SarisBones Car Trunk Bicycle Rack Carrier, Mounts 2 Bikes, Black - Durable, Rust-Free, Anti-Sway Straps, Fits Most Vehicles, Made in USA, Arc-Based Design, 100% Recyclable Materials

I am a grade-A dolt when it comes to assembling or using mechanical objects. Yeah, that’s me over there, looking perplexedly at the tiny, language-free instructions printed at some plant in China. Yeah, that’s me looking back and forth from the diagram to the assembly objects and wondering why they don’t look like each other. Yeah, that’s me damaging my new purchase because I assembled it wrong. Yeah, that’s me posting some screed on Facebook about why nothing comes with decent instructions anymore.To make matters worse here I’m not really an experienced bicyclist – in fact I had never before transported bikes by rack before buying this. I got this because I was tired of bicycling with my daughter on the same old streets in our neighborhood, and I wanted to get away to somewhere we wouldn’t have to cross traffic every few pedals.So basically, if there was a way to mess up the installation of this bike rack I would have found it. And then I would have posted a critical review about it. But this thing was foolproof enough that even I was able to do it. And when I say foolproof, I do mean foolproof, because I am a top-of-the-line fool.Basically the rack consists of three legs that mount against the bumper and the trunk of the car; they’re quite easy to adjust and to lock in place. Then you have little clips that respectively get attached to the top, side and bottom of your trunk. Finally there are three connection points for strapping each bicycle into place. I was able to get the rack mostly into place without difficulties. On the test run I found that I’d not pulled the side straps tight enough and so the rack was bouncing around too much. But I was able to fix that and our subsequent transporting seems to have gone quite easily with the rack staying firmly in place.Of all the design elements of this rack I’d give the highest marks to the straps for fastening the bicycles – very well designed and easy to manipulate and keep the bikes secure. Of course I still managed to do things imperfectly at first, not positioning the second bike in the optimal way on the first run (had a little trouble with the curved bar of the girl’s bike). But I figured that out by the second run.The most challenging (relatively speaking) element of the rack is the set of clips for attaching to the sides of the trunk. It takes a little work to make sure those straps are tight enough. And the clips take a little dexterity to get in and out of the slots. Now, this was where my natural incompetence truly came into play – after taking the rack off I belatedly noticed that the clips are clearly marked “TOP,” “SIDE,” and “BOTTOM.” And of course I’d reversed the side and top clips. No wonder it was hard to get those side clips out – they were actually the top clips, made to attach to another place entirely! I’ll get that right next time.Anyway, well-designed, foolproof, easy to transport and store. Very easy to detach, fold up and store in one’s trunk. Quite happy with this!

I purchased this to carry road bikes. This is a very high quality product that is worth the price.For practice I just mounted this rack on my 2013 Hyundai Genesis and then on my Cadillac CTS 4. Neither of these vehicles are allowed to get a scratch. That was the main requirement. The rack definitely passes the no-scratch test for the three pads that touch your trunk and bumper. You could probably drive a few hundred miles without any abrasion under the three main pads. I will probably put a decent coat of wax under the pads anyway.The straps are a very sturdy design. There is plenty of extra strap. They are easy to latch down and loosen. I think they will survive a long trip if they are strapped according to the instructions. The buckles are metal, which is a good idea.The rungs that hold the bike are well designed. They are easy to use once you get used to how they work. The anti-sway rung is a very nice touch. Many other racks make you deal with keeping the bike from swaying.I want to share a mistake that I made during my first installation that you should try to avoid. On my first install, I put the top pad as far back on the trunk lid as I could. It was near where the trunk lid meets the back window of the car. This configuration allows the inner bike's inner pedal to strike the back trunk lid, and also allows the strap buckles to strike the surface of the lid. The solution is to move the top pad toward the back of the car a few inches (away from the back window). Just rotate the top spar downward until the spars that hold the bike are further from the car. It is that simple.The first time you install this rack, it might take you 20 minutes. The second time you install it will take 5 minutes. Once you figure it out, the rack is very easy to install. Taking it off the trunk takes a minute or two.As is probably true for most racks, it is our responsibility to keep the front wheel from turning and flopping in the wind. I would love it if racks had some way we could lock the front wheel down. It would be a nice touch if these racks came with the Saris straps to take care of that (they have them). For now, I am going to use a bungee cord to keep the front wheel still.

I like this rack a lot. I have it mounted on my 2012 Subaru Legacy and give it very high marks all around. The instructions are almost useless, as there are only diagrams with no text. It is fairly easy to figure out though. The straps would not tighten properly until I adjusted the upper arm relative to the 2 lower arms at a smaller angle, and then everything just fell right into place. What makes this rack different from many of the other trunk type racks is that the 2 support legs rest squarely on the top surface of the bumper. The upper arm stabilizes it, and the straps lock it all down. Other racks have the bikes hanging on cantilevered arms that are then trussed back to the vertical portion of the trunk lid; a bad design by comparison as there is no vertical support, and a lot of stress on the straps holding the rack to the front edge of the trunk lid. I bought a 2 bike unit and have only used it to carry 1 bike. The bike drops onto 2 mounting saddles with very tight fitting straps that go around the top tube on your bike. There is also a strap that goes around the seat tube securing the bike from swinging forward and back. All I add in addition to that is a bungee to stabilize the front wheel. The bike sits very securely on the rack and it is located a good 8-10 inches away from the car. My only concern is the metal clips at the ends of the straps that hold the rack to the car. They have a thin coating on them that will likely wear out over time. I will find a rubber dip or maybe that rubber sealant spray to better coat them and protect my car's paint.It was a little tricky getting it all set up, and the clips could use a bit more rubber protection, but overall it is a solid rack and very easy to mount and dismount bikes.