Car Bike Racks

No, not all car bike racks fit all cars. The type of rack you can use depends on your car. Roof racks require your car to have roof rails or crossbars to attach the rack, truck bed racks are designed specifically for pickup trucks, trunk racks are dependent on your car’s rear design, and hitch racks need a hitch receiver installed on your car.

For the most common and versatile type of car bike rack, the hitch rack, it doesn't depend so much on the bike rack and the car as it does the type of hitch installed on the car. Hitches come in five classes—Class I, Class II, Class III, Class IV, and Class V—based on the tongue weight they can handle and their maximum towing capacity.

As the hitch class increases, the diameter of the hitch receiver increases. Class I and II hitches, for example, have a 1¼ ” receiver. Class III and IV hitches, meanwhile, have a 2” receiver. Before you purchase a car bike rack, install a hitch receiver on your car based on your vehicle’s maximum towing capacity. Then find a car bike rack that is compatible with your hitch class.

For road bikes, hitch-mounted tray racks like our Lenox Tray are generally considered the best option. They offer excellent stability and security, minimizing the risk of damage to your bike's frame and components. Tray racks hold the bike by its wheels, preventing load-bearing contact with the frame. This is particularly important for lightweight road bikes, especially those made of carbon fiber.

It depends on the type of car bike rack, but hitch racks (the style we sell at retrospec) are extremely easy to install. The time-intensive part of the process is installing a hitch on your car in the first place. This varies based on the type of car you have and the hitch receiver you’re purchasing. But once your hitch receiver is installed (or if you already have one) it’s as easy as slipping the bike rack into the receiver and securing it with our thread-in Hitch Bolt. Installation takes a minute or two, tops!

We offer two styles of car bike racks. These are frame-loading bike racks like our standard Lenox, which hold 2-5 bikes via a bike’s top tube (and thus aren’t compatible with step-through frames), and tray racks like Lenox Tray (2 bikes) and Endeavor (2 ebikes), which hold bikes by the wheels. The choice will generally come down to how many bikes you need to carry.

If you only need to carry two bikes, a tray rack will do the job. If you need to carry up to five bikes, choose our standard Lenox. If you’d like to use a frame-loading rack but your bike doesn’t have a top tube, you can also purchase a top tube adapter.

The difference between bolt-on and clamp-on bike racks is their attachment method. Bolt-on bike racks (like our hitch-mounted racks) are bolted to your vehicle via a dedicated mounting point, usually your car’s hitch receiver. This makes them extremely stable, secure, and capable of carrying heavy loads.

Clamp-on bike racks (like “trunk” bike racks) attach to your vehicle using clamps or straps that tighten around a part of your car, usually the trunk or rear hatch. These racks are sometimes cheaper, and can be quicker to install and remove, but are not nearly as secure, particularly when carrying heavy loads. They can also damage your car’s rear hatch if used improperly. If you’re regularly carrying bikes on your car, a bolt-on (hitch-mounted) bike rack is the best choice.

Yes! But because ebikes are much heavier and bulkier than normal bicycles, be sure to purchase an ebike-specific rack, like our Endeavor tray rack. This ebike rack is compatible with all retrospec ebikes, and adjusts to fit most frame shapes and sizes. It can hold two ebikes, accommodates wheel sizes from 20” to 29”, tires up to 5” wide, and bike weights of up to 80 lbs each.

It depends on the type of bike rack. Trunk-mounted bike racks vary in security, but hitch-mounted car bike racks are extremely secure due to their robust construction and attachment to the car's hitch receiver. That said, car bike racks are designed for secure transport, not secure storage. If you’re parking your car outside, be sure to remove your bike(s) from your bike rack, or secure them with a bike lock to prevent grab-and-go thefts.

Car bike racks, while convenient for transporting bikes, do have some disadvantages. Chiefly, they can obstruct the driver's view and limit access to the trunk or rear of the vehicle. Our car bike racks, however, are fully collapsible for easy storage and portability, and fold down so you can access the trunk of your car when the rack isn’t in use.

Yes, you’ll need a hitch receiver to install a car bike rack on your car. There are other options, such as roof racks, trunk-mounted racks, and truck bed racks, but a hitch rack is the most reliable, affordable, and versatile car bike rack option.

It depends on a variety of factors, including your car, the road you're driving on, the bikes you’re carrying, and wind conditions, but our hitch-mounted car bike racks can accommodate any legal posted speed limit without issue. The anti-rattle adapters on our steel car bike racks minimize wobbling or shaking during transport. Keep in mind that car bike racks are not built for off-road use. If driving on a gravel or dirt road, use extra caution and travel at low speeds.

It’s not really possible to carry a bike on a car without some form of bike rack. If you’re regularly transporting bikes with your vehicle, your best option is to purchase a car bike rack.

If you have a pickup truck, you could throw your bike in the truck bed. If you have a van or an SUV with a large rear compartment, you could also fold down the back seats and stow your bike in the rear. Removing your front wheel will help make your bike more compact. But these methods do run the risk of your bike rattling around and potentially being damaged.

You could also purchase a folding bike. Our Judd Folding Bike collapses to a mere 32” x 30” x 10”, easily fitting in a closet, under a desk, or inside the trunk of a sedan.

Yes, you can certainly drive a car with an empty bike rack. However, our bike racks are compact and foldable, so when you aren’t using them you can easily fold the rack or (depending on the rack) stow the rack arms to make the rack more streamlined.

Laws vary from state to state, but generally, any item that obstructs the view of a car's license plate violates state law. It depends on where your license plate is located (some are on the trunk, others are on the rear bumper), but most bike racks—when properly installed—do not fully obscure a car’s license plate. It’s almost unheard of for a police officer to issue a citation for a properly installed bike rack.

If your bike rack does obscure your license plate and you’re worried about being pulled over, you can always purchase a license plate holder for your bike rack so that your plate is still visible, or post a color copy of your license plate in the back window of your vehicle.

It depends on your bike rack. Some brands sell fixed bike racks that don’t allow for easy trunk access, but our tray racks like Lenox and Endeavor both offer quick access to your car’s trunk. Lenox features an easy-to-remove center shaft, while Endeavor has a foot pedal that folds the rack outward. Either way, accessing the trunk of your car only takes a few seconds!

Some trunk-mounted racks risk scratching the paint on your car. Hitch-mounted racks, like the ones we sell at retrospec, do not come into contact with any point on your car except the hitch receiver, so there is no risk of scratching your car’s frame. Just be careful when loading your bikes on and off the rack!

Unfortunately, there is no single answer to this question. It depends. If you don't tell your insurance provider about your bike rack and there's an accident or damage to your car, they may use it as an excuse to refuse to pay out on your claim, claiming it as a “modification” to your car. To be safe, before installing a bike rack, contact your insurance provider to get an idea of what to expect if you file a claim.