hitch and best 4 bike rack

I have this one: Thule 954 Ridgeline - Thule Hitch Mount Bike Racks and like it very much. Two caveats, however:

1. I've not been able to fit more than 3 bikes on this rack, and even then it was extremely tight, but I've only tried adult road bikes, not children's or mountain/hybrid bikes. The main issue is the handle bar width and shape. Flat bars and kids bikes might be easier to negotiate. Alternatively, you could probably put the kids bikes in the hatch area of the car and the adult bikes on the rack.

2. When I first installed the rack, I had issues with it scraping pavement when exiting steep driveways, or with a full car or full rack exiting regular driveways, because it stuck out so far from the car. My boyfriend had to modify the rack and shorten it (the bar that attaches the rack to the hitch) to fix the problem. This worked beautifully. I've not ever had a problem since.

There may be a better hitch-mounted rack out there for the Prius and for that number of bikes. The reason I liked this rack is because it's easy to maneuver so you can still open the hatch. Hope this helps.

 

I would question that any of the current class I hitches available for the Prius can safely carry 4 bikes. Don't overload your hitch, or you will pay dearly. I especially wouldn't risk this with the Coastal 2" class I hitch. Do a search, and you'll see what I mean.

... Brad

 

i would also like to know what people recommend here too. is there a hatch-mount that makes sense instead of using a hitch?? thanks and cheers.

 

it seems that you're wanting to carry 2 adult bikes and 2 children's bikes? why not just put the kids bikes inside, and only carry the two adult bikes on a hitch mount?


from what i've read, the hitch problems are when too much load is placed on the hitch, causing it to bend and twist down, particularly over bumps. there's also a few members here who have mounted tracks on the top of the prius with some success, as well as others who have modified their hitches to reduce bending.

i have not seen any threads about successfully hitch mounting 4 bikes, however it's really dependent on your bikes and thier weights, as 4 aluminum road bikes would be a lot loghter than 4 full suspension steel mountain bikes or 4 recumbents.

 

200 pound rating is tongue weight. Putting bikes on a cantelevered device like a bike rack is an entirely different animal. The force on the hitch is multiplied by the lever arm - and this is not what is meant by tongue weight - which is a straight down pressure on the end of the ball mount. My (experienced) advice on the subject: Do not do it. I personally don't think anybody should put more than about 50 pounds of bike on a class 1 hitch. And in general, that means two bikes.

I have had several hitch bike racks. I have determined for myself, that no rack can safely carry more than two bikes at a time.

 

I have a saris 4 bike hitch mount rack - but I really can't see wanting to hang much on it. Even with the two bikes, I thought seriously about rigging some stays up to the roof and/or hatch.
So, If your bike are very light AND you can get them in very close to the car AND the system can be rigid enough, you might get away with it.

Or, use a two bike hitch combined with a hatch mounted carrier for the other two?

 

You can take a close look at pics of my modified 2" inch Coastal hitch here: http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-f...tml#post558310

I've done a lot of towing in the last three years and have had no problems. Be aware that I take it easy when towing a heavy load and stick to country roads with minimal traffic, but four bikes at time does not concern me on the freeway. I did remove, sandblast, and repaint the entire hitch last spring. (Wisconsin road salt in winter is a killer)