It's a phrase you hear a lot: "If you're not using it, put it away!" That's also the idea behind the T-Rax. Its sturdy 2 1/2" steel frame not only holds up to 5 bikes, it's arms easily fold down when not in use. But if you're like us, that won't be too often.
Submitted by
Sean Wadsworth
a Weekend Warrior
from Jessup, MD
Date Reviewed: May 20, 2007
Strengths: Heavy, Able to lock it to the hitch housing
Weaknesses: Heavy. Sticks out far. Does not play well with full suspension bikes. Very difficult to use overall
Bottom Line:
I went with this rack because the Thule was sold out. BIG MISTAKE. Bottom line, this rack is horrible for full suspension bikes. It takes me 30+ minutes to get four bikes on the rack. You have to fight with the straps to get them nice and tight. Loading bikes on this rack is a two person job. The bottom bar that connects to the hitch is way to long. I do not recomment this rack for anyone that is going to use it for full suspension bikes.
Submitted by
Drew
a Cross Country Rider
from B.C. Canada
Date Reviewed: August 24, 2004
Strengths: Beefy, well maybe not beefy enough. Just needs a little more thought put into it....
Weaknesses: Long and low. Not narrow enough for small frame bikes, arms not strong enough, arms not beefy enough for 4 bikes. Receiver tube too long.
Bottom Line:
Took alot of time and asked alot of questions before finally deciding which rack to buy for my van. Was told by a sales rep that 'this rack is the best out there'.
It had to hold 4 bikes, a couple small frames and an oddball, my Superlight, be secure and strong.....so on the advice of the rep we ordered the Saris T-Rax.
When it arrived in its box it looked goooood, pretty platinum color, nice straps, locking cables, and looked strong as an Ox. Remember looked strong as an Ox.... Got home and installed the rack on the van, carefully following the manufactures installation instructions so as not to make any mistakes. Once installed it looked good, however one thing bothered me, it was long, it hung out there a loooongggg way behind the van. But I thought they designed it so it must be okay. Now it starts.....
Took an hour to install the bikes, mind you I had to fiddle figuring out which bike could go where, but thats a problem, shouldn't any bike go anywhere? Tried to follow instructions by loading heaviest first, however heaviest wouldn't squeeze over, yes squeeze over the bike pads. Ended up my Superlight, which is not heavy per say had to go on the outside, with the front wheel off. Its the only place it would fit. The other 3 bikes where all squeezed over the pads onto the inside of my bike, but this wasn't easy. Just for information sake they are a 17" standard diamond frame, 14" standard diamond frame, and my wifes 52cm road frame.
Okay so now the bikes are finally loaded. A test drive around the town to see how they feel, not bad but through the rear view they are way out there. But it seems to work...I guess.
So the day of our holidays arrives, load the bikes, have it down to 30 minutes now, everythings secure and off we go!! A nice mountain biking holiday planned, 2 weeks away, roughly 2000kms to travel. Fun, fun, fun......until we get on the highway! Remember when I said it stuck way out there, well it was long enough to drag the highway after hitting a bump at 90km/h! Scared the hell out of us, so now everytime we see a depression we're slowing down and looking back, not fun. In fact so not fun after 30km of this we turned around went home and left the bikes there....much safer for the bikes. After unloading the bikes discovered that one of the arms had bent, end of the receiver bar had scraped on the highway, rubbing plastic off the locking knob!
Then off to the bike shop to return the so called 'best rack on the market'. I think they could tell I was upset when I came back...
Spent alot of time and effort researching a rack, listened to a rep who should know what hes talking about. Only to be extremely dissapointed in the end and a holiday ruined.
Strengths: Easy to use, secured very tightly to trailer hitch, bikes are very stable on this rack both at highway speeds and bumpy, turny backroads... even squeezed 2 adult bikes and 3 kids bikes on it a few times... strapping is simple and secure.
Weaknesses: Odd shape mountain bikes can be a little difficult to get on and off... I bought an adapter for my bike to make it easier.
Bottom Line:
Great product, easier to use than roof mount carriers, more secure and much cheaper
Bike Setup: GT i-drive 4.0 , Trek and Giant hybrids
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
J. T.
a Cross Country Rider
from Dahlonega
Date Reviewed: June 15, 2003
Strengths: Stable while in flight. Simple to use. Strong as an ox. Holds my Super V perfectly. Plus the whole family can come along.
Weaknesses: Could you rephrase the question?
Bottom Line:
If you have a reciever hitch and want to take care of both your vehicle and your bikes...get this rack. I am very pleased with this product. It does what it supposed to...WELL.
Bike Setup: Super V, comfort bike and two children's bikes
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Rob
a Weekend Warrior
from Tamp, FL USA
Date Reviewed: December 13, 2002
Strengths: Price. Durability. Fitments.
Weaknesses: Seems to rust easily
Bottom Line:
I ride both a 16" DS-1 and an RM-6. Both have extremely hard to fit frames, but with minor effort, both bikes fit nicely on the rack. My roomate rides an Ellsworth Joker that also has and awkward frame for carrying, but the T-rax does the job nicely. The rack is mounted on my Subaru Impreza and is quite sturdy up to about 90MPH. The bikes do not sway much at all and it's nice to know that your bikes aren't going anywhere. Previous racks allowed the bikes to shift and jostle around which can be quite discomforting. I would recommend this rack to everyone!
Submitted by
Brian
a Weekend Warrior
from Phoenix, AZ, USA
Date Reviewed: November 4, 2002
Strengths: Durable and very solid. Easy to get bikes on and off.
Weaknesses: None.
Bottom Line:
I have the 1 1/4" 2 bike version. For the money this hitch rack is fantastic. I have a Nissan Altima which causes air resistance to severly affect the bike on the rack and the bike hardly moves at all. Even with all the wind when travelling 80 mph. I love this rack because I can take the wife and kid on trips to Flagstaff, Prescott etc... and not have to worry about a crappy rack moving all over the place and scratching up the car. You can also open the trunk without doing anything to the rack. Very easy to get on and off the car. You can buy a cable lock and lock your bike to the hitch mount. I strongly recommed this rack.
