Customer Reviews

Allen Deluxe 2-Bike Trunk Mount Rack

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I've been pretty nervous looking for a decent but affordable bike rack. After initially getting an Outback Rack from Target, I was disappointed by the flimsy construction and had to return it. I did some more researching and wasn't able to find any reviews for low-mid-priced racks online. Found a Bell 3-bike rack from Walmart and later on a Bell 2-bike rack from Sports Authority. These were a lot sturdier but also quite heavy.

I have a mountain bike that weighs about 35lbs. A friend of mine has a road bike that weighs about 25lbs. I kept looking and finally settled on the Allen because of the price, design and construction.

(I took a star off for aesthetics. The foam supports are grey. The top and bottom struts are unpainted silver aluminum, and the caps at the end of the rack are white.)

A couple of things I learned:

* cloth/nylon strap tie downs are better than plastic or rubber which become brittle after repeated use and exposure to different weather conditions
* use of lighter weight aluminum is better than steel
* the more anchor points to your car the better (3 is the minimum)
* put the heavier bike on the slot closer to the car
* women's bikes or bikes without a horizontal beam from the seat to the handlebar column will require a "bike adaptor"
* when not in use, remove the rack from the car to prevent it from being stolen or the foam padding from melting onto your car
* lock your bike(s) to the rack with a separate chain
* use common sense and don't put more than the number of bikes the rack was designed for
* drive more slowly and carefully on uneven streets

Hope this review helped! :)

This thing is great. Relatively simple to set up (do a dry run before your first trip), functional for two mountain bikes, no extra strapping or tying needed. You will have to watch out that your pedals don't scrape your car, but the rack itself is totally sturdy. A nice product at a nice price (with lots of buying options).

This product works great as long as you go under 45mph in your car. Ideal for city life. It's easy to put on and take off which beats dissembling your bike to put it in the trunk. It was fine when I had it for the first couple of months driving around the city to go the trails.

However, I drove 5 hours each way to go on a biking trip, mostly doing about 70+ mph. The bike ended up scratching my bumper pretty bad as it was flying around. Furthermore, the rubber wheels of the rack that sit on the trunk ended up burning a hole through my paint as it shifted back and forth from the force of the bike flying back and forth. I even stopped 4 times to tighten everything down as much as possible!!! I'm glad I have an older car so this doesn't matter so much to me, but I can't imagine the surprise people are getting on their new to 1-5 year old vehicles!! People were staring, and no one followed within 300ft of my car.

The top of my trunk has two holes straight down to the metal and the bumper has skid marks/scratches all over it. Don't be cheap and get yourself a trailer hitch installed. Then purchase the bike racks that fit into those that keep the bike away from your car and the product off the paint!!!

Update -- 2008 Honda Accord SE sedan.
Works just as well with this vehicle as it did with the Jeep.
Honda's have a hook underneath, near the gas tank, but the angle is a bit "off" for this strap. So, you have to come in from the side, and REALLY crank it down tight. But again, no problems PA to NC & back.

Jeep Liberty -- mounted the rack solely to the spare tire. It was tough to get the back portion of the rack below the rear windshield wiper at first, but with the right angle (come in high) it can be done. Once mounted, the rack was as solid as could be. Straps/tie downs were all very easy to use.

Putting the bikes in the rack couldn't have been easier. There are receivers for two bikes on the rack, with integrated tie downs. Just drop the bike frame into the receivers, pull the straps through, and flip the little buckles. No bungees or additional straps are necessary.

The frame itself is of good quality tube steel, and it folds down fairly flat so it doesn't take up much room when not in use.

I used this rack to take 2 bikes from PA to NC & back, about 700 miles.
Not one problem or worry it would fall off of the vehicle.

I've had two problems with the Allen bike carrier. When I took it out of the box, apparently fully assembled, it would not fit on the car. I had to take it appart and reverse one set of contact pads. Fine, and it was a nice light and easy to put on carrier. Then came the show stopper, when the second bike's pedal jammed into the deraillor of the first bike. I tried reversing the second bike, but then the handle bars interfered. The Allen carrier's bars are too short for our two normal road bikes, and we have since bought a larger and heavier trunk mount carrier that is a much better design and fully supports both our bikes much more stably. K-H Frohne

After researching several trunk-mounted bike carriers, I settled on this one based on the reviews and it's reasonable price ($40 at Walmart). It certainly has not disappointed.

I own a 2008 Honda Accord and this product fits perfectly. If you're unsure of whether or not this model will fit your vehicle, there is a comprehensive breakdown on the back of the box that will show you which vehicles it will fit. I use this carrier to transport a Schwinn road bike that weighs approximately 30 pounds and I couldn't ask for a better product. The quality of this carrier is top-notch and it takes maybe 2 minutes to mount.

Positives:

Quality Construction - I can't stress this aspect enough. Every piece of this bike rack is top-notch.
Easy to mount - Even the first time was simple and took less than 3 minutes.
Stability - I've driven 75 mph with my bike mounted and have had complete confidence in the stability of this rack. Even on a bumpy road I have no worries.
Value - For only $40, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better deal.

Negative:

This is true of most any bike carrier, but it could be easily stolen. Whenever I'm riding, I simply put inside my trunk. Not a big deal as it only takes a few minutes to re-mount.

Tips:

*As several people have mentioned, this bike rack will not fit all bikes. This is common of most bike carriers. If your bike does not have a horizontal bar on the frame, you will need an adapter to mount your bike.

*If you're mounting two bikes, be sure to make the dual straps on the trunk of your car as long as possible. This will help keep your bikes from bumping into the back of your vehicle.

I have an Acura RSX and this bike rack wasn't stable or secure on the back at all. Compatability guide said it fit, but didn't really fit too well.

The rack took about 10 minutes for initial set up and is quite sturdy. It also folds down small enough to store in my trunk without taking up much space. I have not yet had 2 bikes on the rack, but it is very stable with one. It also seems to have much better "padding" in the areas that rest on the car than the cheaper rakes that I have seen. After purchasing several other racks that would not accommodate my bike's frame (15" men's trek), I was relieved when my bike fit without a problem. It would be helpful if Amazon included a link to the list of vehicles that the rack fits. I had to spend a good amount of time searching various other websites to ensure the rack would fit my car (Toyota Avalon).

We were very pleased with this bike rack. There was very little movement of our bikes even with freeway driving. The down side was that we only were able to use it for less than 24 hours. On the second day of usage we were stopped at at stoplight with our bikes on the back of our car. We heard the loud screeching of tires and my husband looked in the rear view mirror and saw the back end of a pick up truck heading for the back of our car. The pick up truck driver was not paying attention and had been going so fast that he did a 180 degree turn when he hit his brakes before hitting our car. Our bikes were crushed but they were still attached to the bike rack which was bent but still holding on to the trunk and to our bikes. The bikes and bike rack cushioned the blow and prevented us from getting hurt at all. The bike rack stayed firm. The trunk of our car was pushed in and crumpled where the padded contact points of the bike rack were but the bike rack still hung on. We are about to order the same bike rack to replace our damaged one. We know it is well made!!!!

We returned this bike rack because of two major problems. First of all, the box says it fits a Toyota Prius, but is very wobbly and seems to put damaging pressue on the spoiler and other parts of back of the car. Secondly, my adult bike fits, but my wifes female model does not, nor does my sons mountain bike. The arms of the rack simply are not adjustable and do not fit all bikes.

The quality of the rack seems good for the price. It might work well in some cases, just not for our needs.