Jordan is a passionate cyclist and bike tech enthusiast. He serves as lead editor at BikeRide.
Hitch bike racks are the most versatile and secure means of transporting bikes outside a vehicle, but the wide range of rack styles and features can make choosing the right one feel overwhelming.
Our team of experts has reviewed 35 racks, combining real-world feedback from thousands of owners with insights from dozens of testers to identify the best racks in eight categories.
What sets our suggestions apart? Each rack receives a BikeRide Score based on data from multiple sources, not just a single reviewer’s opinion, helping us confidently recommend products that deliver on durability, user-friendliness, and compatibility.
Platform hitch racks are the preferred means of transporting valuable bikes, but they can be expensive. Küat’s Transfer v2 is half the price of many competing racks with similar features.
The Transfer v2 holds bikes secure without touching the frames. It handles a wide range of wheel diameters, wheelbases, and tire widths and fits both 1.25″ and 2″ hitches using the included adapter.
Though not the most feature-rich or highly rated rack in Küat’s lineup, the Transfer’s blend of affordability, versatility, ease of use, and owner-attested durability earns it the top spot in our list of the best hitch bike racks.
A low price, compatibility with a wide range of bikes, and a massive weight capacity make the two-bike version of the Young Electric Hitch Rack our pick as the best budget hitch rack.
Most platform racks hook bikes’ wheels or frames to hold them in place. The MATE R has a pivoting swing arm that secures bikes at the seatpost, giving it the ability to carry odd frame shapes like step-throughs or full-suspension MTBs.
Praise from owners and expert testers shows it’s possible to execute a quality rack at a budget-friendly price; the MATE R costs half to one-third of the price of many competitors, with no major sacrifice to quality.
The Hollywood Racks Sport Rider platform hitch rack is a purpose-built e-bike hitch rack that can carry two 80lb e-bikes.
The Sport Rider for Electric Bikes earns praise for its sturdy steel build, tool-free hitch tightener, compact design, and overall ease of use.
This rack can handle massive 60″ wheelbases and takes fat tires up to 5″ wide, and because it holds bikes at the frame, fenders aren’t an issue. Thanks to this ability to fit almost any e-bike, the Sport Rider wins our vote as the best e-bike hitch rack.
The Saris SuperClamp EX is a purpose-built four-bike platform hitch rack for 2″ hitch receivers.
This steel rack is compact yet heavy-duty. It supports two 60lb bikes on the inner trays and two 35lb bikes on the outer trays, making it ideal for families looking to transport a mix of kids’ and adults’ bikes.
The SuperClamp offers wide compatibility with different wheelbases, tire widths, and wheel diameters, and its no-frame-contact design prevents damage in transit.
Long-term owners attest to its durability, and testers relish the easy loading and unloading, making Saris’s SuperClamp EX a shoo-in for our best four-bike hitch rack.
RockyMounts’ BackStage is a two-bike platform hitch rack with an integrated swing-away extension that provides full walk-up access to the back of your vehicle.
Reviewers praise this rack’s robust build and ease of use. It also has broad compatibility with bike sizes and won’t damage bike frames.
In addition to its overall quality, the BackStage is one of few racks with a built-in swing-away feature, avoiding the need to buy and install a swing-away add-on and making it an easy pick for the best swing-away hitch bike rack.
If you have a big budget, Küat’s Piston Pro is almost certainly the best bike rack you will find.
Testers are unanimous in their praise of this rack’s features, simple installation, ease of use, and overall build quality.
It’s available in versions for 1.25″ or 2″ hitches and it fits up to four bikes of almost any shape or size. If the Piston Pro doesn’t fit out of the box, there’s likely to be an accessory that will make it work.
Overall, the “extremely well-executed” Piston Pro, though expensive, is deemed a worthy investment.
Vertical hitch bike racks like Thule’s ReVert are unique in their ability to carry more than five bikes.
This six-bike rack has a total capacity of 250lb, making it a great choice if you need to transport large numbers of bikes for group rides, such as heavy full-suspension mountain bikes or multiple road bikes.
