Customer Reviews

Yakima FlipSide 4-Bike Hitch Mount Rack (1.25 and 2-Inch Receiver)

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

 

 

This bike rack is finished very nicely with very few exposed nuts and bolts. It comes with anti-sway supports that fold down and attach to the vertical seat post tube on your bike and keep the bike from rocking back and forth while traveling.

It is also very well built but it has a few flaws that are worth mentioning. The integrated locking cable would be handy but it was VERY difficult to stuff back into its storage compartment (located in the vertical support arm) but your mileage may vary. The cable felt like it was longer than its storage space so much pushing and twisting was needed to put it back.

The rack is also very large and VERY heavy, much more so than would appear in the pictures. This could make it a bit awkward to install on your vehicle but it should be very sturdy because it uses a threaded bolt to attach itself to the hitch.

I also noticed that the provided lock for the hitch bolt wouldn't engage if the safety pin was in place. It works fine without the pin but installing the cotter pin doesn't provide enough surface for the lock to grip onto apparently. This could just be a flaw with the one I had so you might have better luck.

I never actually tested this rack with a bike because I wasn't able to install it on my car. The part that goes into the receiver hitch was too long for the hitch on my Honda so the locking bolt holes wouldn't line up. The Thule Ridgeline appears to be very similar to this model (and hopefully has a shorter hitch mount =).

I like how sturdy the flipside is. Easy to assemble and install. Installed it right away on my Subaru and put a week worth of driving with it empty. The flipside feature is excellent as I need to access my hatch often. Unfortunately it's a different story when you load it. I put a couple of my hybrids on it, spent about twenty minutes loading two bikes taking extra care as it was the first real use. Triple checked the straps and the pin release, everything was rock solid. Two miles down the road and my bikes disappeard from view. Glad I was watching, stopped within 30 feet and it was a 25MPH road.
The good news was that it was my rear wheel that was destroyed and not my wife's, so no divorce. Also on the plus side, the straps held my bikes on the rack versus sending my bikes down the road. On the bad side I spent $120 in parts to fix my bike. My only explaination is that the added weight of the bikes and a few bumps on a slow mediocre road must have been all it took to shimmy the release pin free. Horrible safety design and I hate to think what would have happened going 65MPH on the freeway. Might have killed a few people.
However, it is sturdy otherwise and I do like the features. I intend to buy a wratcheting nylon strap to place around the post as added security. It seems Yakima could have done a lot better on the safety side and I would only recommend it if you go the distance by adding security against the possible weak release pin design.

I am forced to return the Yakima Flip-side bike rack for 4 after assembling it. Yes, it was not too tough to assemble but when I started loading the bikes on the rack, the locking pin dis-engaged. After a few more attempts I realized the Locking-Pin is flawed. Due to a poor design, the pin does not hold the rack firmly upright when weight of the bikes is put on it. If you put weight on the rack, the rack pulls away from the pin, causing it to disengage. This to me is a serious safety concern.

Do not buy this bike rack. I had it for one day loaded one bike and it was good. I drove to my cousins where I loaded his bike and his girlfriends and driving a quarter mile out the pin gave which made the hitch sway to the left. The bikes dragged for about 10 to 15 feet, the time I noticed the hitch fell to the time i came to stopping my vehicle. I have one Trek mountain bike with damaged wheel and breaks, one specialized hardock with a bent rim and torn up handle bar (the metal is scrapped as the handlebar took the hit), and another Gary Fisher with similar damage. This is not cool.. I had better luck with the a cheapie $100 four bike rack. I will be notifying Amazon and Yakima.. someone needs to foot the bill for the bike damage. From looking at the pin, there is a small plastic around where the pin lock that gave out and broke, which caused the pin to unhinge. It seems that when you add a few bikes (three in my case), one bump on the road will force the weight away from the car forcing the pin to unhinge as it did in my case. I will post pictures and video to show what I'm talking about. It seems like its literally about a half in pin or less thats holding all your bikes, bad design in my opinion.

[...]

UPDATE: 6/27 I called Yakima and the customer service was great. I think this hitch has caused them grief and they are aware of the issues on some models. Will update the post when everything is complete.

