Customer Reviews

Yakima DoubleDown 4-Bike Hitch Mount Rack

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I drive a Honda Element and had been putting my bike in my vehicle for 2+ years. It can be a little labor intensive and can take an 15+ minutes of my day taking out my kid's car seats, folding up the rear seats, taking off the bike's front wheel (and then putting everything back again before the family can go out again). I finally talked my wife into letting me get a hitch mount rack and I'm glad I bought the DoubleDown. I almost made the mistake of buying "cheaper" and I'm glad I didn't; this thing is a well made cycling tool. I've kept the rack on for a few weeks now - it tilts out more than enough for me to open the back of my Element. Now, I have my bike with me 5 or 6 days a week for rides instead of just 2 or 3 times a week.

I was initially concerned because for the first 24 hours it sounded like the rack was rattling around too much but I simply hadn't tightened it enough. A few quick turns with the corresponding socket/ratchet and I can't even tell the rack is back there. I should also mention that Yakima provides a few tools to assemble the rack; all you really need is a screwdriver. You should have a few wrenches and maybe a socket set ready to make sure everything is nice and tight - it comes together in a few minutes. Assembly = piece of cake.

It might be a good idea to visit a store like REI to touch a few of these racks in person first - Thule makes a similar product. Shop around to see who might have the best prices and then come back to Amazon - You'll find a few vendors with free shipping.

*Well built
*Convenient
*Easy to assemble
*Well built (to me, that's the best part)

I picked up this rack after reading a few reviews online. It is well constructed and attractively finished. Everything seemed great until I actually mounted the bikes and went on a trip. After about 20 miles I stopped to get gas an found the rubber cradles shifted. The rubber cradles had migrated along the support arms, so instead of the bikes being parallel to each other they were at an angle and now rubbing. Now I have some new scratches on the fork. All cradles were clamped as tight as the design would allow. In an attempt to fix this I tried putting a few turns of electrical tape around the metal support arm so when the cradle began to migrate it would be stopped by the barrier of tape. No success. The cradle just pushed the tape down the arm. I took the rack back to the store where purchased. They had no suggestions other than to say they had heard this before. I decided to exchange it for the Thule Roadway 914XT. It appeared to have a better cradle design. I have not had the chance to try the new rack but keeping my fingers crossed. As an extra step I emailed Yakima about the design challenges. They never responded so I assume there is no fix.

Edit: Just received this reply from Yakima:

The Double Down was designed this way so it had adjustability as to where the bikes were able to sit so when different sized bikes were placed in the rack they could all fit together. Our higher end racks such as the Flipside or the Swingdaddy have different arms that allow more positions for the bike to sit that are fixed instead of moveable on the bar, this eliminates that movement as well.

Thank you for your inquiry!
Yakima Support

The rack feels high quality and operates well. It seems the finish is more durable than cheap powder coated brands. Kind of like tents for camping (4 person is big enough for 2), The 4 place rack fits 2 bikes easily and is a tight fit for more. It did fit my full suspension mountain bike without the top tube adapter. I also bought the deadlock system. Some say even with the locks you can just remove the pivot bolt and walk away with the bikes and rack. My easy, cheap solution: Use some JB Weld and cover the nut and threads of the bolt. Make sure to wire brush them and clean the surface. After that a wrench won't fit on the end and the bolt is "welded" to the nut without any problems with the pivot function.

This 4 Bicycle Rack by Yakima is very nice. We are very happy with the stability of the bicycles when strapped onto this rack. The only issue we have is that the rack does not fit as tight as would be preferable into the hitch and this allows the whole thing to bounce quite a bit when crossing railroad tracks. Otherwise would recommend this rack to anyone looking for a rack to carry 4 bicycles at the same time.

Purchased this product one year ago. Rack is used for road and mountain bikes, all frames are different shapes and sizes. Securely holds bikes without damaging them. Bikes will not move when all straps are used. Well built heavy duty unit. Very little wear and tear after one year of use. Fold down arms and fold down mast feature work well. Individual bike cradles are movable and adjustable for any frame or spacing between bikes. Fold down mast allows access to back hatch (Jeep Cherokee) with no problem. I have even folded it down with bikes on to access the hatch (not recommended, but it will work). Previously owned a Rhode Gear rack mount which was good, but this is a much better product by far. Also purchased lock for hitch pin which works well. I would highly recommend this product.

When I first put the double-down 4 on my 2" hitch, I found it to be quite loose as well and was initially a bit disappointed. However, after I tightened the screw and washers that came with the rack, it was solid without much swaying at all. The upper arms folds down and the lower vertical arm folds down as well. The only negative in my opinion (and this just applies to both Yakima and Thule branded racks in general) is that they can to nickel and dime the consumer with every little acessory, whether thats a bike lock that works with the rack or a hitch lock that is specific to that rack bolt. At any rate, I have replaced my previous rack with this one and am quite happy. I guess you just really get what you paid.

Its a great product but lack of security even with deadlock accessory. The pivot bolts can be taken out if you have the correct wrench. I have to custom made by drilling a hold through the vertical bar so that I can secure with cable and padlock against my hitch/vehicle.

I bought this to transport my 26" commuter and a touring bike. It works great. My only complaint is that I have no way of getting my neice and nephews 20" bikes on. I haven't tried the adaptor because it seems pricey. Other than that, I love it. High quality and fits real tight in the hitch.

You can purchase the additional locking cable for the bikes and the hitch pin, but all a person has to do is take two wrenches and remove the lock nut from the vertical support and take the main support and the bicycles. It doesn't make sense to be able to lock the hitch pin and not have a way to prevent the other bolt from being removed. I questioned this with Yakima and they just said they didn't have plans to make any changes. This is definietly a security flaw.

Easy to assemble and install it is very secure and especially like the vinyl straps which will fit all bicycle types. We carry two road and two off road bikes which fit well on the rack without disturbing rear wiundow sight lines.