The Best Bike Racks For Cars (Review & Buying Guide) in 2018

Allen Sports have been designing and making superb Bike racks for over 50 years, ever since Dick Allen founded the company in his garage. The first rack he designed was made of electrical conduit material and old fire hose, but today thankfully they’ve moved on to more modern materials.

This product is simply brimming with excellent design features, but the number one most impressive element about it has to be the ease of use. It slots onto your trailer hitch (you need a 2-inch hitch, though that’s pretty standard), you stand the device upright and secure it with a simple but sturdy bolt and… that’s about it, it’ ready to go.

The carry arms are a full 22-inches in length making them suitable for even larger bike frames and they fold out of the way when not in use. Allen Sport’s patented tie-down system is very easy to use, whilst anti-wobble ties are also incorporated to, well, stop the bikes wobbling whilst you are driving.

Construction is of sturdy steel with a black powder coat finish for a product with a long lifespan, and it even comes with a lifetime warranty. This is a very well designed, very well built bicycle rack from a company you can trust.

It must be noted as well that you are getting that top draw design and construction on a large model with space for 4 bikes and a price tag of under 100 bucks. That is simply phenomenal value.

Saris are one of the premium manufactures of bicycle racks for cars on the market today, and it’s no surprise that has found their way onto our list. They are renowned for cutting edge design when it comes to racks, and this trunk mounted model lives up to the brand’s pedigree.

Easy to install, adjust and load this bike rack is designed with ease of use as one of its most important features. A largely plastic construction keeps weight low (it weighs barely 10 pounds total), whilst a clever injection molded construction keeps the rack rigid and strong – much stronger than you would expect from a plastic rack.

Finally, a price tag of around 150 bucks is the pretty good value given the high-quality materials and design – though you will be able to find cheaper rear-mounted racks elsewhere if your budget is very tight. Also, don’t forget that this model only has the space to load up two bikes – again, there are options out there with a little more space if you need it.

That being said, this is still a very well designed rack from one of the best manufacturers on the market today.

Another brand with an outstanding pedigree, a Thule Bike Rack has long been recognized as a solid investment by cycling enthusiasts. Notice the use of the word “Investment” there, however – we haven’t used it by accident.

The product carries an eye-watering price tag, that, depending on the options and size you go for will not give you much (if any) change from 500 bucks. That easily makes it the most expensive car bike rack on the list today.

For that money however you are getting an insanely well-designed bike. It boasts very easy, tool-free attachment to a 1.25 or 2-inch tow hitch. Once it is attached, a very clever hinged joint either leans outward to allow trunk access even when loaded with bikes or allows the whole rack to fold up and out of the way when empty.

Trunk mounted styles like this one are usually easier to load than roof rack versions, however, this model takes that ease to a whole new level. Bikes simply slot on about a foot of the ground, with a set of well-designed ratchet arms locking them easily into place. It even boasts an integrated cable lock to lock the bikes to the rack for added security.

In summary then, yes this not a cheap option – it is, in fact, the absolute opposite. But a Thule bike carrier, as we said up top, remains a solid, long-term investment that is well designed, well constructed and simply packed full of extremely useful features.

If you liked the look of the Thule Bike Carrier we looked at above but winced at the price tag, then this bike rack from Swagman could be worth a look. It is essentially a far, far simpler version, with a far, far lower price tag.

So on the one hand, this model is missing a lot of the high-end features that you will find on the model above. There is no hinge to allow for trunk access; it does not fold up on itself for ease of storage. A locking cable is available to securely lock down your bikes – but it is sold separately.

On the other hand, it is very easy to use, with a pair of ratchet arms that securely lock the bike during transit, and are very simple to use – they also have a pretty wide loading range, and can accommodate up to 59cm frames. They also have a good load capacity of up to 35 pounds per bike position, which should be more than ample for the vast majority of bike types.

All in all, then, this is a pretty simple model that lacks a lot of the bells and whistles of more premium models. It is also, however, lacking a premium price tag too, and for a very reasonable price, you are getting a pretty decent bike carrier here. 

Another hitch mounted style of a car-bike rack; this model is slightly different from the previous two models we looked at above from Thule and Swagman. Instead of being a base mounted (i.e. via the bike wheels) carrying rack, this model has an extended arm to which the bike tubes are attached.

It does share some characteristics with the two models above, primarily the ease of installing the rack onto your vehicle. This is achieved with a very simple SpeedKnob style of attaching point that easily inserts into either a 1-1/4 or 2-inch hitch.

You can also get a lot more carry capacity with this bike carrier, with different models available to carry 2, 4 or even 5 bikes, making it very useful for family bike trips.

