Sportworks took their Quick-load concept and applied it to a new mount for roof top racks--load your bike in 10 seconds or less!. Patented support-arm technology with ratcheting grip; "wheels only" design uses a built-in front wheel support-arm and rear lock-ring. Adapts to Yakima or Thule style cross bars; each Up Right Bike Mount carries one bike. No wheel removal and no contact with bike frame--perfect for lefty forks, oversized, full suspension, women's, children's, BMX, road bikes and more.
Submitted by
Bawitdaba
a Downhiller
from Pine Plains, New York
Date Reviewed: July 28, 2006
Strengths: Real easy to load/unload.
Weaknesses: None yet
Bottom Line:
The Price!!!! 79 bux delivered to my door. I have a couple set up on a small open trailer, works perfect. Everyone whines about the lack of a lock, we can just run a chain through the whole load if needed.
Strengths: It seems very easy to put the bike on and take it off the rack!
Weaknesses: Security. (See bottom line.)
Bottom Line:
After Thule bought Sportworks, the Bob Ratchet became the Sidearm with a potential to add a lock. I am not sure how secure that system is. Based on my observation, only the front wheel is locked into the rack. If someone open the quick release on the front wheel, he can probably take the whole bike frame along with the rear wheel off the rack since none of it is locked in. In contrast, Yakima Cobra has a security cable which can be looped around the frame. The Bob Ratchet/Sidearm seems to be a great product. Hopefully, they'll correct this problem.
Submitted by
Jay
a Cross Country Rider
from Ricmond, VA
Date Reviewed: January 8, 2006
Strengths: Easy setup, easy to use, strong and stable. Bike is set in place in 10 sec,. or less. BIke can be place facing front or rearward without modding the rack or affecting the the racks hold on the bike. Automatically adjusts to just about any tire size.
Weaknesses: No locking device ,noisy without fairing. Also, I had to make my own fairing mounts because the fairing could not mount with two of these racks on the car.
Bottom Line:
Buy this rack, it rock! Buy yourself a cable & lock or a lock for each rack. Simple to use, can fit just about any bike. Bike is installed and removed in 10sec.
Bike Setup: Titus Switchblade, Bianchi GUSS, Cannondale Scalpel, Trek 2300, Raleigh Rush Hour
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Submitted by
T.N.T.
a Cross Country Rider
from Boulder
Date Reviewed: November 7, 2005
Strengths: Quick and Easy to load. Don't have to remove the front wheel, which means you don't have to re-align your front disc everytime you ride. You know how much of a hassle that is especially when you have slightly warped rotor.
Weaknesses: Wish it had an intergrated lock system, So I don't have to whip out my cable lock everytime I leave my car parked.
Bottom Line:
This rack is awesome easily attaches to my Thule bars. I was on my way to the trail on a real windy day (50-60 mph gust no kidding)and driving about 70 mph and it held up my bike no problem. You can really crank down tight on the arm to hold your bike solid and stable on to the rack. The best feature about this rack is that it never touches my great looking Yeti 575 frame. Some people are probably not tightening the wing nuts on the swing away arm tight enough on to the crossbars and that's what causes dents on the cars roof. I don't have any complaints other than Sportworks should have built it with a lock system. If they build it with a lock system in the future, you can bet that I will definetly buy one.
Submitted by
Art
a Cross Country Rider
from Oceanside, CA
Date Reviewed: October 7, 2005
Strengths: Very easy to load, proven reliability, quality product, made in the USA (I think, isnt it?), its a sportworks, come on!
Weaknesses: My only complaint is loading the bike on top of the car isn't as convient as a trailer hitch rack... but its not the bob's fault, nor is it that bad. P.s. if you drive on trails with low tree branches, watch out for your bike, it's up there pretty high!
Bottom Line:
I recently got a new car, that doesn't have a trailer hitch, and it's the kidna car that looks stupid with a trailer hitch, so I bought a Yakima roof rack, and the Sportsworks bob ratchet. I wouldn't even wast my money on a non sportworks rack. I loved my sportworks hitch rack and am sad to not be able to use it, but the bob ratchet is the next best thing. My car came equiped with a roof mounted bike inspection port; or a sunroof, whatever you call it, and Ive looked up when driving, bike isnt going anywhere! If you need a roof mounted bike rack, buy this one, you wont be dissapointed. I also highly recommend the Yakima rack system.
Similar Products Used: Sportsworks trailer hitch mount (2 bike version)
Bike Setup: Gary Fisher Tassajara, 1980's Univega road bike (commuter for UCSB, no laughing at it.. :-p)
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Submitted by
Myron
a Cross Country Rider
from Issaquah
Date Reviewed: December 4, 2004
Strengths: Mount the bike without having to take out the front tire, and very easy to mount using the arm.
