Allen Deluxe 4-Bike Hitch Mount Rack (2-Inch Receiver)
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List Price: Our Price: $179.99 You Save: $60.00 (25%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Sports See more product details |
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Description of Allen Deluxe 4-Bike Hitch Mount Rack (2-Inch Receiver)
Deluxe Hitch Mounted 4-Bike Carrier for 2-Inch hitchThis Deluxe Hitch Mounted Bike Carrier by Allen holds four bikes and is ideal for weekend biking trips with friends and family outings. A tie-down system securely holds and protects each bicycle while 22-inch carry arms drop out of the way when not in use. Appropriate for two-inch hitches, this carrier includes a strap which eliminates lower bike movement. Minor assembly and simple set up of the carrier is required.
About Allen Bike Racks
In 1967, after a few years of working on the aerospace technology for the Apollo missions, Dick Allen was out of a job. Government cutbacks led Allen, a Harvard-trained physicist, to transform his garage hobby into a new industry. A cycling enthusiast, inventor, and family man, Allen had a personal need for a bike-carrying device. On weekends, he would take his sons and wife to Cape Cod or the White Mountains of New Hampshire. What proved difficult time and again was the transport of his family?s bicycles. Rather than fight through inconvenience with twine and a dinged car, Allen sought an answer for himself as well as a market in which he foresaw major growth possibilities.
Always a pathfinder, Allen took to work in his Lincoln, Massachusetts garage in search of a more efficient way to transport bikes. Drafting designs during the day and constructing them throughout the night, he put together a model made of electrical conduit, metal strapping, and fire hose casings (for padding). At first, the Allens tested the prototype on weekend excursions. Finding the first trunk-mounted rack to be a success, Dick started Allen Bike Racks. Dealer acceptance came quickly, and by 1971 Allen Bike Racks were sold nationally through a number of major bicycle distributors. Today, the company owns over three dozen patents and offers a versatile product line of bike racks while Dick?s son Alex now owns and operates the business. What started out as a small garage run operation now operates three warehouses nationally, two factories abroad, and has products sold in more than a dozen countries around the world.
Sports reviews of Allen Deluxe 4-Bike Hitch Mount Rack (2-Inch Receiver)
Customer Review: Solid Rack, Nice Features, Great Value
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
This Allen Bike carrier rack is awesome.
I can easily load a mens and a womens mountain bike, my teenagers thick frame mountain bike, and my young daughters "little Pony" kids bike all at the same time. I had to think about the best way to load them up for a minute, but it was'nt to difficult to make them all fit (and I didnt have to remove any bike parts). I suspect that I would have an easier time loading 4 similar bikes rather than the variety of 2-wheelers that sit in my garage. My wifes "Womens Low X-Bar" bike easily mounted without the extra x-bar attachment that they recommend, so you can save yourself $20 bucks and skip that purchase.
The hitch pin snugs up to the 2" recieved and eliminates all the wobble I have seen on other carriers. The horizontal mount can be folded down by pulling a spring-loaded knob, and the entire unit will fold away from the tailgate by pulling the lower spring-loaded knob. The bikes are held in place by poly-straps and friction buckles. They snug down real nice, and stay secure for the entire trip to the bike trails.
I found this bike carrier to be a quality item, and when you compare the price to the top-name brands, this is definately a great value.
Bottom Line: It will easily carry 4 bikes, it has some very unique features that are nice to have, and its a quality carrier.
Cons: There is no way to "lock" the rack to the reciever unless you buy the locking hitch pin sold separately. (A crook will need a 9/16" wrench to to steal the rack, so its reasonably secure in most places without a lock). There is a gusset on the rack that you can run a cable thru, so I ussually just lock everything up (bikes and rack) to the 2-inch reciever chain holders using a cable and pad-lock.
Customer Review: Solid Rack
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
I bought this rack mostly because of how cheap it was. I wasn't expecting anything too amazing because the price was so low (I bought it online from walmart .) I was seriously surprised at the racks quality for the price. I see that people say the metal is thin, but this is just holding bikes people. The light weight makes it easy to place on the hitch. I think I also have an older/different model even though the model number is the same. Mine has a curved lower tubing and I don't know what the strap with the hooks that you are supposed to hook to the vehicle is. The rack tilt and the folding bike mount are super easy to use. Both have spring loaded quick release pins with no play whatsoever. Loading the bikes is a piece of cake. I don't understand why some reviewers think loading takes too long or the straps are not good enough (again it is just holding bikes.) It only takes a few minutes to load up my bikes and the top and bottom straps hold everything securely. To test out the rack I took our bikes on a 600 mile round trip at 80 mph. The rack was solid and the straps never loosened a bit. I know that you could steal the top half pretty easily (its only two bolts.) For me personally, I'm probably going to weld the nuts to the bolts and never worry about it again (when would I ever need to take it apart.) For the price I give it five stars+Customer Review: Oops!
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
I bought this for a Subaru Outback, only to discover it would require a custom built receiver. I made the poor assumption that Subarus would inherently be designed for this type of accessory' not so. Make certain it can be used with your vehicle before purchasing.
If returning this one, I recommend wrapping the actual box in bubble wrap and wrapping that with shipping paper. The box Amazon uses is ridiculously ineffective- something aforementioned in other reviews.
Other than that, it arrived as described. The decal fell off but I wasn't concerned about that. Unfortunately, I couldn't road test it! Instead, I bought a individual racks to mount to the luggage rack. I will say that I don't miss attaching a rear mounted rack to the back of my car every time I need to transport my bikes (I used to use a Yamaha in the past with a different car). On the flip side, once the top racks are installed they're basically there forever unless you want to go through the hassle of removal each time they're needed. Also, lifting bikes to the roof can be awkward.
Customer Review: Simple, functional, and looks good
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
The box from FedEx suffered some damage, but the unit was in good shape. Putting it all together and attaching it to the car was quick and easy... took about 15 minutes. The bikes easily strap down to the rack and come off just as easy. There was some slight wobble to the unit at a joint in the vertical post, but nothing to be concerned about. When you're not carting bikes around, the mounting portion folds down, and the whole unit can tilt back to about a 45 degree angle for easy access to the trunk of your car.
Lately I've been taking a closer look at bike mounts on other cars, and this one looks a lot nicer that just about any other brand I've seen. The only minor problem is that there really isn't any way to burglar-proof the bikes unless you somehow chain them to some part of the frame of your car, but this is probably an issue with just about any bike mount. Just don't leave them out of sight for too long. Overall, I would highly recommend this Allen rack.
Customer Review: Solid Product at a very reasonable price.
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
I was pleasantly surprise by the thickness built of this bike rack. The arms folds down when not in use and you can tilt it down to an angle access your trunk or SUV. This product is built in USA and not some China parts that will break just as fast. Since the price difference between 2 or 3 or 4 bike rack was minimal I just went for the biggest one. It's kinda real long if you only have 1 or 2 bikes as you must slide your bike all the way in. Then again, more people is always more fun ona bike ride. If you're like me that lives in the city, you'll beg for some safe roads to bike on, then this will help you get to your desired park without risking your life at every turn. The rack is well constructed and don't use those cheap shinny enamel paint so no worries of getting it scratched. I think it is just as reliable as the higher priced Yakima or Thule rack. I definitively recommend it. It has a lifetime warrantee and comes well packaged.