Installing the rack is quick, loading bikes is relatively easy, and adapters are available to add compatibility for smaller-diameter wheels and fat tires.
BikeRide’s team of passionate cyclists and expert researchers gathers and analyzes manufacturer documentation, owner experiences, and real-world testing by experts to create concise yet comprehensive summaries of bike racks that include the key facts, reasons to buy, reasons not to buy, and a bottom line.
We filter out unreliable or biased content, using only information from verified owners and trustworthy professional testers to produce the most accurate and objective reviews possible.
Why You Can Trust Us
Over the past couple of years, we have reviewed 35 hitch bike racks, studying thousands of reviews from 76 expert testers and 12,716 rack owners.
Every product we review gets a BikeRide Score. We calculate this score using the average of all reviews and ratings found in all languages. We adjust the score based on each expert’s level of experience and the number of user and expert ratings.
Because our score is based on all available reviews of a product from owners and testers, it gives a more accurate impression than a single expert’s opinion and test data.
From this pool of 35 products, our editors have applied their expertise and used the BikeRide Score to identify the best hitch bike racks in seven categories.
Photo: Scott C.C
Types of Hitch Bike Racks
Hitch bike racks mount to a vehicle’s hitch receiver. These racks can be used with any vehicle that has a Class II (1.25″) receiver or above. Before considering a bicycle hitch rack, ensure your vehicle’s hitch is suitable.
In general, hitch racks are made for 1.25″ or 2″ receivers. Some 1.25″ versions can use an adapter to fit 2″ receivers. Some heavy-duty racks are available to fit 2.5″ receivers. Racks capable of carrying the higher weights of e-bikes require a 2″ receiver.
There are three main types of hitch rack: platform, hanging, and vertical.
Platform Hitch Bike Racks
Platform hitch racks are the most common type of bike rack. The bikes’ wheels sit in two (often adjustable) trays. The low position of these trays makes it easier to load heavy bikes than other styles of rack.
A combination of clamping arms or hooks and straps secures the bike at the wheels only or at the frame and wheels.
The best platform racks are very secure, heavy-duty, and compatible with a wide range of tire widths, frame shapes, wheelbases, and wheel diameters. Additionally, most have extra features, such as the ability to fold or tilt down for trunk access.
The downside of platform racks is that they’re usually heavy and expensive, and they can’t carry more than four bikes.
Hanging Hitch Racks
Hanging hitch racks are cheaper, lighter, and more compact than platform racks. Bike frames are held by two support arms that protrude backward, roughly at shoulder height. This means bikes must be lifted higher to get them on the rack.
Supporting the bike’s full weight on the frame means paint damage is a risk, and carrying carbon frames in this manner isn’t advisable. The weight capacities of hanging racks are modest compared to platform racks. Also, step-through and full-suspension bike frames may not fit.
Vertical Hitch Racks
Vertical racks are unique in their ability to carry up to six bikes, making them ideal for transporting multiple mountain or road bikes for an event or group ride.
The bikes are carried vertically, with the rear wheel at the bottom. With most vertical racks, the front wheel sits in a tray and the rear wheel is secured with a strap. However, some versions secure the bike at the handlebars instead of using a front-wheel tray. In both cases, getting the bikes onto the rack requires lifting them up high.
These racks are usually robust and versatile, but they’re also expensive and heavy, and there are fewer options on the market.
Features to Look For
Finding a suitable hitch bike rack involves a surprising number of factors, such as bike and vehicle compatibility, ease of assembly and use, after-sales support, and security. We already covered hitch compatibility above, but more information can be found at UHaul.com.
Photo: Scott C.C
Bike Mounting/Attachment and Compatibility
As we’ve seen, bikes are loaded differently for each of the three types of hitch racks. However, each style has several variations. If you own a high-end bike or a carbon-framed model, you’ll want to avoid frame contact. All vertical racks and most platform racks secure bikes without touching the frame.
Platform racks use clamping arms to secure the bike at the wheels or frame, and additional straps can be used for redundancy or to prevent sway.
The type of attachment system used directly impacts compatibility. For example, securing bikes at the wheels usually means fenders don’t fit. However, there are some fender-compatible racks that use a front clamp arm and a heavy-duty rear-wheel strap to secure the bike.
