Bike Racks!!! Any ideas?

[cperez]

I like that the kuat makes the front wheel slightly lower and alternates so the handlebars dont hit.

That is a nice, elegant feature I wasn't aware of. I had to move my Thule trays to their full adjustment limits to just barely give enough clearance for my two bikes.

The new Trek is sweet.

 

[BikePilot]

My Fiance and I mountain bike all summer and do a lot of racing. We ended up with a recon rack which is pricy but will last forever and can carry 5 high end bikes without any rubbing or touching. IMO loading bikes onto the roof rack of an SUV is a huge PITA.

http://recon-racks.com/

Awesome, I also MTB a ton and just bought an LR4. Can you open the LR's hatch/tail gate with the rack installed (and titled back I'd assume)? I'm seriously thinking about the 5 bike Recon for the LR4. Currently using either a pickup truck (likely to be sold soon) or 1-up racks on the roof the station wagon (works great, but it's a lowered wagon so easy to reach!). I've taken bikes on/off a Recon before when shuttling via bike shop vans before. So easy to load yet secure! .

 

[jwest]

Awesome, I also MTB a ton and just bought an LR4. Can you open the LR's hatch/tail gate with the rack installed (and titled back I'd assume)? I'm seriously thinking about the 5 bike Recon for the LR4. Currently using either a pickup truck (likely to be sold soon) or 1-up racks on the roof the station wagon (works great, but it's a lowered wagon so easy to reach!). I've taken bikes on/off a Recon before when shuttling via bike shop vans before. So easy to load yet secure! .

Nobody enjoys the rack and bikes tilted down sitting right in the middle of the rear hatch and it would be insanely annoying on the LR3/4 with its tailgate. I used one on my bmw wagon but sold it. I may adapt the T2 to a swing out arm mount.

I wish there were a swing away tray style rack. Not sure why none exist ?!

 

[DirtyHal]

Awesome, I also MTB a ton and just bought an LR4. Can you open the LR's hatch/tail gate with the rack installed (and titled back I'd assume)? I'm seriously thinking about the 5 bike Recon for the LR4. Currently using either a pickup truck (likely to be sold soon) or 1-up racks on the roof the station wagon (works great, but it's a lowered wagon so easy to reach!). I've taken bikes on/off a Recon before when shuttling via bike shop vans before. So easy to load yet secure! .

Yup, you can open the rear hatch with the rack on. I even have mine adjusted close to the rear of the car and it isn't much of an issue.

My wife and I went on a 2 week trip for our honeymoon camping and riding all over BC in July and I was constantly opening the back of the car to let the dog out and it wasn't a big deal. I had 4 bikes on and I had to take the two off on the driver's side to lower the rack and let my dog out but I have a lil system now so it isn't too bad.

I'll see if I can take a pic of what it looks like with the gate open tomorrow.

 

[ryanjl]

Nice Rocky's!

 

[BikePilot]

That's awesome! Thanks for the photo and details. Really helps and that looks like the perfect setup.

 

[Martin Spencer]

Here is a vote for North Shore Racks. They are easy to use, fit a range of bike sizes, and can get them that carry up to 6 bikes.

 

[Mankar]

You can add onto the single bike rack. It even says so on their website.

https://www.1up-usa.com/product/quik-rack-single/

I believe you can only add enough for 2 bikes, however. So if you start with a single rack, you are limited to carrying 3 total bikes. If you start with a double rack, you can carry 4 bikes. Etc.

On mine, I use the standard Land Rover hitch. When I remove the bike rack, I actually just remove the hitch and carry away the bike rack and hitch as one unit ( I don't ever tow anything).

When you have a bike on the rack and you tilt the rack into the downward position, can you open the lower tailgate? Thanks!

 

[ryanjl]

When you have a bike on the rack and you tilt the rack into the downward position, can you open the lower tailgate? Thanks!

Yes. When you have a bike on the rack, you can drop it all the way down to the low position and the rear tailgate can open all the way.

I think this is the perfect bike rack for the LR4 if you only ever carry a single bike.

I leave it on my LR4 all summer long, and it doesn't get in the way of anything when I'm not using it. Only PITA is it causes the rear proximity sensors to go off when you back up.

 

[roverman]

It took me nearly a year of listening to that backup sensor before I realized I could turn it off with the Gap