I’ve been mountain biking ever since I could drive a car and over the last 17 years I’ve wrestled with finding the best way to get my bike to the trailhead and back. In the beginning I’m pretty sure I just shoved my bike into the back of my Mom’s van or my 1987 Dodge Aries station wagon. In college I “upgraded” to a trunk rack that allowed my pedals and bars to scratch the crap out of my car. Later mudhunny and I both dropped serious coin on roof rack systems that were a little inconvenient and prone to being forgotten (and subsequently damaged) in parking garages.

So when I got the chance to test the Kuat Sherpa hitch-mount bike rack I was hopeful that I’d find a better solution. The Sherpa holds two bikes upright and can handle wheel sizes from 20-29″. The company makes it clear the Sherpa isn’t meant to carry DH or FR bikes but this seems to be based purely on weight considerations (the stated weight limit is 40 lbs. per bike). The rack required some assembly out of the box and the whole process took me about an hour. Admittedly I installed the hitch receiver upside down but that’s more of a reflection of my mechanical abilities than the quality of the instructions.

Attaching the Sherpa to a car hitch is easy – just insert the receiver, thread the locking pin, and tighten the hand clamp. The hitch receiver works with either a 2″ or 1.25″ hitch so it should be compatible with 99% of the set-ups out there. And while the rack folds up easily with the flip of a lever when you’re not carrying bikes, I found it’s so easy to install and remove that I usually only put it on when I’m going riding. Fortunately the rack is pretty lightweight at 27 lbs. so lugging it in and out of the house isn’t too bad.

Securing bikes to the Kuat Sherpa is a cinch and literally saves me 10-15 minutes every time I ride compared to my old roof rack. Since the rack holds bikes upright, there’s no need to remove a wheel (a big deal for those of us with non-QR thru-axle forks). Upright racks like the Sherpa are also a good option for those with tight frame geometries that don’t play nicely with hanging-style racks. And because the rack is much closer to the ground, mudhunny can load her own bike at the end of the ride instead of making me lift her rig up onto the car!

The rear wheel straps offer plenty of length to wrap around even the burliest mountain bike tires and the cinching mechanism works well in both directions. Ratcheting fork arms feature push-button operation and have enough range to handle both my 29er and muhunny’s standard wheels. I found it’s important to place the arm over the wheel as close to the front of the bike fork as possible; otherwise the bike will start to move around en route. With everything correctly in place, neither speed bumps nor highway speeds caused the bikes to move an inch.

Kuat says the Sherpa provides 13″ between bikes when transporting two rigs and clearly in our tests this was more than enough room. With handlebars getting wider and wider these days, you really can’t have too much space and fortunately the designers kept that in mind. The rack itself sits well away from the vehicle so there’s no chance of bar scratches on your trunk.

Unlike other rack systems we’ve purchased in the past, the Sherpa includes a lock that doubles as both a way to secure the rack to your car AND a means for securing your bikes to the rack. It’s really an elegant solution where one key (and one lock) does it all.

Now, let’s talk fuel efficiency. You may not realize it but carrying bikes on top of your car creates serious drag which can burn 15% more fuel by some estimates. To put that into perspective, one day trip with a $50 fill-up includes $7.50 of EXTRA gas you need to buy just to cover your the drag from your bikes. With a hitch rack the bikes are tucked in behind the car where there’s far less drag. Trunk mounted racks, while better than roof racks, still leave the bikes higher and more exposed than a hitch mounted rack like the Sherpa.

After driving around with the Kuat Sherpa a bit I noticed the rack scraped the pavement a few times (speed bumps, driveways) and I eventually realized I had installed the hitch receiver upside down (oops!). Still, depending on the height of your vehicle this may be an issue, especially if you’re in a sedan vs. an SUV or truck. Also the gray plastic cap on my rack doesn’t fit securely and falls off sometimes, though as far as I can tell this piece is mostly cosmetic anyway.

