When you first get a mountain bike one of the first things that you probably realized is that you now need a bike rack or something so that you can actually take your mountain bike around with you. If you are smart you have likely though about this before you got your bike and plan to get the bike rack first.
My picks for the top 5 mountain bike racks are: Thule T2 Pro XT Bike Rack, Saris Bones 2-Bike Trunk Rack, Allen Sports Deluxe Hitch Mounted Bike Rack, Thule Upride Universal Bike Rack, and Heininger Automotive 2025 Advantage SportsRack BedRack.
However, don’t just take my word for it. Keep reading to learn more about these and why I picked them, as well as a few notes about the different kinds of bike racks there are and things about them that you should consider if you are choosing your own bike rack.
Thule T2 Pro XT 2 Bike Rack
This bike rack is designed to be both versatile and as simple as possible. It is hitch-mounted with an attachment that requires no tools to attach it to the hitch on your car and yet has a very firm grip that some other hitch-mounted bike racks lack. The bikes go onto the platform instead of hanging which helps it get a better fit with all bike sizes, and it can even fat bikes and kid’s bikes.
It also has a tilt feature that lets you tilt the rack up to be more compact or down so that you can access it easier which you can use with one hand. This is not only convenient, but is also helps prevent the bikes from moving around even during turns and helps to make it nice and easy to load the bikes.
The Thule bike rack is made to be extra durable, which is why you won’t find any cheap plastic parts on it at all. However, on the downside that does mean that practically everything is made up of metal. This adds up to make it a hefty weight of over 50 pounds. It can carry up to 4 mountain bikes with the add-on or around 120 pounds of weight.
Saris Bones 2-Bike Trunk Rack
This trunk rack is held in place by the use of six straps which attach to the trunk of your car. The hooks are vinyl coated and at each spot that the rack comes into contact with your car the rack has rubberized feet in order to protect the paint of your vehicle. It even goes the extra mile in that its straps are also given a rubber coating even though they are ratcheted down securely.
The Saris claims that its frame is the strongest one out there and its molded arms and legs are certainly quite strong. They are so confident about this that they even give this rack a lifetime warranty which is a great feature to have on practically anything.
It is very easy to install and its very simple design helps it to be very lightweight at not even 10 pounds. The Saris Bones bike rack also folds up for storage, making it not take up so much space when you don’t need it and it is built with 100% recyclable and non-rusting metal.
This means that you could even store it for a long time without worry or just leave it on your car in all weathers without having to worry about it falling apart on you or getting all rusty, which can be even more of a concern if you happen to live near salt-water.
However, on the downside it does not fit all kinds of mountain bikes and it is only really compatible with certain types of bike frames. There are also no locks that keep it from getting stolen if someone wanted to take it off of your car, which can be another downside depending on how your area is about that sort of thing.
Allen Sports Deluxe Hitch Mounted Bike Rack
This option is another great hitch-mounted bike rack that goes on the back of your vehicle. It comes at a reasonable price and is easy to set up, though if you want to take it down and put it back on regularly it will take a little practice before you are able to do it more quickly. The weight does not make this too difficult to do since it rests nicely at just over 20 pounds.
When you drive there are no movements of the bike, and this is in part because of the fact that the bikes are held into place with rubber straps that form a loop into a little knob. The extra length of the straps can easily go around the wheel of your front tire as well, keeping it from moving around and hitting either your car or the adjacent bike.
The steel frame is very sturdy and supports an allotted 35 pounds per bike slot. This bike rack also has a lifetime warranty and it is adjustable enough to fit several different types of vehicles and to fold up compactly when you are not using it. It can also fit a wide range of bikes as well, even some kid’s bikes, making it very versatile.
It has a very nice locking mechanism that is easy to install and requires a key. This may or may not be a plus, depending on how prone you are to losing or forgetting to bring your key with you. However, this locking feature is only for the hitch, so technically speaking someone who wanted to steal your bike rack could simply take off the bike rack part and leave the locked hitch behind.
Perhaps the biggest drawback is the fact that the metal clips that are at the end of the various straps are not coated with any protective coating to prevent them from swinging, hitting your car, and leaving a mark on the paint. Also, sometimes the straps will loosen up a little after a few hundred miles on the road, and so they need to be checked during long trips when you take a bathroom break or stop to stretch your legs.
Thule Upride Universal Bike Rack
This is yet another great bike rack that is designed by the Thule company, this version being a roof rack that goes on the top of your car. It is very easy to set up and it doesn’t require any weird tools or anything that you would not already have, and with a weight that is just under 20 pounds it is not too heavy to lift either.
It will accommodate most bike frames and wheel sizes, even some fat bikes, and it is made to carry exactly one bike. While this means that you can only use this for one bike, if you only have one bike that you need it for this saves you from having to have a 2-bike setup like most of the other options require you to have as the minimum.
It fits on a wide range of different kinds of vehicles without any problems and it is nicely rubberized so that it does not hurt your paint job on your car. It is also rubberized anywhere that it touches your bike at, so you do not have to worry about it scratching your bike at all either.