Weaknesses: There is no way to lock the bike (other than using cable locks) to the rack. If not careful, the rachet arm can dent the roof of the car (happened to me!).
Bottom Line:
I got tired of always taking out my front tire and always having to deal with a muddy front tire. When I heard about this product and read the reviews about how secured and tight the bike was to the rack, I bought it. I am amazed how quickly and easy it is to mount and dismount the bike. Also, it is so secured and tight, that I can drive with confidence knowing that it won't come loose and potentially become a hazard on the road. My only gripe is that if not careful with the ratchet arm, it may dent the roof of the car (it happened to me, but it is easy to fix). Highly recommended.
Strengths: Easy to install, easy to load, easy to beat your friends to and from the trail. Solid mounting, I have no fear of my bike falling.
Weaknesses: None IMO. Some folks complain about having to lift their bikes up on top of their car. If your rig is too heavy, HIT THE WEIGHTS!
Bottom Line:
Best roof mount rack hands down. Had to take the plunge and buy a new tray when I got my DH bike and I've been kicking myself in the ass ever since for not buying 2 of these in the first place. They're less expensive and better than the competition. All my bikes load easily with no sweat and just 1 extra grunt for the DH bike. Now I've got 2, less than 1 year old, Thule trays sitting in the garage collecting dust(email me if you want to buy them cheap). I've railed through canyons and mountain roads in my Accord at 90+ mph with my DH bike strapped to this bad boy with no worries about knobs coming loose or any of that nonsense. I'm ready to roll within 15 seconds of hitting the trail. If Yakima made this rack, everyone and their mom would have one, so what are you waiting for?? Get 'er done!
Submitted by
Johnny Chen
a Downhiller
from Bellevue, WA USA
Date Reviewed: August 6, 2004
Strengths: Sturdy design, ease-of-use, great customer service behind product.
Weaknesses: No integrated locking mechanism.
Bottom Line:
I've got the FreeriderDH on the trailer hitch and two of these BobRatchets on my Yakima RoofRack - this tray system handles my DH/FR bikes and my buddies' DH/FR bikes with aplomb.
These trays/arms are identical to the ones used on the FreeriderDH so you know it was built to last. I love racking up 4 DH/FR bikes in a matter of less than a minute, then waiting in the comfort of my airconditioned car while the others bungee/disassemble/wrestle w/ their setups!
Submitted by
Seth Dawson
a Racer
from Fountain Hills, AZ
Date Reviewed: August 5, 2004
Strengths: Quick and simple mounting without removing front wheel! Solid support for even heavy DH bikes Fits my 2.8 inch DH tires!
Weaknesses: None, the Bob Rachet rocks!
Bottom Line:
This is the best top of the car mount out there. Not removing the front wheel is a huge advantage for those of us with 20mm front axles and disks. I put the road bike up there as well, rather than dinking with my rear rack. Travelled thousands of miles to races without a single problem.
Tried the comparable Yakima unit for a year, but the clamps scratched up the DH frame where they grabbed the down tube.
Rail is long enough for short and long bike frames. Fits the 23 mm tires on my Colonago C40 road machine as well as the 2.8 inch Michelin DH tires on my Turner DHR.
Bike Setup: Turner DHR, Romic shock, Marzocchi 888 fork, Truvative cranks, BB, Hayes brakes, Sun Ringle wheels, Thomson post and stem SDG saddle, ODI grips, Azonic bars, Michelin Tires
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Submitted by
shanedawg
a Downhiller
from san jose, ca
Date Reviewed: July 13, 2004
Strengths: Allows bike to be mounted witout taking wheel off. Fits yakima and thule racks. Strap fits small and large tires.
Weaknesses: Rack is so wide that it sits to far in on the roof. ratchet arm can swing too far forward and hit the roof of the car and damage the paint.
Bottom Line:
I wanted to like this rack because it's a royal pain to take my wheel off to mount to my old yakima roof rack mounts but I didn't feel it was possible to load my heavy bike without losing control and scratching the roof of my car..
Once mounted I found that the ratchet arm has to sit next to the tower and then the wheel tray sits next to that. The whole thing is 10in wide and winds up placing the wheel tray around 8in in from the rack tower. I have a subaru WRX with the built in roof rails that are already kinda in a little ways on the roof and the combo makes it a very far reach to get the bike up and then way over to the mounts. With a 40lb bike it feels like I'm gonna drop the bike on the roof and I have to lay against the side of the car to reach the rack. I'm only 5'6" so that's maybe my problem. My wife is 5'4" and she could not reach it without a step stool or something to stand on. I'm used to using skinny little fork mounts that sit right at the edge of the roof and the reach is much easier. With the fork mounts being so skinny you can even mount them outside the towers and then they are even easier to reach.
