Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Perspective: I am a mother of three young boys ages 8, 6 and 3. So when we go out as a family we have an adult men's bike, an adult women's bike and, at the moment, 2 youth boys bikes. We are not avid bicyclists, so we don't have any of the fancy, lightweight, more thin-framed bikes. Just your run of the mill Wal-Mart brand, bulky kids and adult bikes. This is our second 5-bike bicycle rack in as many years and I LOVE this one so much more than our last for multiple reasons. We attach it to our Honda Odyssey with a 2" hitch.
1) This rack not only has a ball joint (for lack of a better word) to hold the pivoting arm in place, but it also has a locking pin. DOUBLE the protection. I feel much safer with this mechanism should I ever repeat my previous mistake with our first bike rack, although not likely. :)
-------------------------Bought our first bike rack off eBay for about $60. Although it certainly held our bikes, albeit with little room to spare, it wobbled and shimmied like CRAZY when we drove, making the longer trips for vacations a little more anxiety ridden. I was constantly looking in the mirror to make sure it wasn't about to come crashing down or wobble so hard that it would break. It never did, mind you, but I once forgot to replace the locking pin for the part of the rack that pivots out of the way so you can access the tailgate without having to remove the rack entirely. Made it the entire trip (2 hours) without it falling...amazingly...but one mile from our destination we hit a pothole and the rack was jostled just enough to cause it to pivot out of sight and come crashing down behind us with all the bikes on it. Stayed intact and the bikes were unscathed, but the steel upright of the rack was forever bent which caused the bikes to ride too low to the ground to make it safe anymore.
2) The cradles that the bikes rest on swivel 360 degrees making it VERY easy to connect the bikes just about any way you need to.
------------------------Our old bike rack had cushioned (rubber) cradles, but they did not move, so to get the kids' bikes attached they were sitting in the rack at all sorts of crazy angles! Rear wheel way in the air with the front end of the bike facing the ground, etc. The youth bikes now-a-days have some very THICK frames. They LOOK cool, but aren't the most efficient when trying to mount them to a bike rack. The Allen bike rack allowed us to attach the bikes not just along a horizontal plane, but we could attach the left cradle to the vertical column at the handle bars by turning the cradle to the left and the right cradle to the horizontal bar going across the bike...or any other way necessary! love, Love, LOVE it! It's especially easy with the smaller bikes that don't have enough space between the front and back vertical pieces to allow BOTH arms of the rack to pass between them. (hope this makes sense)
3) Arms very quickly and easily swing down and out of the way for storage when bikes aren't loaded.
4) Thought it would be a little weird having one bike mounted BETWEEN the car and the rack the other four on the other side of the rack. Wasn't sure how it would all fit and whether or not there would be enough room to get the bike in there easily.
------------------No problem. The rack sits about a foot from the car. Does not look odd. Bike easy to maneuver in there.
5) Women's bikes do NOT require the cross bar attachment so often recommended to mount to the rack. Why? See reason #2. I actually bought one when I purchased the rack and it sits unused. Didn't use it even once and we've already taken our bikes on 4 outings. So, save your money.
6) Hitch pin really DOES cause the rack not to wobble one bit! LOVE LOVE LOVE it! That rack is in there tightly and securely. Of course, their special anti-wobble pin doesn't have a method to lock it into place, so you lose that option. Not so much a concern for us, but if you are in an area where these types of racks get stolen, you may need to invest in another anti-wobble option that has a locking aspect to it. I was truly amazed, however, at how the pin they provided really did keep the rack from moving in the hitch. It didn't look that different from any other pin, but works great!
Con: Can't lock the bikes into the cradles, but just buy a long enough bike lock that it can wind between all the bikes and you're good to go.
Hope this helps! Kids bikes are able to be attached without much trouble at all! After figuring out how they best fit the first time around, thereafter it's a cinch.
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Allen Premium 5-Bike Hitch Mount Rack (2-Inch Receiver)Carry your bicycles securely and avoid the hassles of piled bikes or high threshold rooftop mounts, with the Allen Premium 4-Bike Hitch Mount Rack. Fitting vehicles with a 2-inch trailer hitch only, the Allen Premium Hitch Mount Rack boasts the new Quick Carry Arm Release, making it both easy to operate and super secure for your bikes. Constructed out of steel with a durable black powder finish, the rack is built to last and is backed up by a lifetime warranty by Allen.
The Allen rack boasts a patented tie-down system and individually cradles up to five bikes in the 28-inch carry arms. A separate tie down strap is included with the rack and eliminates lower bike movement completely. As easy to install as it is to use, the rack sets up in less than 5 minutes with a no-wobble bolt that holds it still within the hitch. When the rack is not in use, the carry arms quickly drop out of the way and fold down flat with a patented single pin mechanism and the rack tilts up to allow easy access to the lift gate.
Specifications:
Fits vehicles with a 2-inch trailer hitch
Holds up to five bikes
28-inch carry arms
Individual bike cradles
Steel construction
Black powder coat finish
Patented single key release system
Tie down strap
Minor assembly 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.
Manufacturer's Warranty Lifetime warranty
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