Where bikes are loaded into trays and secured at the wheels, bike frame shape is irrelevant, but wheel diameter, wheelbase (distance between axles), and tire width can be limiting factors. On the other hand, hanging bikes by their frames means non-standard frame shapes can be tricky to mount, but tire width and wheel diameter don’t matter.
Some manufacturers offer kits that expand their racks’ stock compatibility. Whichever rack you choose, you must confirm that all the bikes you plan to carry will fit.
Number of Bikes and Per-Bike Weight Capacity
The number of bikes you can transport varies depending on the style of hitch rack. Platform racks fit up to four bikes, hanging hitch racks can take up to five, and vertical racks typically carry four or six. Many platform racks, such as Küat’s Transfer v2, offer the option to expand carrying capacity with one-bike or two-bike add-ons.
In most cases, the more bikes that can be carried, the lower the weight capacity per bike. For example, using a single-bike add-on with the two-bike Transfer v2 drops the per-bike capacity from 60lb to 40lb. The per-bike weight capacity may also decrease the further the bike is from the hitch.
The heaviest-duty e-bike platform hitch racks can carry up to two 100lb bikes, but most support 40lb to 80lb per bike. Hanging racks have lower capacities, usually below 40lb per bike. Most vertical racks support around 55lb per bike.
Loading and Unloading Bikes
The ease with which bikes can be loaded and unloaded varies greatly between hitch rack types and models. The weight and shape of your bikes should influence the type of rack you choose.
Lightweight road bikes with standard frame shapes are easily loaded onto any rack, but lifting 50lb+ e-bikes or heavy full-suspension MTBs onto a platform rack might require two people or a ramp. Likewise, a platform rack may be preferable for oddly shaped frames, which can be frustrating to load onto a hanging rack.
The type and quality of the attachment system also plays a big role in the ease of loading and unloading bikes. For example, the high-end Küat Piston Pro can be operated with one hand while loading bikes, and securing them in place takes just a few seconds. In contrast, racks like the budget-friendly MATE R require more time to secure the straps and adjust and tighten the clamp arms.
Ease of Installation
If you will install and remove your hitch rack regularly, you’ll want a rack that’s quick and easy to install, relatively lightweight, easy to maneuver once removed, and compact for storage. Features like tool-free installation and built-in hitch tighteners speed up the installation process.
Security Features
There are two aspects of security to consider when purchasing a bike rack: the rack itself and the bikes it will carry.
Some racks, usually high-end products, offer multiple security features; others offer none. For example, the Piston Pro has a locking hitch cam, a locking hitch pin, and a ½”-thick semi-integrated cable for securing the bikes. In contrast, the MATE R has no security features at all.
We recommend choosing a rack with a locking hitch pin, or buying one from a third-party seller. This provides reasonable security against the theft of your rack.
The cable locks provided with some racks are useful as deterrents to opportunist thieves, but they shouldn’t be relied on for proper security. Therefore, this feature shouldn’t be a big factor in your buying decision. Use a proper bike lock instead, but only if the rack is locked to your vehicle.
Hitch Sway
Movement at the hitch is normal with a hitch bike rack, but most of this sway can be eliminated using a hitch tightener. The best racks have built-in anti-sway mechanisms, but you can also purchase hitch tighteners, either from the rack manufacturer or a third-party company.
Extra Features
Some additional features and capabilities to look out for when choosing a rack include:
Folding – the ability to fold the rack up for a tidier rearward footprint (more on this later) when not in use.
Tilting – a mechanism to tilt the rack when mounted, providing access the vehicle’s rear. Some racks allow tilting while bikes are mounted, others don’t: bonus points for a foot-operated mechanism.
Swing-away – Some racks, like the RockyMounts BackStage in our list, can swing 180 degrees away from the vehicle, providing walk-up access to the trunk. Some racks are compatible with a swing-away extension accessory.
License Plate Holder – Hitch bike racks usually obstruct the rear license plate, which is a fineable offense. Having a license plate holder built-in or available as an add-on is important to avoid pricey penalties.
