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

Just bought this rack and received it the other day... exactly what I had imagined and seen on reviews. Here, I'll provide some insight to my decision to help you decide what would be best for you. Background: I need a bike carrier that will handle 4 bikes (adult road bike & children mountain bike) that's easy to use and not break the bank. First decision point: Roof-rack vs. hitch mounted bike rack. Roof-racks seem more secure but I've known so many people who have run into their garage with the bike attached. Roof-rack decreases your MPG since your car will be less aerodynamic. Also, I'll be using this on my mini-van and the roof-rack for that would just be too high. So I decided on hitch mounted bike rack. But if you treasure your frame and don't want to scratch it (you might with this carrier), then roof-rack may be the way to go. Second decision point: Fold down bike rack or this type of carrier. If I had mountain bikes, heavy bikes, or bikes with irregular frame then the fold down bike rack where you place the bike on top of the rack and lock down would be the way to go. But since I have 4 bikes to carry and they're all "normal" frame, then this carrier is fine. It doesn't extend the car as much as the other type. Third decision point: Brand vs. no-brand. I'm a true believer of "you get what you paid for." Do I want to save a couple hundred dollars while risking thousands of dollars of my bikes... not really. So I decided to go with a brand widely recognizable, either Thule or Yakima. Fourth decision point: Yakima vs. Thule. This is the same debate as Canon vs. Nikon... you have camps on both sides and will fight to their last breath for the brand they're loyal to. Largely, the racks are very similar in function and price. But this rack won because: 1. Hitch mount has a locking mechanism: The triangular thingy at the bottom tightens and loosens the hitch mount, you can lock it and no one can take it away. Thule doesn't have this. 2. Operation levers at top: The two levers that you use to "operate" this carrier are located at the top, so you don't need to bend down to do anything. 3. Tilting mechanism: The carrier can be tilted so that you can access your trunk. I don't know the exact degree but it is pretty significant. I have a Honda Odyssey and the trunk clears the carrier by about a foot. 4. Heavy: This rack is -heavy- and that's good, means it is made out of something strong and will last for a long time. 5. Plastic clips: Instead of rubber straps, this carrier uses plastic clips. This is probably longer lasting and easier to use. Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase. Extra tip: The black lever at the top will control both tilting of the carrier and also folding the hitch mount

This bike rack was a game changer for me. Very strong, sturdy and lasting now 8 years later. The components don't rust, or break down to date. I purchased the ridgeback in 2015 because I was struggling lifting bikes into SUV's without scratching. Being an older guy, lifting the bikes onto the hitch mount rack is very easy and not straining. Being able to lock the rack to my truck is a great feature. The tilt feature allows me easy access into back of truck. You won't regret your purchase. I'm purchasing another ridgeback for my brother. Enjoy !

Overall I kind of like this Bike rack - I have it installed into a standard 2inch towing hitch and the install was indeed very simple. I also purchased the HandCuff Bike lock and that was easy to fit in as well for some added security. I got the rack because we will need very soon to carry 4 bikes on short outings. A lot of folks have commented on the positives of this bike rack (and there are many), so here are my list of stuff I found annoying: - weight. This thing is heavy, but somehow the proportions feel a bit wrong. The tow hitch adapter is made to work with both 1.25 and 2inch hitch receivers, so the pipe going into the standard 2inch receiver is kind of on the thin side and sits awkwardly to one corner when mounted. It feels like the whole assembly is kind of too heavy for the small diameter bar connecting it to the hitch receiver. - the bike mount posts are in fixed position. After putting on my bike, the second one needed another half inch distance away from the first bike to seat properly in the bike posts mounted on the rack. But since these don't move, I had to give up using position #2 and ended up using position #1, #3, and #4 for our three large bikes. This is kind of a bummer because when the toddler will graduate to a bike that no longer fits inside the car I will have to look for another "4 bike" rack which can actually accommodate 4 bikes. - the way the straps are positioned and work, they require the bike seats to be turned about 45 degrees from their normal straight position. This required for me to get quick release bike seat clamps for the kids bikes as well, so that was an added expense I did not anticipate (If you ever hated your life while resetting a kids seat using the hex screw then you will know why a quick release clamp is a must here) - the rack arms are quite widely spaced, so I had to purchase/use a bike top tube post because the arms were too wide by about an inch. Bummer. I found the install and uninstall to be very straightforward and the operation of the bike rack to be quite pleasant and reassuring when loaded up with bikes. I really wish there would be a way to glide the bike mounting posts to achieve some custom spacing.

I love how easy it is to use it. this was the first bike rack i ever bought and I was nervous how difficult it would be to use it. it took me about 15 minutes to install it the first time considering I had zero experience in installing a bike rack. after a few practices, now I load 3 bikes in less than 5 minutes , easy to lock the bikes, and the bikes dont shake or move while driving. very impressive how well built this rack is and how well holds the bikes in place. it also have a very great look and design that goes well with my car, I have silver jeep and this rack is also silver, a perfect match with my car.

What I didn’t like. I don’t know what kind of bikes they used to claim it will hold four bikes, I can easily mount two adult bikes, maybe squeeze a third one on. Handle bars and seats prevent me from mounting three or four bikes. What I like. This is a beast of a bike rack, it takes some muscle to lift it into place on a 2” trailer hitch. Trailer hitch locking system works well It is rock solid, no wiggle or wobble during transport. The U shaped fasteners work well. Easy tilt to access full tail gate on a pickup.