This rack is extremely well built and mounts very solidly to the vehicle. integrated locks are a plus and save about $30 in "extras", including a hitch lock. mounting the bikes is relatively easy and they are pretty secure...4 bikes seems like a real stretch, but 3 easy.
PROBLEM: if you have small frame bikes (like my girlfriend's mountain bike) its like tetris+rubic's cube to get the bike onto the mount. A kids bike? forget it.

Excellent - performs as advertised. The flip side feature works great - the deadbolt and lock work as advertised. 2 areas for improvement: Need a strap for the front wheel to secure it (I use a bungee). And there is a little wiggle in rack - but overall it is very secure. A good product

Yakima FlipSide 4-Bike Hitch Mount Rack 1.25 and 2-Inch Receiver is very well constructed and has so far withstood the weather and is very stable. I really like the convenience of being able to access the cargo area of my Sion xB by easily flipping the bike rack to the left or to the right and folding the carrier arms down when not in use.

This is one awesome bike rack when properly installed. Proper installation isn't hard either as the directions are very clear and straightforward. I read many reviews almost any review I could find as I wanted to be certain that I was getting my money's worth...I mean $400 bucks for a bike rack is a lot for a school teacher...but luckily through much research I decided to purchase the Yakama flipside...and didn't pay $400 either, more like $269 with shipping included from Amazon.
This was only my second Amazon purchase but when compared to the 359.00 plus tax and installation at the bike shop...it was a choice made easy really quickly.
First of all the rack arrived a day early even though it was ordered over memorial day weekend. When unpacked the rack was double boxed and in perfect condition.
It's quite obvious from unpacking the piece that you have a quality item in front of you. Installation is very minimal and you should not waste money paying for it I promise. I did notice that when I read the directions carefully (and watched the video on youtube) that the bushing was installed improperly but was tagged to see the instructions and make sure it was installed properly. The little green tag said it was in right but the instructions said it was wrong...Being a school teacher, I went with the instructions.:-)
This might seem minor but its not. The proper rotation and alignment of the arm is maintained by this bushing, and there is adhesive in the bolt hole that makes it difficult and a bad idea to have to remove after having installed it.
So now you have the mast installed to the hitch, all you have to do is run the hitch into the receiver and screw in the threaded bolt, then apply the included lock.(There is no need for the cotter pin when using the lock, and you cant use them both; the same grove the pin slides into is the grove the lock holds onto.)
Now when threading the bolt I suggest you use a ratchet to get it really tight and to insure you don't strip the threads on the bolt or the receiver. Also make sure that you have installed the lock washer then the larger black washer. This is crucial to that rock solid attachment.) When it starts to get tight lift up on the hitch a little as it will rock back and fourth slightly. As you tighten the bolt, you will feel it lock into place. I'm a big guy so I put a little shoulder into it and it went right into place and is rock solid.
After that throw on the lock and pull the dust cover over the lock, which I also had no problem with...its soft rubber just tug on it.
The thing is solid as a rock and it tucks behind my vehicle nicely. Do note this is a full sized rack best applied to a full size vehicle. As for my Chevy Avalanche, I don't even know it's back there...we'll see how that goes...which may be the only set back for me. LOL

When the rack is installed it will disengage auto-alert backing systems...at least OnStar. Which should not be a problem as long as you look where you are backing.
I try not to depend on it too heavily to keep from hitting stuff but it has come in real handy in tight parking spaces....
Did I mention this thing DOES NOT WOBBLE at all !!!
Very happy Customers
Michael and LaTiefa H.

While the Flipside looks like it would be a good solution for a side opening back door, it did not work on our 2006 Rav 4. When the post was flipped to the side, it was still not low enough for the door to clear the support post. Both Amazon and Yakima failed to provide this dimension, although all of the product sketches suggest that it might work. Unfotunately, I forgot to record the height to share here.

Return costs ran about $24, in addition to losing our original shipping costs.

After purchasing the Yakima Swing Daddy, we have also found that fitting 4 bikes on the rack is probably not possible. In addition, the large arms of the rack do not work well with some bike styles. Built in bike lock also adds additional width to the arms, and easily scratches bikes.

Positive points - nice styling, easy assembly, appears sturdy.

Do not buy this rack it has been recalled. My lock pin disengaged on the freeway and dumped my bikes onto the road. Fortunately the bikes did not come off of the rack, but were severely damaged. Apparently this is a common problem. I called Yakima and they are taking care of everything, new rack and bike repairs. They do have fantastic customer service.