Hollywood RacksTrail Rider, Hitch Mount Rack, 1-1/4'' and 2'', Bikes: 2

For the money, it’s a solid rack. I feel it is pretty well made and gets the job done. It’s not the most convenient or the best user experience, and if you want that, you’ll pay for it. This on the other hand is “just good enough” and if you aren’t planning on leaving it semi-permanently attached to your vehicle and out in the weather all the time, this will do fine for like, a third of the cost of those other racks.This Hollywood Racks 2 Bike Trailrider model rack was received quickly. It came with a locking bolt to attach the rack to the hitch securely, and it also features locks to fix the clamps down locked when a bike is mounted. It’s not theft-proof by any means but it should deter most save for the more determined thieves. If you don’t plan on leaving the bikes unattended, this will be adequate enough.Puts together pretty quickly in around 15-20 minutes and also has a nice Aluminum hitch insert for normal 2” Class III hitches that will lock the rack in to eliminate play at the hitch. In combination w/ the threaded locking pin, it does a decent job there.The rack works pretty well in action. I took my wife’s Klunker to the shop today and it was fine on speed bumps, highway speeds and occasionally bumpy service road streets. I’m confident it can handle both our bikes without any issue.Since I remove it and stow in the garage when I’m not using it, it shouldn’t get rust but since it’s steel and steel rusts if exposed to moisture, other buyers’ mileage may vary. This rack is a little far off the back to keep on truck when I don’t intend to use it in the immediate future so I just take it off to preserve the unit’s finish. It’s easy enough with a 3/4 wrench or socket, and I can lift it out of the hitch one-armed so it’s not terribly heavy (that said I’m a large male).The sled straps for the tires could be just a smidge longer but they still fasten on my 29er and my wife’s 27.5 (both with wider tires) .When a bike isn’t mounted, the unit will rattle/bob just slightly on bumpier routes. I never felt it would come loose or the brackets would unfold. It wasn’t noisy. Just not as refined as something that costs 3-4x as much. With a bike in place, it seemed to lock in everything a bit more solidly.I also am not thrilled that you have to fold the main vertical mast down back vs to the side. I can see how it would make using this in parallel park situations a bit more challenging, but most lots around here are normal lots where parallel parking isn’t recommended or needed.I paid close to 2 Benjamins for this rack and for the money I think it’s a good rack. There are a few minor complaints stemming to user experience but I just wasn’t quite ready to throw down $600 on a bike rack at this time. I plan on using it to go explore other nearby trails and visit other towns, but I live on a trail system so I don’t rely on using a rack all the time and ai live in a relatively dry hot place so I can lean on this a little more than maybe others can. That pocketed $400 can be put towards an eventual fork upgrade or other needed gear.I’ll see how many seasons I get out of this and maybe I might eventually get a OneUp, Kuat, Yakima or Thule, but for now this will work pretty well and especially since my 29er is an XL and many racks won’t accommodate the wheelbase. This one is pretty versatile for those longer wheelbases (think Hardcore HTs, Enduro sleds, etc. with more spaced out, longer wheelbases.)

I researched multiple brands and types of bike racks before buying the Hollywood rack. It was a fraction of the cost of some of the major brands but very happy with the purchase. Easy to assemble very rugged. Easy to take on and off.

I installed the Hollywood Trail Rider Hitch Rack and my first impression was of the racks insertion into my 2" receiver. It has a unique block that bolts to the rack. Once inserted into the receiver there is a bolt that replaces the traditional hitch pin. The bolt is threaded through and a cotter pin inserted for safety. This connection results in less sway when driving. The threads in my unit were very corroded. I tried to remove the rust and greased the bolt. This is enough to lower my rating one star.The cradles for the bike wheels slip onto the rack arms with a bit of elbow grease. They are secured with threaded screws that have large knobs. The orientation for the cradles was easy to determine by the diagram and the well written instructions. The thickly padded hook shaped hold downs slide on by squeezing the locking clips. The rack arms pivot upwards to make it easy to store and makes it much easier to handle the rack when installing or removing. By the way these rack arms are secured into their positions with pins inserted in both the upright and lowered positions. When folded the rack is very compact. It's heavy but about the size of a suitcase.When positioning one bicycle on the rack, the instructions suggest the inside position be used, you place the bike wheels into the cradles and slide the hold down onto the top tube. I don’t do thisunless I have to. The pedal can easily rotate and scratch my car bumper or trunk lid. Instructions also suggest the hook be positioned as close to the seat tube as possible. If one is transporting a fat bike, Hollywood sells a set of cradles that are in excess of four inches wide. They are presently $55.65 on Amazon.After a year of use the ratcheting mechanism on the hold down hook failed. I contacted the company and was provided with a new hook. Kudos for a company that stands behind it's products. I added a full star to the review for this reason.This rack is a terrific buy and is a very sturdy, effective and secure method for carrying most every standard bike.A short note. The Hollywood Trail Rider Rack is heavy. When handling and assembling it is quite clumsy. Be careful not to ding your car or pinch your fingers.Minor issue. Rust is showing up at a couple of locations on the rack. Easily remedied by applying rust converter.Update 8-12-20: I sold this rack and purchased the new model mostly so I could tilt away the rack to load the “inside” bike and to be able to fold the rack up next to the vehicle when not in use. Neither of these functions were available on this old rack. I’m sticking with Hollywood for now.

It's important to consider the value of the bikes you're carrying vs. the cost of your bike rack. Security of the bikes, build quality, and ease-of-use are way higher priorities (in my case) vs. the cost of the bike rack. I installed on my 2016 Toyota Rav4 with 2" receiver hitch.Easy to install - I recommend doing the assembly with the hitch tube placed into the vehicle hitch receiver as the 1st step. That way you can continue the assembly process "in the air" vs. putting together on the ground. After hand-tightening the hitch pin bolt, the hitch tube is very secure in a 2" receiver, no side-to-side or up/down movement. Assembly process was straightforward - recommend orienting the 4 wheel holders to ensure you assemble correctly as it's possible to assemble upside down or backwards. After assembled, it was easy to adjust the spacing for different bike wheel bases. I setup 1 side for my road bike, and other side for mountain bike, and both are securely held. Test drove and both bikes rode great, very little bouncing, sway, etc. which gave me piece of mind!It is easy & quick to load + unload your bicycles, and fold the sides up & down for storage. Middle tube pivots outward to access rear lift gate. The lock feature on the hitch pin + ratcheting arms is easy to use and adds a level of security if you're going to be parked with bikes loaded. It's light enough that I can remove the entire assembly at the hitch, and store in garage when not using. Overall very happy with the bike rack so far.