If you’ve been around trailheads or bike parks lately, you’ve probably seen one of these behemoths. Modern mountain bikes are big and bulky, and if you’re regularly hauling a full load with a single vehicle, a rack like this makes sense. It holds five bikes, loads quickly, and sticks out no farther than a standard 2-bike horizontal rack.
At 95 pounds, this rack is undeniably heavy. But a few smart features make it manageable. Hydraulic dampers assist with lowering the rack when it’s fully loaded, so you don’t have to wrestle with it. Once in the lowered position, even shorter riders and kids can lift their bikes high enough to slot them into the baskets.
Bikes are spaced 15 inches apart, giving you plenty of room to carry any combination—flat bar, drop bar, even cruisers.
Beyond sheer capacity, this design is especially useful for smaller SUVs and minivans. These vehicles often don’t have the suspension strength or wheelbase length to handle a heavy 4-bike horizontal rack cantilevered off the hitch.
