which is the best hitch bike rack: Yakima Roc'nGate or the Thule (998) trailblazer. Thanks...

 

Sportworks.

 

I used to sell them all day long. The Thule and Yak are high tech, as light weight as possible and comparable. If you just want brute strength go for the Reese 4 bike. Holds 4 bikes AND still lets you tow up to 2500 lbs! it's heavy, it ain't pretty but it is solid. Plus if you crack your truck's frame wheeling, you can use the main part to weld a brace on your frame. The mounting brackets for the bikes are kinda low-tech. Of the former two, Thule always gave us the best support and service.

 

We have a Thule hitch bike rack that's been sitting in our garage for years... if u want it let me know. It's in great shape. 4 bikes max. I don't even think we ever used it. Let me know if you want it. I haven't really taken good look at it but I might beable to unbolt it for shipping. My e-mail is: StAAr9Chi1@aol.com.

Zach

 

NONE OF THOSE!!! Sorry... have to support the company I work for....

the website sucks... but check out

Rackbiz

We build racks for Nissan, and then we have our own line. Check out the Glideaway bike rack. And if you like what you see.... you can buy a "Scratch and Dent" rack for $135. It's as good as new, but will have a superficial scratch or two that makes it unsellable as new. If you have any questions, just ask. I build a ton of them and work with them every day.

 

I love my Yakima Bighorn 4 hitch mount rack!!!
So much more stable than many I have tried.

 

Here's what mine looks like.
I give it some pretty hard use too.....very solid.

Wife even backed up into a concrete wall with it on and no damage (to it anyway)....

 

I've been through pretty much every roof and hitch rack and really like my hitch mount rack from Hollywood Racks
I've had the rack through a Bronco and two 4Runners now and it works great, very sturdy and secure. They make options for 2 and 4 bikes.
Mine is the "Team Rider" and a picture can be found here (not my runner):

 

I 2nd the Sportworks. 9 out of 10 downhillers will tell you it's the best one. What makes it so good?
#1 You can put 50+ pound bikes on it and it'll still be stable.
#2 It has got to be THE fastest rack to load/unload (less than 10 seconds to load/unload)

Reasons not to get it
#1 It's heavy
#2 Quite expensive (300 for 2-bike rack and another $40 for the rack/bike lock (optional))

I don't care how much it weighs. Don't care about price if I know it's really good. Wanted to be able to carry heavy bikes and load/unload them fast. So, this is the best rack for my needs.
One more thing.. I actually went offroading (nothing huge, but lots of goat-head-sized rocks..) and the rack had 2 heavy bikes on it... bikes didn't bounce one bit!

 

Both the Yakima and Thule look decent. In fact, you've nailed two of my "lessons learned" (1. swing away vs. tilt 2. 2" vs. 1.25 +shim ; this second point really gets at long term reliability and bike stability as well).

The one thing I'd consider changing is buying a rack that clamps bikes on their top tube. Monococques are coming down in price which means in the future you may steer away from a bike you want in order to use the rack you buy now (or you may buy a different rack due to your new bike).

 

I am not a downhiller so a 50 lb bike on the trails, despite me being a big guy, would surely lead to early heart failure....

Nice bikes tho!