-hanging category. While the Recon was the first wheel-hanging vertical bike rack that we know of, it now trails behind its competitors in features and functionality.
More expensive than the Velocirax and the Alta Rack, it’s hard to find a reason to purchase the Recon over these other racks. While we haven’t tested the Recon ourselves, our research hasn’t turned up any reasons that make this rack better.
We do appreciate that it has 3 height settings to adjust for the height of your vehicle (like the Alta Rack), but we find the method for strapping bikes down to be a bit cumbersome, which you can see here.
If you have a 1up Recon and love it, please let us know why in the comments below!
Bike Compatibility
TIRE BASKETS
- Standard baskets: Fit 24″ – 29″ tires up to 3″ wide
- Fat tire baskets: Wheels 24″ – 29″, tires up to 5.1″ wide
- Kids bike basket: For 20″ and 24″
EBIKES: As many as will fit under weight capacity limits
ROAD BIKES: Yes, but handlebar shape will decrease your total bike capacity
Tote’m
No Longer Sold New, But Possible Second Hand Option
TOT’EM QUICK FACTS
MSRP (6 bike): $449 (no longer sold new)
CAPACITY: 6 bikes
WEIGHT CAPACITY: 200 lbs. total
TRUNK ACCESS: Yes, when loaded or unloaded
PARKING IN YOUR GARAGE: We could not park in our garage with the Tote’m mast fully extended. After unloading bikes, you can remove the top half of the mast. This makes it possible to park in the garage, and is also convenient for rear window visibility when driving around town.
STORING IN YOUR GARAGE: The Tote’m folds up very small and can fit in a large canvas bag (provided by Tote’m). It is also lightweight, and can easily be stored in the trunk of your car! However, it can also be converted to vertical garage storage with the purchase of the optional floor stand.
Why a Tote’m Rack?
While the Totem Bike Rack is pretty basic compared to other vertical hitch racks, it’s quite thoughtfully designed and offers solid functionality at a low price. It’s also incredibly lightweight.
Bikes hang by the rim on the rack’s rubberized top arm. While there’s no basket or strap to keep those wheels in place, we were surprised with just how well they stayed put! The lower tire is strapped into a wheel cradle, and each bike’s frame is secured to the rack with a yellow bungee cord to prevent bikes from swaying into each other.
The bikes are packed pretty tightly (up to three on each side), so you will need to be careful of pedal placement, or handlebars getting caught in another bike’s brake cables. As a result, this rack is a phenomenal solution for your average biking family’s fleet of bikes, but not a great solve for expensive mountain bikes. But if your budget doesn’t allow for a more expensive rack, investing in a set of pedal covers would help.
We found the vertical mast extension to be a great solve for low hitch vehicles and long bikes, but in general the mast is wobbly and will bounce more than other racks when going over bumps.
Overall, if you need to carry five or six bikes but spending almost (or over!) $1,000 on a car bike rack makes you cringe, the Tot’em is absolutely your best bang for your buck.
Bike Compatibility
WHEEL SIZE: Any wheel size. Some 12″ bikes don’t have enough room between the hub and the wheel’s rim to fit over the lip of the mounting arm. Additionally, while the bottom horizontal bar (with rear wheel cradles) shifts up or down to accommodate different wheelbase lengths, if you plan on carrying very short and very long wheelbase bikes, you will have come up with a make-shift solution to secure the smaller bike’s rear wheel.
MTB and FAT BIKES: Wheel trays are narrow and aren’t the best fit for tires over 2″ (but can still work)
KIDS BIKES: Any kids bike, except some 12″ may have issues.
EBIKES: Technically ok if they are under the 200 lb. weight limit, but having used this rack ourselves, we wouldn’t transport our ebikes this way.
ROAD BIKES: Yes
