Bike Trunk Rack

What a piece of cake to install! I haven’t been able to find a rack to fit on my Equinox, as I had no hitch installed. This slipped right into place even tho I had a five month old to content with. So glad I bought this!

I returned two other brands of bike racks before I found this one. To have a love affair with this rack, you have to get the whammy on it. I needed a rack I could put on & take off super fast, get a bike or two mounted onto quickly, fit easily inside a small trunk, & use on 5 different cars. This rack will do all that IF you know the tricks and are willing to take about 40 minutes to accommodate its personality.First of all, don’t buy it unless you know the rack will fit your model of car, and the distance between arms on the rack will fit your bike frame...(like duh). Ask first, if you are unsure. (Initially we thought it wouldn’t fit on 2 of the cars because we were attaching it incorrectly.)Second, it won’t scratch your car if your car is clean where it sits. The directions tell you that. Again duh. If you have dirt & fine sand on your car, and then put a vibrating soft rubber pad on the paint, the car will get scratched. But how could paint get scratched with a rubber pad if the paint and pads are clean?Third, it is true the rubber slots for the velcro are delicate. But it is much faster and easier to use bungees, as long as the metal hooks don’t touch the paint on your car or the paint on your bicycle. Always check bikes every hour on a long drive. Do the yank test.Forth, the extra length of strapping gets in the way. So simply chain it, like making a chain to crochet or as electricians will do with the fat long extension cords. If you switch cars, just tug it to full length. I prefer to slip the end of the strap through the last loop so it doesn’t unravel until I need to do so.Fifth, I didn’t want to worry about scratching my bike against the rack. So, on the lower braces, wherever the bike might possible touch the rack, I ran a fat vertical line of hot glue on the rack. It works perfectly.Sixth, I got tired of untangling the straps every time I pulled it out of the trunk. Remember, I move really quickly. I hot glued little round powerful magnets on the top side of each of the hooks being careful not to cover up the “upper” and “lower” labels. When not in use, I twirl each pair of straps around their respective arms leaving just enough excess length to magnet to their other half.Seventh, only on one of the cars could a pedal reach the car paint. I put an old sock over the pedal - end of problem. Use common sense, if your bike touches the car some where, knot a strip of rag around it (or sock), & if needed, secure the wrap with wall paper tape or string. Again, the car must be clean where the rag touches.In conclusion, if this sounds like a lot of trouble. It is, to start with, but with the above completed, I can pull the rack out of the trunk and load a bike or two in 2 - 4 minutes. With that kind of timing, what’s not to love?

This is a good bike rack, it fit our Lexus GX 460 well and we had no problems transporting two bikes 800 miles over Thanksgiving. I purchased months ago because it was on sale and we didn't take it out of the box until we needed it for our trip. Upon opening, it became obvious this was a returned item. The clip for one of the straps was missing, so we won't be able to use it for three bikes unless we use a different method to secure the third bike. We were able to use the working straps to attach our two kids' bikes. Happy with the item, just wish I had installed it right away to see if all the pieces were there. Had I done so within the return time frame, I would have returned this one and repurchased to (hopefully) get a brand new rack that wasn't defective.

I bought this rack about four months ago, and have used it at least 15 times so far. It isn't the most sturdy bike rack out there -- you can definitely find more solid ones if you're willing to pay $80-100 or more. But for the price, it's a great value. If you're going to be carrying bikes shorter distances (I'm thinking <10 miles), I think this rack works fine.I have no trouble getting two Trek hybrid bikes loaded onto it. You can see the bars lower slightly under the weight when the second bike is put on, but it still seems pretty sturdy. Straps haven't been a problem -- they've stayed secure on all my drives.It's simple to put on. It only takes about two minutes to get the rack itself on the car, and an additional minute for each bike, once you figure out the best way to position your bikes. It might take a little playing around with the first couple times, but once you find a pattern, it seems to load quickly.If I start wanting to go longer distances with the bikes on my car, I'll probably upgrade to a nicer rack. But for simple trips and as an economy choice, I think this Bell rack works pretty well.

I tried to go the cheap route and bought this bike rack for my Toyota commuter car. It is a breeze to install and looks great on the car so...5 stars there. However, the actual rack strap down method is woefully inadequate and so the rack ends up shifting. The straps used to affix the rack to the vehicle are held in place using a plastic device similar to that found on backpack straps. This is simply not strong enough to maintain the tension required to hold the rack firmly in place. The vibration of the vehicle coupled with the shifting weight of the bike cause the straps to loosen up and require constant adjustment.This rack is essentially a cheap solution and it has the expected drawbacks that come with cheap solutions. Instead, I would recommend spending a bit more and getting a Saris or Thule Rack (New or used) These are much sturdier and the straps tension is maintained with metal doohickeys that stay in place and do not loosen up. Check out the Saris 1, 2 or 3 and compare. I ended up returning the Bell rack and buying a new Saris 1 for $50. No regrets.Also have to say that Amazon's return policy is awesome. 5 stars!

Easy setup, works on Model Y although with the metal clips I put photo gaffer tape on the car to protect the paint. Careful with the trunk lid however as it can go down quickly when you are standing facing the trunk when installing the upper clips, it jerks a little but takes some patience, just watch your fingers.Second, third, installs were a breeze after you learn when to put the clips.