YAKIMA, RidgeBack Tilt-Away Hitch-Mounted Bike Rack for Cars, SUVs, Trucks and More, Fits 1.25” and 2” Hitches

Great 2-bike carrier at a reasonable cost. This is the first bike carrier I've ever owned, so I don't have anything to compare to, but I can't imagine what more someone could want, unless they want something a little lighter. Not that this is heavy (I'd guess around 40lbs) , but it takes a little strength to balance it when inserting in the hitch receiver. To install, you first lift the black lever on the bike post and push down the hitch post at the bottom until it snaps into place at a right angle to the main post. When you go to insert the hitch post into the receiver on your vehicle, I've found that it helps to angle it upward slightly. Slide it into place, and insert the red-capped security pin. It's in place when the pin hole on the insert post aligns with the hole on the receiver and the end of the red wedge is flush with the end of the receiver. (At least this is the case with a 2" hitch. Not sure if you use the 1-1/4" option.) To finish securing, lift up on the hitch and tighten the red nob at the end of the hitch until it's snug. Then lock the nob so someone can't remove it without the key (the nob will spin free). Once in place, lift the red lever, and raise the bike arms to mount your bike. When you mount your first bike, note that the secure point for the seat-post side of the bike frame is to the left, so the front wheel is pointing right. Then you secure the bike to the carrier with the zip straps. These work great. This seems like a better design than the old rubber straps. A couple of final points: Security-wise, once you lock the red tightening cap, the hinge mechanisms to raise and lower the bike arms and to lower the rack for your car tailgate are encased, so there's nothing someone could unbolt. So if you lock your bikes to the hitch, they should be as secure as possible. Also, one review I read talked about hearing a rattle while driving with the rack even though it was tight and secure. This was not a functional complaint. I noticed no such rattle. Mine was as solid and quiet as could be. So either that reviewer's experience was an isolated case or the manufacturer has fixed that problem. Bottom line: l'd highly recommend this rack.

Writing this review after first installing so I will come back and update the review if necessary. I have to say, this thing is rock solid and study. The bike rack is heavy enough that you know it is made with strong materials while still being light enough for easy installation. The bike rack came fully assembled and took about 2 minutes to install and that was because I did not realize that the lock mechanism came locked already and needed to be unlocked prior to install. The folding feature is amazing and will allow quick access to the trunk without taking the rack off. The arms that hold the bikes fold down when not in use. I can see myself keeping the bike rack on all the time. I will definitely be ordering more Yakima products including their roof top basket as they appear to make high quality products.

SO glad I bought this. Had older bike rack that required tools to put on, was not much heavier but definitely more cumbersome and didn't fold up as nicely. This thing is very easy to use. Slide it into the hitch, spin the red knob, pop in the little safety, done. To take it out takes the same amount of time, 30 seconds or so. Fold down features are fast and simple. Need to get into the main hatch? Pull the lever, fold it down. Push it back up. Want to store it? Fold the bike rack down, fold the trailer insert up, you have a slender, fairly compact rack that you can hang on a peg in the garage or in my case I often leave it in the back of my SUV because it doesn't take up much room. Quality is super high. The bike straps on the top are very high quality and secure, not the flimsy rubber stretch type that I often ripped on my old one when pulling too hard. It also looks sleek, not like my old contraption. The only very minor con is that it's a somewhat heavier than I expected. I have no problem noving it around as I am a big guy but some might need a hand. Overall a great rack and worth the money.

This rack works well but is very heavy duty and, for some, may require two people to position it in a hitch receiver due to weight and awkward size. After assembly in the hitch (which is easy enough), it feels very sturdy, but I've noticed some fore/aft free play in the vertical post - perhaps an inch or so at most at the top. A little disconcerting but nothing that appears to hinder it's function or the safety of bikes being carried, and the adjustment to secure in the trailer hitch is bullet proof - great engineering on this. I just drove 250 miles over highways at 75 mph, secondary roads and rutted dirt roads and all was very secure. I did however purchase some wide velcro straps to secure the front wheel to the bike's frame and the frame to the main upright of the rack - I did not care for the straps included, but they probably would work ok. I just had a hard time cinching them real tight. Just felt I ought to protect my new bike's finish as best I could (!) and the velcro straps weren't expensive. And the tilt feature works well, but with a bike on it can be heavy and a bit awkward to hold while accessing the rear tail gate. However, one advantage I did notice on my pickup with a cap, the vertical post of the rack is positioned far enough away that it, and mounted bikes, allow me to open my rear window on the cap at least half way to access the contents if close to the tail gate, and fully if no bike is mounted. Also, Yakima suggests an adjustable top bar they (as well as others) sell to attach to seat post and handle bar frame to allow a true horizontal placement of bike on the rack. My bike is a hybrid and does have an angled top frame but it's not severe and the seat shock did not look like I could attach a horizontal bar to that area. The bike was ok sitting at an angle of perhaps 25 degrees from the horizontal and well above the road as it's mounted on a 4x4 pick-up. A women's bike or any bike with a severe rake in the top frame member, or if mounted on a small car's trailer hitch, would need this bar so the bike remains horizontal and well above ground while being transported. Update - I've now been using this for over a week and all is well. I have left the rack in place w/o a bike for much of the time, and one caution which is pretty obvious -- be care backing up! You now have added extra length to your vehicle. And you do stick out a bit in parking spaces when facing in. I bought some automotive red reflective tape and used it liberally to the back side of the upright, top bottom and sides, and on the ends of the bike attachment bars. An ounce of prevention ...

