This is a quick guide on the 3 best 4 hitch racks for your vehicle.
I tested a dozen different hitch racks and have found the Yakima DoubleDown 4 Bike Hitch Rack to be a solid choice if you’re looking for affordability and practicality.
The Yakima DoubleDown 4 Bike Hitch Rack can fit on 1-¼” or 2” receiver hitches as soon as you take it out of the box. Able to hold 4 bikes of any style or design, and keeping your bikes safe during travel due to the anti-sway cradles and premium straps provided, it’s a no-brainer choice.
Find more about it below, as well as a few others I’ve tested.
Yakima DoubleDown 4 Bike Hitch Rack
Overall Best
You can use the Yakima DoubleDown 4 Bike Hitch Rack to transport up to four bikes with ease. It can easily be attached to your vehicles 1-¼” or 2” receiving hitch as soon as you take it out of the box.
The bolt provided helps to secure the rack to your hitch, preventing it from wobbling during travel. It does not discourage thieves like other hitch locking mechanisms.
The durable black coat finish of this rack means it’s going to last you a lifetime, as it will be protected from the elements, preventing rust.
This bike rack’s durable dual-arm design can carry 4 bikes of any size, shape or model. Safety attach each bike into the anti-sway cradles using the strap provided.
There are three straps for each bike, one horizontal and one vertical for the back of the frame, and one that holds the front of the frame.
You can also secure the front wheel to the frame using one of the straps to prevent if from turning and more importantly, from swaying side to side and hitting other bikes.
Whilst these straps are great for securing your bikes, they can be quite fiddly to hook/unhook, but not too much of a hassle.
Yakima DoubleDown rack has been designed to be able to carry any bike, big or small.
The bike holders can slide on the horizontal bar back and forth, adjusting the distance to fit the bike’s dimensions.
The hitch rack can be tilted when it’s not in use so that you can get to the rear cargo with ease. The arms can also be folded down with a press of a button making it compact and simple to store.
Pros
- Transport 4 bikes
- Lightweight
- Attach 1-¼” or 2” hitch
- Out of the box ready
- No tool install
- Safety straps to secure frame
- Straps to secure wheels
- Anti-sway cradles
- Carry and style of bike
- Tilts to give access to cargo
- Anti-rust finish
Cons
- Straps can be fiddly
Allen Sports Deluxe 4-Bike Hitch Rack
Best Budget
The Allen Sports Deluxe Hitch Rack has been designed from alloy steel and can transport up to 4 bikes, no matter their size, style, or design with ease. This budget bike rack doesn’t sacrifice quality or usability and is one of the most lightweight racks I’ve used (12.5lbs).
This rack comes fully assembled and fixes to a 2” receiver hitch with ease in just 5 minutes when using the no-wobble bolt provided, making the rack movement free during travel.
Mounting bikes is pretty simple. Each one gets its own padded cradle bed to sit in on the 22 inches long carry arms, and then it is simply secured using the integrated straps provided.
The padded cradles even swivel 360 degrees so it can accommodate odd-shaped frames, without having to buy an extra support bar. This is very useful for small children’s bikes.
The combination of cradle beds and straps provides plenty of security, preventing them from falling off during travel.
It can be quite fiddly to mount your bikes in a way that avoids bike-to-bike, as they sit quite close to one another.
This issue can be solved if you just alternate the way the handlebars sit and secure them with some bungee cords. Use cords on the wheels to stop them from spinning too, as this will help to further prevent your bikes from damage.
When the rack isn’t being used, it can be fully tilted back to provide access to your rear cargo. Never tilt the rack when bikes are mounted, you could damage both the bikes and the rack.
The folding carry arms that bikes are mounted on can be quickly dropped down when not in use. This makes the whole rack compact, it is out of the way of your boot and makes it easy to transport and store.
Allen provides a warranty with this bike, picking one up is risk free.
Pros
- Lightweight
- Made from alloy steel
- Transport 4 bikes
- Works with most bikes
- Affordable
- Fully assembled
- Simple install
- Only takes 5mins to setup
- No wobble bolt prevents movement
- Cradle beds protect bike
Integrated straps - Tilt down design
Cons
- Only fixes to 2” hitches
- Some bike-to-bike contact
Saris Superclamp EX 4 Bike Hitch Rack
Premium Choice
Saris Superclamp EX Bike Hitch Rack is designed from alloy steel and can easily carry up to 4 bikes with a maximum weight of 190lbs. This bike rack attaches to your 2” hitch and can be set up in a matter of minutes.
This rack can be secured to your hitch with the lock provided. The lock deters thieves and ensures the secure set up is correctly done and safe.
The rack accommodates bikes that have up to 50” wheelbases.
Once the bike is placed in the wheel trays the adjustable arms can be modified to fit snugly around both the front and rear wheels.This design also makes loading bikes quick and easy as there is no struggle with straps.
An added feature is the bike lock. Each bike is locked via the wheels, instead of by the frame like other hitch racks. Consequently there is no risk of damage to your bikes.
Locking bikes is simple. Lock them in place using the lock and key provided. This instantly offers you peace of mind while you are travelling or when you are parked and leave the bikes unattended.
Safety has been a key component in the manufacturing of this bike rack, as even the wheel trays have reflectors on them to provide extra visibility in low light.
Saris Superclamp can be fully tilted, even with bikes loaded, to provide access to rear cargo.
It can be folded up when not in use making storage and transportation simple. Though, it will still take two people to get this rack on and off as it’s on the heavy end of 4 bike hitch racks (63lbs).
This is by far one of the best 4 bike hitch racks I’ve used. While it is a little on the expensive end, Saris provides a lifetime warranty so picking one up is risk-free.
And even better, it comes with a built-in bottle opener.
Pros
- Made from alloy steel
- Fast to set up
- Toolless set up
- Carry 4 bikes
- Max 190lbs
- Locked to your hitch
- Supports 50” wheelbase
- Locks via the wheels so no frame damage
- Fast to load bikes
- Reflectors on wheel tray
- Lock bikes in place
- Can fully tilt for rear cargo access
Cons
- Heavy for one person (63lbs)
- Only works with 2” hitch