There is a V that your front wheel sits in and a way to attach the back wheel as well for a secure fit that won’t let your bike move around. As an added benefit is even comes equipped with a built-in cable bike lock that you can attach to your bike so that you do not have to worry about anyone stealing it if you leave it on top of your vehicle for a while.
Heininger Automotive 2025 Advantage SportsRack BedRack
This bike rack is a great option to put in the bed of your truck and can hold four bikes of virtually any size in its slots. It is exceptionally easy to set up, since all that you have to do is to lock the different parts together and then put in the bed of the truck, the spacers that it comes with making sure that it gets a snug fit so that there is no danger of it sliding around in the bed of your truck.
This can be done without the use of any tools besides your hands, making it really simple to do. This rack is so self-reliant that it can even be used on the floor of your garage as a stand-alone bike rack in order to place your bikes there when you don’t need it in your truck, which can be a great option to have and can really make it cost effective and multipurpose.
This rack has a soft padding in the areas that it needs to in order to protect both your bike’s paint job, but also the paint of your truck. It only weighs about 10 pounds so it is easy enough to pick it up out of your truck bed without having to dismantle it if you don’t want to. Finally, it also comes with a cable, minus the lock, that can be used to lock your bikes in to keep them from being stolen.
The Different Kinds Of Bike Racks
There are a lot of different bike racks out there in a lot of different shapes and sizes. So if you are picking your own there are a lot of things that you will want to look at. One of the first things that you should consider is how many bikes you will need your bike rack to carry, and if you want to be able to carry anything besides bike racks.
There are also there are different kinds of racks that you can get, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. The most common of these are: hitch-mounted bike racks, roof racks, trunk racks, and truck bed racks.
Hitch-mounted Bike Racks
Hitch-mounted bike racks slide into the receiver of a trailer hitch, though if you do not happen to have one of these already on your vehicle you can usually have one installed. While this will add more to the price, a hitch is something that can be used for other things too.
One thing that you should make a mental note of about hitch-mounted bike racks is that they will add on to the length of your car, so if you are backing up into a parking space you will have to remember it is there. Sometimes this will also make it hard to get to anything that might be in the trunk, but some models are designed to swing down or away from the trunk in order to make this easier.
Hitch-mounted bikes are also very simple to install and to remove when needed. They are also equally handy when it comes to putting your bike on or taking it off of the rack since you only have to do a little lifting.
There are two categories of this kind of bike rack: platform and hanging. The platform kind has a literal platform that you can set your mountain bike on with separate sections for however many mountain bikes that it is meant to hold in order to prevent them touching or scraping each other. This can be used for any size or kind of bike that you would want to use it for, but it takes up a bit more room and uses up more space behind you.
The hanging kind of hitch-mounted rack instead has hooks of some kind that your bike hangs on. These are cheaper and often take up less space, however they do not always work for kids bikes or any size bike, in fact, that is not just the right width to fit on the hooks properly.
Roof Racks
Roof racks go on the roof and are a great option if you plan on using it for things besides you bike, but not so great for going under trees and things. Plus these can be a little on the pricier side sometimes, not to mention that it can be a bit of a pain to get your bike up to the roof and to get it down again once you get to the trail.
On the other hand, you also have a lot of options for cargo boxes and things that go with roof racks which can be a great place to store your mountain biking gear. One important thing that you should keep in mind if you are looking for one of these is the fact that some of roof rack models require you to take of the front wheel of your bike in order to secure the front fork in which can be something that might catch you by surprise if you weren’t expecting it.
Trunk Racks
Trunk racks fasten to the trunk of the vehicle usually using a system of straps and hooks and are solely used for bikes. This makes them almost the same as hitch-mounted bike racks, only these do not poke out as much or require a trailer hitch to attach to. They also often severely limit the use of the trunk.
Truck Bed Racks
Truck bed racks is a rack system that literally goes into the bed of the truck, with anchors to keep it in place. Of course, in order to get one of these you actually have to have a truck, but they can work for a lot of other things besides carrying your mountain bikes.
However, with one of these in your truck bed you won’t exactly have a lot of room for anything else in the bed of you truck. But if you really need the room for your gear in your truck bed there are a few bike rack options that fit over the tail gate which can give you more space.
Other Tips You Should Know About Bike Racks
The first tip that you should always look into before buying a bike rack of any kind is that you should check your car’s manual and make sure that it will work with the rack. For example, some vehicles have a maximum amount of weight that they can handle on their roof.
So, if you want to go with a roof bike rack then you will need to take this into consideration and know the weight of the bike or bikes plus the weight of the rack. When it comes to hitch-mounted bike racks you should know your car’s towing capacity.
If there is not strap with the rack you are using, get a bungee cord or something to stabilize the wheels of your mountain bike with, especially if you have more than one bike on the rack. This will help to keep them more stable and from rubbing each other by swaying.