Hitch racks for women's and kids bikes?

I'm in the market for a 4-bike, hitch-mount rack for my Honda Pilot.
Only one bike (mine) is a regular road bike. My wife's is a women's
frame Trek 7200FX with a very slated top bar. I also have two kids Trek
bikes...specifically a Mystic 20, and a Mystic 16.

Do the racks like the Thule 934XT - 4 Bike Hitching Post Pro accomodate
these types of bikes? Their ad copy says "fits all types of bikes..."
but what does that really mean? Anyone have luck with a hitch rack which
accomodates little kids and women's bikes?

Book-emDammo Wrote:
I'm in the market for a 4-bike, hitch-mount rack for my Honda Pilot.
Only one bike (mine) is a regular road bike. My wife's is a women's
frame Trek 7200FX with a very slated top bar. I also have two kids
Trek
bikes...specifically a Mystic 20, and a Mystic 16.

Do the racks like the Thule 934XT - 4 Bike Hitching Post Pro
accomodate
these types of bikes? Their ad copy says "fits all types of bikes..."
but what does that really mean? Anyone have luck with a hitch rack
which
accomodates little kids and women's bikes?

Thule sells a "replacement top tube" that clamps to the seat post and
stem. It has a range of telescoping that may or may not work with the
kids bicycles.
Ones that work with all bicycles have trays for the wheels/tires to sit
in.


--
daveornee

"Book-emDammo" wrote (clip)Only one bike (mine) is a regular road bike.
(clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I was faced with the problem of hanging a Y=frame suspension bike on a trunk
mount rack. I solved it by welding a horizontal tube to a seat post, in the
shape of the number "7," and putting it in place of the seat, for hauling
only. The top of the number "7" acted like a top tube, and it worked great.

Per Book-emDammo:
accomodate
these types of bikes?

I went for the type of rack where you hang the bike by it's wheels.

--
PeteCresswell

"Book-emDammo" wrote in message
...
I'm in the market for a 4-bike, hitch-mount rack for my Honda Pilot.
Only one bike (mine) is a regular road bike. My wife's is a women's
frame Trek 7200FX with a very slated top bar. I also have two kids Trek
bikes...specifically a Mystic 20, and a Mystic 16.

Do the racks like the Thule 934XT - 4 Bike Hitching Post Pro accomodate
these types of bikes? Their ad copy says "fits all types of bikes..."
but what does that really mean? Anyone have luck with a hitch rack which
accomodates little kids and women's bikes?

I have a Thule 994 hitch rack, and have been able to carry every bicycle
I've tried, including kid's, and tag-alongs (i.e. Piccolo), without
purchasing any adapters. Sometimes they are secured by the downtube on one
side, and they will not necessary be mounted with the two wheels level, but
this is of no concern. The rubber mounts rotate on the arms, and you can put
the tubes against them even if the tubes aren't level. Wide tubes and oblong
tubes are no problem, as the straps are long enough to accomodate them.
Ensure that what you buy has two seperate arms sticking out, not just a
trough for a top tube. I the 994 was replaced by the 996. The 934XT lacks
the hitch lock and the bike lock, but is otherwise the same as the 996, I
think.

The reality is that most of the hitch racks are not well designed and it's
easy to weed out the bad ones, which you appear to have already done.
Another good one is the Hollywood Road Runner
(http://www.hollywoodracks.com/4&5.htm).

* Dual fold-down arms
* Pivot-out or fold-down mast
* Anti-wobble device included
* Integral locking of the rack to the hitch
* Rubber Hold-downs with straps that don't come off to lose
* Bottom support bar to prevent bikes from swinging (looks like Thule
has dropped this feature)
* Integral Lock

What to Look for in a Hitch Rack

1. Spread. If the rack holds the top tube with two arms, how far apart are
the arms? You want them far apart enough to provide good support, but close
together enough so that short frame bicycles can be carried. Avoid hitch
racks where the frame is held by a narrow clamp of six inches or less; they
have compromised the design to avoid the cost of two separate arms.

2. Do the arms fold? When you park, or if you keep the rack attached all the
time (a bad idea), you'll want to be able to not have the arm(s) sticking
several feet out toward the back of your vehicle. An injury could invite a
nasty lawsuit. Thule's, Rhodegear's Interstate series, and Yakima's RimRoc
all have folding arms.

3. Rear access. Does the rack fold down or pivot out far enough for you to
open the back of your van or SUV. The more expensive racks that pivot let
you gain access to the rear even with bicycles on the rack while the fold
down racks require that you remove the bicycles first. The cheapest ones
neither pivot or fold down.

4. Spare tire clearance. If you have a vehicle with a spare tire mounted on
the back be sure that the rack clears it.

5. Wobble. If you use a standard hitch pin to secure the rack then it will
wobble and rattle. There are several systems designed to eliminate wobble,
from a collar with set screws to the use of a threaded bolt that secures the
rack to the hitch rather than a pin.

6. Hold Downs. Some of the cheaper racks just have some hooks, you have to
use bungee cords or other tie-downs to hold the bike. The better ones have
cushioned rubber pads with straps. Unfortunately the only ones that have
integral locking are the poorly designed single arm racks; with the others
you have to use a cable lock.

7. Security. How is the rack locked to the hitch? How are the bikes locked
to the rack? The advantage of the single arm racks with a solid mounting
hold down plate over the top tube is that it it make the rack lockable, but
the disadvantage of the single arm rack is so great that I would not use one
just for this reason; you can just use a heavy cable lock.

8. Swinging. On the racks that hold the bike by the top tube, the bike can
swing back and forth while on the car. Some of the more expensive top tube
mount racks have a bottom support bar sticking out down near the wheels for
you to secure the bottom of the bike.

9. Removeability. How fast and easy is it to remove the whole rack? Some of
the RhodeGear racks are easy to partially remove but they leave the base
sticking out beyond the bumper which is a very bad idea.

10. Storeability. How easy is it to store. The racks with arms that don't
fold down, and/or masts that don't fold, are a pain to store because you
can't store them flat. The pivoting masts are also a pain to store, but you
gain the advantage of easier access to the rear of the vehicle.

11. Odd frames and Children's Frames. A lot of the hitch racks that hold the
bikes by the top tube have a problem with odd frames, mixte ("ladies")
frames, and children's frames. The racks that hold the bike by the wheels
and crankarm will be easier to use with these. There are attachments to
create a fake top-tube to use the top tube racks with mixte frames. On the
top tube racks with dual arms you may be able to put children's bikes on
them by hanging the bike by the wheels.

12. Other accessories. Many hitch racks have attachments available for skis.

WARNING! Do not leave your hitch rack attached when not in use. Even a
slight impact to the rack from another vehicle can result in thousands of
dollars in damage, since your rear bumper is not protecting the body and/or
frame when a rack is attached. I know this from experience!