Got a defective unit to begin with. Even though it had the factory packaging, the rack was scratched on one side (the bottom black part that is the hinge). Also the plastic housing around the same pivot point had come off and it seemed like it had some hard impact somewhere along the way. Still since I had opened the box, went ahead to install it. This thing is NOT light. So please be careful as a small mistake in installation and this thing could dent the back of your car. Or hurt you too. then started the downward slippery slope with this thing. As the first step, opened the tounge and started rotating the knob at the back. But since it was 'locked' it kept rotating. I was a bit clueless since there was no indicator or a mark stating which is the locked or unlocked position. Then the lock wedge that it comes with was loose. It came off and then I figured when you open the tongue there is a large screw that basically contracts. Finally got everything in position and managed to get it into my 2"inch receiver. Getting the stop hole to insert the safety latch was not easy. Manage all that, try to load the bike and my Mongoose Stat does not seem to have a good way of going past the 1st of the 4 bike positions. Tried to push a bit and the top paint of my new bike came got peeled since this thing seems to have a metal pin to provide the spring action for the clips. In a rubberized version of bikerack, this would never happen. Was feeling very pathetic to have caused that to my bike. Was puzzled as to why the bike was having trouble in going in since it did go smoothly on another cheaper Hollywood brand rack. Then noticed that the distance between the arms of this rack are way wider than other racks. And to add to that the firm plastic support which basically meant the brake and gear cables were going to be suppressed even if I managed to get to position my bike. Then these plastic clips have big downside...the bikes need to be in that exact position else they will not work unlike the rubber latch ons. Even tried a cross bar on the bike to see whether that made a difference and it did not. With all this trouble and after getting scratches on my new bike, immediately logged into amazon to start the return process on this one. Will never be ordering this one again.

I have a Subaru Forester and had a Subaru trailer hitch put on my car, which cost a small fortune, by my local Subaru dealer. I did not realize that there are different types of trailer hitches and my dealer did not ask me what I wanted to do with it. After opening the bike rack box I was met by a warning that if the distance between the hole on the receiver (the trailer hitch part that receives the tongue from the bike rack) (almost sounds obscene) was less than an inch and a half that the rack could not be used. After stewing over this for three nights and talking to my Subaru dealer I talked to Yakima in customer service. They told me that last December they modified the rack by adding a second hole in the tongue, which permitted the hitch to receive the tongue. Yakima said that they had not yet updated their instructions. Even when I downloaded the instructions from their website they still have the same misinformation about whether it will fit or not if the hole is less than an inch and a half. The rack is very well made and although I have not loaded bicycles on it yet, it looks like a good choice.

Our first real trip with this bike rack was >850 miles one way (>1700 miles round trip), mostly on highways. I spent quite a while looking at the different bike racks available and settled on this one. We were carrying two adult hybride bikes, and one 18" bike with training wheels. Instructions for installation are in pictures and easy to understand. The only "confusing" part was that the locking mechanism arrived in the fully locked position and had to be loosened before placing in the hitch receiver. The instructions did not cover this part, but it was easy enough to figure out. The locking feature seems to be pretty weak, but it's there. "Locks are for keeping honest people honest." Alternating adult, child, adult bike, three bikes fit without issue. Attempting 2 adult bikes without the child bike (on the way home from the store when buying the bikes) it was very difficult to get the bikes to fit on the first two spots. Part of this was the difference in the way the female and male bikes fit next to one another. Fitting four adult bikes could be a challenge. I do not trust the plastic clips that are meant to hold the bikes in place and used a ratcheting strap in addition to the clips. In that configuration none of the plastic clips even loosened. One tie-down strap is provided. I read many different bad reviews for many different bike racks. My greatest fear was that driving down the highway the bike rack would break and cause an accident. The bike rack does bounce, sometimes a lot, and caused me a lot of anxiety while driving. However, our route took us on highways through Kentucky and Tennessee, and those roads (especially around Nashville) are riddled with potholes. It also survived the uneven concrete pavement highways that caused the entire SUV to bounce, and 20 - 30 mph sustained winds. I would highly recommend avoiding bumps, and going slow over train tracks and similar features. Otherwise, checking that the rack is secure occasionally and driving cautiously (both recommended by the manufacturer), this rack was sturdy enough for our road trip.

El Yakima RideBack 4 es un rack de bicis que esta muy bien diseñado. Se instala facilmente, las bicicletas se montan rapido y sin esfuerzo. La bicicletas quedan muy bien estabilizadas durante el viaje y los vados y movimientos bruscos no afectaron ni al rack ni a las bicis. Es tan facil instalar y desintalar, que una vez que baje las bicis para usarlas, desmonte el rack y lo guarde en la cajuela, aun cuando tiene una llave para que se quede montado y no lo puedan quitar.

This bike rack becomes the part of the car, everything is very easy with this bike rack. Takes about 5 to 7 minute to mount all the 3 bikes securely. It is hard to fit 4 bikes though.

Easy to use and simple, strong design. Love it!

Me llego rapidisimo y fue muy facil de instalar y de usar. Mucho mejor precio que en otras tiendas. Lo unico que toma tiempo de entender es como amarrar las bicis para que no se muevan los manubrios.

Good rugged design. Very easy to install and I have loaded it with three bikes and it hold well. Overall very happy with the bike rack and how compact it gets when not in use. But something to keep in mind: Pros: - Easy installation - Compact & rugged design - Easy access to trunk. Cons: - It is right behind the car, and it will cover your backup camera a little. If you have backup sensors, they will be going off all the time as it will cover those as well. A little annoying, - Zip strips are all separate, so it seems like they could be lost easily. - Bike mounting a little awkward. This all depends on your bike, but it can be hard to get the bike just in the right position and it may have to lie on the brake wires when tied in....also, you may need a tube top depending on the design. Note that despite the cons, I still rated it at 4 stars, as I do not find any of them annoying enough given the price. The Yakima Fourtimer may be an easier option if you don't mind the extra cash.