According to Kuat, the Sherpa is designed for bikes up to a 44.5″ wheel base and clearly my size large 29er is pushing the limits. Fortunately the rear wheel cups pivot enough to attach my bike to the rack, though whether this puts excess strain on the cups over time is yet to be seen.

To me, getting bikes to the trail is one of the least enjoyable parts of mountain biking so I’m stoked to have such a great solution after all these years. With a lifetime warranty, the Kuat Sherpa is a solid rack that’ll get your bikes to the trail safely, efficiently, and in style for years to come. It’s like having your bike delivered on a silver platter every ride!

Thanks to the folks at Kuat for providing the Sherpa bike rack for review.

Check it out: new product from a new(ish) company. Kuat was formed in 2007 by Luke KUschmander, Brian ATkinson, and Guy Mace, engineering genius, and they’ve produced 4 upscale and well built bike racks so far. Each rack showcases a fresh approach to material choice and design, making each on unlike any rack you may have seen before. The NV, which is new for 2009-10, is no exception.

At $495 MSRP for either the 2- or 1.25-inch receiver version, this unit isn’t the cheapest out there but does include a few features that aren’t found on most standard bike racks. For example, this rack can carry 1oo+ lbs of bike. Don’t know about your but I’ve never seen a bike even close to that weight, not even one made from gas pipe.

The NV rack sports extruded, channeled aluminum on the front and rear tire arms and stamped, welded steel on the rack center which means you’re getting a rack that can take harsh environmental conditions (rain, heat, snow, salt) year after year. Looking closer, the NV features bronzy orange hardware and accents – anodized aluminum rather than the plain stuff – to give the rack a sexy look and a long lasting finish.

The use of levers in place of pull pins makes it very convenient to tilt the rack out of the way to get into the trunk. Looking at the photo below you can also see that Kuat added a 360-degree bike repair clamp which will allow you to work on and clean up your bike in the parking lot after your ride. Latching the bike to the rack takes less than 10 seconds which I love, especially compared to the roof mounting systems I’ve used.

Out of the box and onto the car will take you about 30 minutes to assemble the five main pieces along with the repair clamp. The instructions are pretty straightforward with just a few parts to worry about. Like most instruction packets, this one could use clearer images but once you read through a couple times you can make out exactly what they mean.

Make sure everything is lined up before you start cranking things down as it is possible to cross thread the supplied hardware. I really like the wedge cam design Kuat uses on the NV since the cam wedges on the corner of your receiver rather that just the side like some others. That feature alone really reduces the amount noise that is generated from the rack when bouncing off pot holes. Align the receiver pin and lock it down with the supplied security lock and you’re good to go.

On the road the Kuat NV didn’t allow the bikes to move around once clamped in properly (unlike in the photos above). I found that the front clamp should be brought as close to the fork as possible to keep everything battened down. Some of the bigger MTB forks may be really close to the clamp arm (Totems, Fox 40, Dorado) so in that case you may want to simply wrap a lizard skin jumbo chainstay protector to eliminate any chance of rubbing.

The front clamp works as well as any other unit on the market today, fitting 26 and 29 inch wheels easily. There is an adapter that is supplied for 20 and 24 inch wheels that must be used if you’re hauling smaller bikes. The rear strap works pretty well, however I could see this part being improved a bit in the future.

To access your hatch or trunk, just release the pivot pin and have the rack tilt down giving you enough room to open up your hatch without removing the bikes. I had a hard time getting two bikes locked up securely using the included cable lock so in some cases you may need to provide your own lock.

Overall I would say the NV is a great looking rack that I could easily see on the back of a high end SUV – and on top of that it works great!  The shining star of the NV is the three positions it offers: stored position, transport position, and tilt-down-for-access position. The added repair clamp is a nice touch and works, though I’d like to see it beefed up a touch to take some flex out. Not that the flex is much of an issue with lighter XC or road bikes, but when you get a FR bike on the repair clamp, things start to move around a bit.

Check out other innovative racks from Kuat to find the one that’s right for you. Then the next time you pull up to the trailhead everyone will compliment your great rack!

