YAKIMA, HoldUp Hitch Mount Tray Bike Rack

Original Post, Unboxing | 5.23.2013It just arrived yesterday. It's heavy, weighing about 60lbs. It came double boxed and the parts are all well wrapped in foam and protected with cardboard spacers. It comes mostly pre-assembled in three main pieces; the hitch and the two arms that hold each bike. It also includes two small parts bags. It took me about five to ten minutes to unbox and unwrap everything. Everything looks solid and high quality. After considerable research, tray style hitch mounted bike racks are great(though they have their cons too). I'll update after assembly, installation, and use.Update 1, Assembly & Installation | 6.1.2013I assembled the rack, which means I screwed the two trays to the hitch. You start by inserting the hitch mount into your vehicles hitch. That's all there is to assembly. Just unscrew 4 screws from each tray and then use them to attach the tray to the hitch mount, repeat for the other tray and you're done. This took about 10-20 minutes. The arm folds down easily with the push of a button, it folds down a bit further for easier loading and trunk/ hatch access. It's heavy, but it's smooth. I loaded and unloaded my bikes a few times and it is very fast and incredibly easy. I've only used it a few times so far, about 4 or 5 times with my XL 29er MTB, 61cm CycloCross bike, and my wife's City bike with fenders. All work great, with the exception of my wife's bike... This rack cannot be used with fenders, I just used the arm to hold on to the down tube instead of the front wheel and it worked fine. On one trip, I forgot to latch the rear wheel and didn't budge. So far, this is by far the best bike rack out there, I'm very happy with it. The built in hitch and cable bike locks are a great added feature. I'll update again after a full summer of use.

I was initially planning to return the Holdup 2 but luckily I didn't before trying out my second consideration: the Kuat NV.Here's my review comparing the Kuat NV and the Yakima Holdup 2:Hitch connection: Both are well-built and fit securely without any movement. I like how there's no wrench required on the Kuat to attach it to the hitch receiver: slip in and lock the pin and then hand-tighten the ball with a knob to secure the mount to the hitch and keep it from moving around. On the other hand, while the hitch pin just slips in and locks, it's free to rattle around. (I added some tape to make it more snug.) On the Yakima, the hitch pin screws into place with a wrench. It's very secure but it's not very convenient to put on or remove - and I'm not one to leave the rack on when I'm not using it.Tray Design: Both are tray designs and can carry a wide range of bike sizes and styles. Both can be extended to carry up to four bikes. Yakima's is easier to assemble but that's just a one-time thing. However, Yakima has a strong advantage here in that the individual trays can be adjusted left and right to avoid conflicts between handlebars and seats. In addition, Kuat advertises that you get 13" spacing between your bikes but that's only true if you don't add on the extra rack for two more bikes. You have to disassemble one set of arms and reattach them at a 9" spacing to accommodate the two bike add-on. And this isn't something you can do easily - you're not going to want to switch this back and forth. Even without the squeeze down to 9", I find that our two mountain bikes make hard contact with each other between seats and handlebars and shifters. This doesn't happen at all on the Yakima. Even in the tray's center positions, the bikes are offset from each other and the seats and bars don't touch at all. Plus, you can move the trays on the Yakima if need be.Lock cables: Both have built-in cable locks and a locking hitch pin with shared keys. Kuat's cables are beefier but Kuat's cables are so short I can just barely get it to pass through the frames of two mtn bikes - and not even both rear wheels (never mind the front wheels). The Yakima design is different and each cable locks separately and can easily include the frame and front wheel (but not the backs).Door clearance: On the Yakima, you can't open the RAV4's rear swing door very far (it opens left to right) without hitting the rear wheel basket. However, if you lift up on the swing door while you open it, you can squeeze over this and get it open about 3-4 feet. Not all the way, but it's enough to provide easy access to the back of the vehicle. On the other hand, the Kuat design has a low enough profile when fully lowered that the RAV4's door will only just barely touch the rack but allows it to open fully.Extras: The Kuat NV comes with a repair stand to lift your bike up via its seat post. The Yakima Holdup 2 Plus add-on comes with a spring loaded warning flag and two battery-operated warning blinkers.Aesthetics: It's subjective, but I think the Kuat looks nicer/sharper than the Yakima, but the Yakima doesn't look bad, just plain.I am going to stay with the Yakima Holdup 2 just because of how easily the bikes fit in and don't rub or cut into each other and how the trays are adjustable to avoid handlebar/seat conflicts with other people's bikes. The need to use a wrench to screw on and off the hitch pin on the Yakima might get annoying over time - but I normally put my bikes inside my vehicle anyway. Much safer and secure back there. I just want the rack for when there's more than two of us or I need to fill the vehicle with other gear (camping, etc).

This rack is awesome. Very solid and secure.

Bikes on and off in a snap! Tilt rack with both bikes mounted to get gear out of your car hatch back. Locks up both bikes to rack and rack to trailer hitch. Little heavy to remove from trailer hitch and may take two people. But you can leave the rack on your car after folding it together and snapped up in stow position . Bikes are very secure and steady going down the freeway or a bumpy gravel road. Great value for money!