In use, bikes are easy to load and are secured in place with easy to use but secure zip strips. We also have built-in anti-sway cradles to stop the bikes from knocking into each other as you drive.

A price point of around a couple of hundred bucks (depending on the model carrying capacity) is toward the pricier end of the market, but still a lot less than some other models.

Our second product from Allen Sports to make the list, and this is a remarkably flexible design of bicycle rack. Whilst the last few models we’ve looked at on the list are built for attachment to hitch bars, this model is designed for attaching to vehicles without a hitch.

On top of that, it is a very clever design that makes it suitable for a wide range of vehicles including everything from Sedans and Hatchbacks up to Minivan sized vehicles. This is even a great bike rack for SUV sized vehicles.

Mounting is safe and secure with a well laid out and simple to use systems of straps, and at each point where the rack rests upon the car body, you will find patches of durable padding to protect the vehicle paintwork.

Your bike is loaded into the individual tie-down points that lock down onto the top tube to hold bikes securely in place during transport. It’s also worth noting there is a range of sizes available, with racks suitable for 2, 3 or 4 bikes.

 This is a very well designed rack from a highly reputable company who really care about their products and have produced a great product here for a really, really low price.

Another Thule bike rack, and another high-quality product from this well-respected manufacturer. This model is a little different from the previous Thule model we looked at, in that it is of the type that the bike is connected via the top bar rather than the wheels.

That makes it a little less complicated in its design than we saw on the other model, meaning the price for this Thule bike carrier is quite a bit lower. That lower price does result in a bit of a trade-off as far as the features that have been included though. 

The main thing we’re missing is that hinged joint that allows the rack to be moved forward out of the way of the trunk. It also can’t be folded out of the way, making trunk access a little harder with this model even when empty.

On the other hand, you do get potentially a lot more capacity here, with racks available to take 2, 4 or even 5 bikes. The bikes are secured in Hold Fast Cradles that hold the bikes securely during transit. It also includes the locking cables found on the other model to lock your bikes and protect them from thieves during transit.

This is a more basic model from Thule, however, it still has all the excellent build quality and a number of the features that are found on the high end, more expensive model.

On the one hand, this is something of a basic model, and it certainly does not come with the name brand recognition of some of the other manufacturers on our list like Thule or Yakima.

On the other hand, though, that does mean that the price tag on this model is quite a bit lower than you would see on the big boy’s products. Plus, just because the price is lower, doesn’t mean we’re missing a whole lot of features.

We have some very secure, well-designed attaching points on this rack. In addition, it attaches with a nice and simple hitch adaptor which works with most 1.25 and 2-inch hitch receivers.

Carrying capacity of up to 4 bikes is very generous and, most impressive, it includes a hinge joint (like the Thule Bike Rake) that allows it to tilt forward for easy access to the trunk.

It lacks a few of the bells and whistles found on truly premium products, but for the price, this is a very solid bike rack. Oh, all of that and it even comes with a free bike lock! Not too shabby, huh?

Our penultimate product and the second entry from Yakima – and we’ve waited until near the end of the list to see something a little different. What we have here is an upright style of the bike rack, i.e. one that is mounted to the roof of the vehicle via the roof rack.

There are advantages and disadvantages to this type of rack (which we will talk about a little more in our buying guide below) but basically, one of the bigger advantages to be found in these types of the rack is the ease of use – which Yakima have provided for here with this excellent design.

The bike is secured at the front via a wheel hoop and a simple strapping device for the rear. This provides both a secure hold as well as a very easy loading method – you can have the bike locked in and ready to go in just a couple of minutes.

The design itself is nice and sleek and, unlike some upright holders, will do it’s best to minimize drag and so protect your fuel economy.

It is cheaper than the other Yakima model we looked at (though not by much), and it does only hold one bike. But if you are looking for a premium, upright style of bike rack this could be the one for you.

Our final product and we’ve saved something of an oddity for the final entry. What we have here from Allen Sports is not a bike rack at all. No, we haven’t gone mad, we’ve actually just found what could be a very useful little device, and since we’re so nice, we thought we’d share it with you.

Some people may have gone through this list skimming through all the entries that connect the rack to the bike via the top tube – they will have done this because they have a bike that doesn’t have a conventional top tube – for example on female specific frames or BMX style bikes.

If that sounds like you then this is the product you need. It is a simple but ingenious product that hooks onto the bike frame and essentially creates a top bar for you. This can be very helpful, as it now opens up your bike to be carried on the full range of bike racks on the market right now.

You may not need this device, in which case skip on now to the buying guide below. If you do, however, it is a very well designed little tool that is incredibly useful and has a very low price.