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Rhode Gear
BALL HITCH RACK
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Submitted by
Tom
a Weekend Warrior
from Placeville
Date Reviewed: June 8, 2003 | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$150.00 | | Purchased At: | K-Mart | | Strengths: | Few and far between. | | Weaknesses: | Don't waste your money! Sways and bounces all over the place. Terrible design! Bolt stripped INSIDE the rack! Now and can't even get this piece of crap of my hitch! I'll have to pay a welder of mechanic to try and cut the damn thing off!!! | | Bottom Line: | Go to a bike store and pay a few bucks more. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
vic ceglady
a Weekend Warrior
from ft pierce fla
Date Reviewed: March 7, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | crossroads | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Purchased At: | local store out of business | | Strengths: | easy to mount bikes my rack fit the square tube but I think the mounting set up for the bikes is the same as the ball mount | | Weaknesses: | too flimsey no positive stop on the ends of the bars only plastic cap. Lost a bike off of this thing the bike and cams slid right off of the bars. | | Similar Products Used: | no other experience | | Bike Setup: | raligh M20 | | Bottom Line: | weld your own stops on the bars or better yet get a different rack | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Al
a Weekend Warrior
from Scottsdale, AZ
Date Reviewed: May 14, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Old Munds | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$80.00 | | Purchased At: | LBS | | Strengths: | Fairly inexpensive (first mistake). | | Weaknesses: | Sways, arms are weak, lots of play in all joints. Can't get this to mount flush to my bumper due to a piece of cosmetic plastic courtesy of Ford (not the fault of Rhode Gear, but annoying nonetheless). | | Similar Products Used: | Back of my Explorer. | | Bike Setup: | 2000 Schwinn Homegrown Comp | | Bottom Line: | Looks like I'm going to be throwing my bike in the back of my Explorer for awhile. This thing is cheap, but maybe I can make some modifications, as one reviewer noted. I should have just had a receiver hitch mounted on my Explorer, and given myself more rack options. My bike hasn't fallen off yet, but I just don't trust this thing. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
scary
a
from georgia
Date Reviewed: November 16, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$110.00 | | Purchased At: | Cycle Spectrum | | Strengths: | It's very easy to get bikes on and off. Quick and easy. | | Weaknesses: | Not very sturdy. I am constantly checking my mirrors to make sure the bikes are still on. Straps are a bit weak. Extremely hard to get in back of car. | | Bottom Line: | The rack is OK if you are looking for something that is quick and easy to get your bike on at any time. It is a chore to try to get into the back of my car. Hitting any bumps sends the bikes flying. The locking system scares me and I don't trust it. Overall, it's an OK rack. It depends on what you're looking for. It was very cheap which was the hooker for me. I am happy with it but I definitely wouldn't buy it again. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim Boyle
a Weekend Warrior
from Billerica, MA
Date Reviewed: May 22, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Veterans Park, Billerica | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Strengths: | The straps and holddowns that come with the rack are excellent. The rack is very sturdy. | | Weaknesses: | I have the type of rack that is held in place by the ball's bolt, not the ball itself. It has severely damaged my step bumper and tailgate. Without extra tiedown straps bumps whip the rack around and throw bikes off the rack. | | Similar Products Used: | old Rhode Gear rack & new Rhode Gear Shuttle(2 bike)for car | | Bike Setup: | 2 hardtails | | Bottom Line: | This rack stinks! The entire Rhode Gear product line is substandard. You get what you pay for. I've had one shuttle break while on the highway and the other has dented my car. Anybody want a free rack? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dan
a Weekend Warrior
from Santa Cruz, CA
Date Reviewed: April 22, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 6 months | | Bottom Line: | The 3 bike version I have (2 bike version would be the same)is HEH-heh-HEV-VEE like 40-50 lbs. Everything from the hitch receiver to the upright is built to hold 3 Harley's, not just teeny ol bicycles. For as strong as the upright is, the arms are sized for bicycles.
Problems:
1) hitch tightening crank is a real piece of crap. The crank handle ball falls off immediately upon 1st use and the springs which holds the crank to the hitch tightening spindle doesn't work. A piece of bungee is required to hold the crank handle upright once you do have it tightened. You'd have to see one to believe it.
2) The screws that hold the arms on are not vibration resistant. I witnessed one of the big plastic yellow cam latches fall off on the freeway and nail the car behind me. Good thing the arm didn't come off. Need to score the threads at the end of the screw to it from backing out all the way.
3) I have a Cannondale Jekyl and it is a pain in the ass
to get this bike on and off from the inside (or any) position since the arms are too far apart. Of course the opening on the Cannondale frame is pretty small.
In short, don't buy this thing. I paid over $200 for it 6 months ago and just saw it on sale for $70. Might be worth $70 and make a home project of it to fix it right, like titanium bolts, carbon fiber arms, and lightening holes everywhere. There could be an aftermarket business here...
1 Chili for Value (sucks for the $240 I paid)
2 Chili's overall since it does get the job done and there are SOME nice bits like the anti sway bracket on the arm. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
RussellC
a cross-country rider
from BRENTWOOD TN
Date Reviewed: September 17, 1998 | | Bottom Line: | This rack is too unstable. I woulFC it it simply is unacceptable. At highway speeds it shakes like an overfed hoothcie-cootchie dancer. Pull into the draft of a tractor-trailer rig and it rocks like the mailboxes in that scene from CLOSE ENCOUNTERS. I even tried adding as many as 3 suAA | | Overall Rating: |
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