The other problem that I found was that there is no built in stop on the ratchet arm to keep it from smacking the roof of the car. When you fold it forward to allow the bike to be mounted or unmounted the arm will fall and dent the roof. If you are careful and set it down then it just rests on the paint. If you get this rack a good idea would be to use some tape and stick some soft foam padding to the arm so it does not dent your roof. I tried tightening up on the bearing for the ratchet arm and once I got it really tight to where it would not fall and hit the roof it was flexing the whole tray mounting braket and looked like it was going to break one of the plastic mounting clamps not to mention prematurely wear out the bearing.
If you are tall with a light bike and have a short car this rack would be a lot better. I returned the rack and am gonna keep looking. The yakima cobra sits closer to the side of the car and is easier and safer to load but I read there are some porblems with the red knob so for now it's back to the drawing board.
BTW the sportworks transport rear rack has none of these problems and works great.
Similar Products Used: Yakima viper, boa, cobra, sportworks transport hitch rack
Bike Setup: Marzocchi Z150FR w qr20 axle. Maxxis 2.5in tires. Turner RFX 40lbs
car setup Subaru WRX with yakima lowrider mounts and round bars.
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Submitted by
Tien
a Weekend Warrior
from colorado springs
Date Reviewed: March 25, 2004
Strengths: One of the better one that mount the whole bike fast. Doesn't mar your frame paint job like other whole bike racks that we know.
Weaknesses: No lock option. Short rear strap. Can't be used with fairing.
Bottom Line:
You can use other means to lock your bike, but I have looked at Yakima's version as well as the others. It put way too much compression on the downtube of the bike for my liking. This is most troublefree rack I have had. Although you can't fit the Thule fairing on if you use this rack.
Similar Products Used: Thule hitch rack. Saris bones.
Bike Setup: don't matter.
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Submitted by
Tony
a Cross Country Rider
from Boulder, CO
Date Reviewed: March 21, 2004
Strengths: Solid Construction, Simple loading
Weaknesses: No lock, clunky looks
Bottom Line:
To me there is no silver bullet in roof mount bike racks. There are plusses and minuses to all the current designs.
Newer bob-ratchet mounts come with a _really_ long strap. It would fit 3.0" tires without any problem at all. On my 2.4" rear tire there is about 3 inches of extra strap available.
I was surprised at how much bar-space the mount uses and was bummed that I couldn't put the arm on the outside of my towers while the tray was inside. On the bright side, the rack is bomber and my 35lb bike never wobbled or bounced around despite my off-ramp Mario Andretti impersonations.
Weaknesses: No onboard locking system, slightly bulky.
Bottom Line:
I love this rack. It has held any bike that I have ever tried to carry, but now that I think about it no fenders. I bought it for my Jeckle because traditional fork mounts are out, but it has become the rack of choice for all of my bikes (I have a Yakima steelhead on the other side). The rack holds bikes very securely while only touching the tires. How good is that? The tire clamp automatically adjusts to various size bike tires, road or mountain and mounting and unmounting the bike takes about 30 seconds. It is very convienient for bikes without quick release hubs. Locking can be accomplished with a cable lock, not a big deal. Highly recommended.
Bike Setup: Jeckle, fixed gear, road, girl friend's museum piece.
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Submitted by
Phatphil
a Weekend Warrior
from Lewisville TEXAS usa
Date Reviewed: December 10, 2002
Strengths: Super easy set up Bikes secure and I am on the way in under 2 minutes
Weaknesses: Short rear wheel strap. I have to run it in the middle of my rack when I want to run 3 bikes
Bottom Line:
O.K. So this rack is great. I would recommend this thing to anyone and everyone. My only prob is that on a 50" load bar on my subaru is that I can not run the "BOB" out near the end of my loadbars. The tower clamps(thule) are just to wide. So that being said I have to run the rack in the middle position. This really is no prob seeing as the rack is so easy to use. I just wish I could fit 3 of those things up there.
Sportworks has built a great tray that works well on multiple rack systems.
Submitted by
John Y
a Weekend Warrior
from Oak Harbor, WA
Date Reviewed: November 25, 2002
Strengths: Easy to load, secure. No need to remove front tire. Holds a wide range of tire sizes.
Weaknesses: The rear strap is kind of short.
Bottom Line:
Really nice rack. I have this mounted to my Thule. Really easy to load. I run 2.5's on the front and rear, and the rear strap is a little short,the ratchet holds at the very end of the strap.