Specifications

* 2 Bike Capacity
* Built-in Repair Stand
* Lever Fold Up and Tilt Down
* Integrated Cable Lock
* Hand Tight Cam System
* Front and Rear Tire Ratchets
* A Posh 13″ Between Bikes
* 2″ and 1.25″ Receiver Options
* Optional Bike Add-ons
* Fits 20″-29″Wheels
* Lifetime Warranty

I would like to thanks the folks at Kuat for sending up the NV rack for review.

Let’s admit it: bike racks aren’t usually all that exciting. Getting your bike to and from the trailhead is a nuisance at best and most of us are just looking for something that gets our bikes there in one piece. Fortunately the folks at Saris have put a lot of thought into their bike transport racks and have incorporated some cool features in keeping with the latest MTB and economic trends.

Bigger wheels: The Saris Thelma is a lightweight hitch mounted rack that features an adjustable wheel cup for standard or 29er wheels at the flip of a switch. The universal hitch mount fits 1 1/4″ and 2″ receivers which is great for folks with smaller vehicles.

Heavier DH rigs: The Saris Cycle On is a heavy-duty rack that can hold two bikes at up to 60 pounds each! The wheel grabs are 29er-compatible and slide to accommodate longer wheel base bikes. Both the Thelma and the Cycle On are a good choice for bikes with sloping top tubes.

Thin and versatile is in: the T-Bones is a lightweight hitch rack that weighs just 10 pounds for the 2 bike model. Since it’s lightweight it’s easy to bring the rack inside where the rack doubles as a home storage system using the optional stand. In this economy, multi-function is in and the T-Bone gives you a transport and storage rack system that works!

Finally–an easy and inexpensive solution to mounting a single bike on a car or truck with a factory roof rack. The Yakima Raptor Aero comes with mounts for small and large factory crossbars, Yakima round bars and Thule rectangular bars. The multiple mounting solutions makes this rack tray an easy commitment – it will mount to most crossbars if you change vehicles or rack systems.

The tray removes from the cross bars with three easy-to-use thumb screws — that’s it. To me, this is both the best and the worst part of the tray. I can easily remove it from the rack of my Subaru Outback, so I can carry our canoe up top; but if I park in a bad part of town it is not locked to the car and can be easily removed. The initial installation took about 45 minutes – taking extra time to play with where the jaw clamped on a few different bikes. The factory crossbars on the Outback are on the slim side – I used the smallest Aero shaped clamps that came with the rack. As a side note, the crossbars on an Outback are arched, rather than flat, so if you set the tray close to one side the bike leans outboard about 5 degrees. You can correct the lean by moving the rear crossbar clamp left or right until the lean is gone – Cool.

Securing a bike in the tray is a two-handed affair: you hold the bike in place with one hand (usually by the chainstay or crank arm for me) and attach the jaw to the bike frame with the other. The jaw opens very wide and has no trouble getting around the oversized and ovalized down tube on my full suspension bike. Skinny tubed steel road bikes fit well too, but the wheel straps are not as tight on the smaller tires. The jaws on the rack are a soft rubber that won’t damage the finish of your bike, but if you put it up there with a muddy downtube the grit will slowly sand away the paint in that area. A sturdy ratcheting strap secures each wheel. Underway with a bike mounted there is some added wind noise – but honestly, an Outback already has so much wind noise I barely noticed. Bikes ride very securely even at 80mph (or so I’m told ).

Lock Cores to lock the bike in the tray are available, but since the tray is not locked to the car I opted for a cable lock strung through both wheels, the frame and a crossbar.

The Yakima Raptor Aero is an ideal add-on tray to an existing roof rack system or a simple way to carry a bike on a car or SUV with a factory rack. It is easy to mount and remove, making it perfect for vehicles that serve multiple functions for busy families. The tray construction is typical of Yakima quality – stainless hardware and well-finished aluminum parts throughout.

Suggested retail price for the Yakima Raptor Aero rack is $139.95 – on sale now at JensonUSA for $119.