[slick316]

I was thinking about getting a hitch mount rack from Yakima or Thule for my 2005 Accord Sedan, good idea?

I was originally going to get the trunk mount style, but it seems as if it would be an easy theft target and being that my car is parked outside all the time, I don't know if I want to deal with having to take it on and off every time I use it.

Other than price, I can't really think of what is wrong with a hitch mount rack for my car.

Can anyone offer advise on this? BTW, I would like to able to carry two bikes.

 

[Eric Z]

hitch racks are great. the only thing i have against yakima and thule are the price. i've owned and was pleased with the hanging bike style rack like this one: http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1031401_-1_400019_400007_400170

i prefer one like this if you're only carrying 2 bikes- no issues with swinging bikes and they seem to be more sturdy- even though they are not in danger of falling by any means on the hanging bike type.
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1031409_-1_400019_400007_400170

you can lock them up if you're creative, but nothing some nice bolt cutter won't take care of

edit: oh yeah, performance has good sales often- i was able to get my tray style rack from them for about $135 i think.

 

[slick316]

Awesome!

Glad I posted here. I don't need one right away, but being half the price of the ones I was looking at, this looks like a great deal!

I like that second one a lot, thats the type I want to get.

Thanks for the advice. Now its time for me to get a hitch

 

[BBW]

http://www.etrailer.com/hitch-2005_Honda_Accord.htm

Check this out. I just bought a hitch for an SUV but this guys are very good priced and the product its very simple to install (I am NOT related to the company, just a pleased customer)

 

[slick316]

I saw that site earlier and wondered about it. The prices seem good also. I think I might get one from them and get it over with.

Thanks a lot for the help guys, I really appreciate it.

 

[FastZR1]

Not an Accord, but same idea.
I have a Taurus and I added a hitch I bought from Autozone. It was around $125 and was a direct fit. No drilling or welding.
I then got the Thule T2 and love it. I can carry two bikes very easy and secure. You said you didn't want to spend a lot of coin on the T2, but she is worth every penny for me.

 

[slick316]

The Thule was what I was looking at, looks awesome!

Question, my car sits outside, can that hitch mount be locked to the hitch to help prevent theft?

 

[notley1]

tray mount hitch racks also accomodate diff style frames that might be difficult to put on a rack that hangs the bike from the top tube. they also seem very good at isolating each bike from banging into the other one.
I have a hollywood/sportsrider rack with 2 "padded hooks" that clamp down on the top tube as it sits in wheel trays. its light and cheap, but sometimes the hooks loosen up. bungee cords are needed.
I should add that for the last 2 yrs it worked great.

 

[slick316]

I think I would definitely want to go with the tray style since I have a friend that I will go riding with sometimes and his bike is larger than mine, and is also a 29er.
Anyone ever get in trouble for having the license plate covered up by their bikes? We don't have front plates in Oklahoma, you think I will get a hard time about a hitch mount rack?

 

[FastZR1]

No problems with the license plate thing.
I've had a 29er on my rack with my EX8 and everything fits perfect. Bikes don't touch each other. Rack fits my road bike too.
When not in use, the rack does flip up. However, I park my Taurus outside and if I know I'm not using the rack, I remove the rack and throw it in the garage to keep it out of the weather. A friend I ride with leaves his on his truck 24/7 and it just looks weathered but has held up well. Thule makes a locking pin that attaches the rack to the car's receiver. I don't have one, I just use my cable lock around the hitch receiver on the car through the rack and around the bike. That seems more secure than the locks that Thule sells.
Hope that helps ya.

 

[notaknob]

The Impossible

The Thule was what I was looking at, looks awesome!

Question, my car sits outside, can that hitch mount be locked to the hitch to help prevent theft?

Where I work, there seems to be a side-business of people stealing the spare tire from trucks and SUVs from the parking lot. I watched a surveillance camera video of this and it took about 45 seconds for the grab, from start to finish. While these people were knowledgeable about their thefts, it set me to thinking about other thefts. In several of the places I ride, the parking lots are often the scenes of smash & dash thefts.

One of the things I don't like about the T2 is that you can remove most the goodies from it with a 5 or 7mm allen wrench. If someone swipes the sidearm, you're out about $150 per arm. The entire thing could be disassembled to the backbone with an allen wrench and crescent. With a cordless driver it could go pretty quick.

That aside, the T2 is a great rack. If I had one, I'd look at having someone spot-weld the bolts. If I had to disassemble it, I'd use an angle grinder to cut them off and replace the bolts afterward. As I'm in the market for a new car and rack, it's high on my list of racks.

 

[tekkamaki]

I would take a look at the Curt Hitch receivers. I got one for my Sienna, and it was very high quality and pretty cheap. JC Whitney had good prices if you use a coupon code.

 

[random walk]

I got the Allen 4-bike hitch-mount rack last year and it's awesome. $118 incl tax shipped for free from Sears. I've put 4 bikes of varying geometries on at once:

- 2 adult 26" rigid mtbs + kid's 20" + kid's 16"
- 4 adult 26" FS mtbs

The frame cradles rotate on the support arms, so you can secure different parts of the bike frames (like the seat tube) if the top tube is too short to fit between the support arms. This is really handy when trying to play the Tetris game with adult + kids' bikes. Nylon straps & buckles secure the bike frame to the cradles.

I use it on our Honda Pilot, with a 2" receiver. No tie-down strap is needed, although you probably would want one with the 1.25" receiver model. The rack swings down so we can open the liftgate. Quite an effort with 100+ lbs of bikes, but can be done.

One nit is that the rack comes with a non-locking hitch pin. It has a shoulder on the bolt that stabilizes the hitch within the receiver, to keep it from swaying. My after-market locking pin has no such shoulder so the rack sways, which is a bit unnerving with 4 bikes on it. So I use the non-locking pin, and use a cable lock to secure it (and bikes) to my receiver.

Here it is at Amazon.