Reflectors and lights – Hitch racks should have reflectors to increase visibility and reduce the risk of rear-end collisions. Rear-facing lights, like those found on Kuat’s Piston Pro X, are uncommon but valuable.
Rearward Footprint
An extended rearward footprint can make driving and parking more challenging. A rack’s rearward footprint depends mostly on the number of bikes it holds. However, the dimensions of racks with equal capacities vary greatly.
For example, the Young Electric MATE R extends 66.6″ from the hitch pin to the end of the rack, whereas the Kuat Transfer v2 extends just 38.2″. Most brands give these dimensions on their product web pages.
Warranty, After-Sales Service, and Replacement Parts
A fair warranty, responsive customer support, and the availability of replacement parts to keep the rack in working order for several years are, in our opinion, key considerations when choosing a rack, but they’re often overlooked.
Premium brands like Küat, Thule, and Hollywood Racks offer limited lifetime warranties on their products, while budget brands, such as Young Electric, offer just one year.
A warranty is only useful if customer support is responsive. It’s important to research a brand’s reputation for after-sales support before making what is often a significant investment in a bike hitch rack. BikeRide reviews will always include feedback from owners on the quality of customer support when that information is available.
Finally, the availability of replacement parts, such as product-specific knobs, fasteners, and straps, can help extend the life of your rack for many years. Replacing the parts that wear with use is a minor expense compared to shelling out for a whole new rack every few years.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How Many Bikes Can a Hitch Rack Hold?
Vertical hitch bike racks have the highest capacity of the three main types, holding up to six bikes. Hanging hitch racks can hold a maximum of five bikes, and platform or tray hitch racks can hold up to four.
What Is the Weight Capacity of a Hitch Bike Rack?
The weight capacity for a hitch bike rack varies greatly between models and types of rack. Platform racks have the highest weight capacities, supporting two bikes that weigh up to 100lb (Young Electric MATE R, 1UP Super Duty), but most range from 40lb to 80lb per bike. It’s worth noting that the total weight capacity of a vertical rack may be higher than that of a heavy-duty platform rack, for example, by supporting six 55lb bikes.
Can Hitch Bike Racks Carry Electric Bikes?
Hitch bike racks can support electric bikes if the bike’s weight falls within the specific rack’s weight capacity. The Sport Rider for Electric Bikes by Hollywood Racks supports two 80lb electric bikes and has versatile compatibility with wheelbases, tire widths, and wheel diameters.
Hanging hitch racks have lower weight capacities and are unsuitable for e-bikes. Likewise, some light-duty platform racks only support 40lb per bike, meaning most e-bikes won’t fit.
How Do I Prevent My Hitch Bike Rack From Wobbling?
All hitch bike racks will wobble to a certain extent while driving. However, movement at the hitch can be reduced with the help of a hitch-tightening cam or aftermarket lock. Premium racks usually have this feature built-in, but hitch tighteners can be purchased to do the same job.
Do Hitch Racks Damage Your Bike?
Hitch bike racks shouldn’t damage your bike, but poorly made products can cause abrasion to the frame paint or wheels over time. For this reason, most platform hitch rack manufacturers opt to avoid frame contact by securing bikes at the wheels and only touching the tire rubber. This eliminates all contact with the more fragile parts of the bike to avoid damage.
Can I Access My Trunk While Using a Hitch Bike Rack?
Most platform hitch racks offer a way for you to access your trunk while the rack is mounted, using either a tilting mechanism or a swing-away extension that completely opens up the rear of the vehicle. Some tilting mechanisms can be used while bikes are mounted. Hanging hitch racks like Thule’s Apex XT also tilt, though not with bikes loaded.
What Size Hitch Receiver Do I Need for a Hitch Bike Rack?
At a minimum, a Class II, 1.25″ hitch receiver is required for a hitch bike rack. However, higher-capacity racks and heavy-duty models require a 2″ or 2.5″ hitch receiver. Some racks are compatible with both 1.25″ and 2″ hitches with the use of an adaptor, but most manufacturers offer versions that fit just one size.