I coulld not be happier with my selection. I went back and forth on which carrier I would get, I liked the features of the Ridgeback, locking to the hitch, accessabilty to the truck bed after it was installed, but what really impresses me is the rock solid contruction. I went to two different local bike shops and they tryed to sell me lines that were less expensive and did not have the same features, thier big selling point was they are cheaper, and when you look at the construction of tthe other models you see what they mean by cheap. No assembly require, easy to load, and with two bikes on the rack, there was no movement. Buy a YAKIMA Rack you will be glad you did.

For 1-1/4" hitch owners: read this and maybe you can avoid injury to yourself and damage to the rack. I couldn't. First off, the rack looks to be a 5, but the instructions are a -30, so the closest average I could get was 1 star. I own my part of this problem: this was a surprise birthday present for my wife and I was in a hurry to get it installed. Bad move. Yakima owns the rest. First, it comes with the 2" adapter installed, apparently by Godzilla because I could just barely get the allen screws out with the wrenches provided. Then all I had to do was remove the adapter. It wouldn't budge. It was so tight I looked for another allen screw, but the there were only three. The removal instructions are a simple drawing showing the allen screws out and the adapter being pulled off to the side. Would that it was that easy! I started tapping with a hammer and it moved a little, then stopped. I tried rocking it front to back but it would only go so far. Then I started banging and mashed my thumb in the process. At that point I saw that the adapter was jammed up against the lock mechanism that hangs loosely out of hitch post. I had bent the internal rod that the lock attaches to, and it wasn't going anyplace. So now I am heading to my inside shop to see if I can get the adapter off with better tools and more light, and straighten the rod to where I can get the lock back into the hitch post. This could have easily been avoided by Yakima by either shipping with the adapter off, selling it separately, or putting some WORDS on the drawing like, "You have to keep the lock inside the hitch while removing the adapter, or you will bend the rod and ruin your day." That can be done by laying it with the lock up so gravity keeps it inside the hitch post. Don't get me wrong, removing the adapter under any conditions will be no walk in the park if they are all as tight as this one. So now go buy one, don't try to rush, and above all - remain calm. Ohmmmmmm... UPDATE: I got the adapter off and it appears that the rod is not bent after all. I installed it on my wife's car and tested lowering the upright. It would not lower. I didn't want to break off the plastic latch so I kept jiggling it and finally got it to release. I worked it several times and then called my wife out to see it. She was thrilled, but then she couldn't get the upright to lower and wanted to send it back. It was working fine for me but not for her and her car is a hatchback so she HAS to be able to lower it. Finally after a lot of convincing, she got the right angle on the handle, held her mouth just right, and could get it to lower every time. Now she loves it - way classier than the piece of junk she was using to haul her $2K bicycle around. Of course we have not tried carrying a bike on it yet, so stay tuned. As far as security, with the carrier locked to the car and the bike locked to the carrier with the optional stowable lock (way cool), it would be easier to just steal the car if you want the bike. UPDATE II: the fold down lock now fails to work at all, so we are returning it for a replacement. Clearly there is some kind of defect in this one and hopefully the replacement will work as advertised, because it is a really cool rack. Returning this may be a problem if I can't get it to fold up somehow, because it will not fit in the shipping box as is. Sounds like a problem for Amazon and UPS - I just hope they don't try to make it mine. I really like Amazon's hassle-free return policy. UPDATE III: Amazon came through with the replacement, everything came apart and went back together like a breeze, and the mechanism operates smoothly. I did notice that this unit DID NOT have the foam rubber insert mentioned in another review, so I am thinking that it's an earlier production unit. If that is the case, they may have also started tightening up the 2" adapter parts as a product improvement that backfires for owners of 1-1/4" hitches. As an FYI, on a Subaru Outback, you can slide the post all the way into the hitch socket and still open the rear gate with the rack down and the bicycle on the rack. Just drill another hole in the post for the safety pin. I am leaving this a 1 Star to warn other people about what they may run into. Also, I expected Yakima to follow through on this without prompting, so they clearly either don't check these reviews, or don't care. Well thought out and designed product, but suspect quality control and customer support. Bottom line is my wife is once again thrilled, and really, isn't that what life is all about?

Great product. This bike rack is very easy to install on standard hitch receivers (only took a few minutes). The rack is very sturdy and swings down easily to access the rear door of my SUV. Once bikes are put into the rack they don’t swing much at all. For long drives I have used some additional straps to secure the wheels. The only downside of this rack is that it doesn’t come with a lock feature to protect bikes from being stolen. I purchased the Yakima Ridgeback lock but it is very thin and can be disabled very easily. It’s good enough to protect your bike while going in and out of stores quickly.

Yakima makes great racks and this is no exception. A much better upgraded model of the old rack I had similar to this from 20 years ago, this rack is attractive as it is functional. My only complaint is that you have to keep track of all the little pieces to secure the bike onto the rack, which I don’t remember from my older rack, however does really work to keep the bikes secure. A bit of a hassle to keep track of the straps, but not too bad. I recommend ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Llegó en tiempo y forma. El producto de buena calidad, lo esperado de un yakima. Llegó incompleto, falta la llave, por lo que no lo he podido usar. El vendedor tarda muchísimo en contestar, da respuestas vagas, no resuelve. Alargó el tiempo para no poder devolver, y ya no respondió. Te recomiendo el producto pero comprado con otro vendedor

Great product! Heavy Duty......

Great product

This bike rack works well and is easy to use, however installing it was a bit of a challenge because the manual lacks details. A call to the manufacturer and a really good you tube video simplified the process.

Works great and looks great.