Hitch rack just makes life easier, especially if you want to haul around your friend's bikes. I have the 1up with 3 trays.

When we bought our current car, we had the hitch added for the sole purpose of having a hitch rack. We have an SUV and live in the NYC area. I didn't want to have to worry about bikes in low tunnels/underpasses, and honestly, I didn't want to have to throw my heavy mountain bike on the roof. Plus, when the rack is folded up it acts as a bumper guard! :)

After doing what you’re doing (putting bike in the trunk) for years I finally broke down and got a 1Up hitch rack. It’s soooo much more convenient. Literally 15 seconds to load/unload my bike. It also occurred to me that if I were ever in an accident I’d rather have the bike outside of the car. Inside of the car it could be a deadly projectile.

Over the years I have installed hitches on 3 cars primarily for my hitch rack. But a couple times every year, having a trailer hitch has come in super handy. Its made kid moves super easy and I have this cool basket thing that goes in the hitch for when the car is too full which is easier to load and unload than a roof top carrier. So, while a hitch rack is not necessarily life changing, having a vehicle with a hitch is definitely a potential life enhancement feature!

As for the bike rack, If I am traveling solo I always put the bike in the car as it is easier than putting the rack on. Where my hitch rack has been a bit "life changing" is when I am with my wife and kids or another couple heading out to the country some sort of casual ride. I've had some good times over the years simply because I could haul 4 bikes. Also, I use my rack on those occasions where we are going out of town for the weekend, the car is packed and I want to take my bike. Granted, I could do those things with a roof rack. I've had roof racks in the past and the hitch rack is way easier and 10 times quicker to install if you are not leaving the roof rack on all the time and a hitch rack generally costs less per bike spot if you want to be prepared to haul multiple bikes. Also, those casual rides generally involve a couple ridiculously heavy non racing bikes which would be almost impossible to lift up on a roof rack (how do people ride those things?)

Life changing? No, but I would pick a hitch rack over a roof rack. Get one that can hold 4 bikes and you are ready for some nice fun group outings even if you are using to haul just one bike 95% of the time.

I got a hitch rack immediately at the time of purchase of a CUV. I could fit a bike in the cargo area if I remove the front wheel and lay it over. I do like the convenience of the rack in general and do not have to worry about scratching the paint around the cargo opening with sloppy handling or putting a wet muddy bike in the cargo area after a rainy ride or putting the bike in the car with pouring down rain. With Wet Okole seat covers and pouring down rain, I can quickly put the bike on the rack and jump in without concern for upholstery.

To go along with the other thread if I could do over I would get the 1UP. I have the Kuat NV and like it, but single tray 1UP really looks appealing.

I had a strap on trunk rack for years.

When I got my first carbon bike, I didn’t want to clamp the carbon tubes down to the rack.

So I invested in a hitch and a hitch rack. One of the best decisions of 25 years of cycling. The ease and convenience is so worth it.

If you can financially swing it, go for it. You won’t regret it.

I put off getting a hitch rack for many years due to the cost and pain of install. Even cheap systems can put you well north of $500-600 once you get the hitch on. Instead I lived with locking roof rails.

What put me over the edge was owning two thru axle bikes that didn't work with the roof rails I had. I didn't want to go the adapter route. Breaking down a muddy full sus MTB into a car gets old real quick. (Those of you complaining about the vast disc brake conspiracy ramming axles down our throats can also throw some blame on rack manufacturers :))

As others have said, the hitch rack is 1000x more convenient than anything else. That extra cost was quickly forgotten. It does make certain tasks (i.e. parking) a little more of a pain, but overall, wish I had done it sooner. I'm not sure where it falls on the fuel economy scale vs. the roof rails, as between the hitch and rack it's an extra 60 pounds of metal I'm lugging around all the time even when I'm not using it.

The 1up, etc is of course the mac daddy rack. Also the only one that won't damage the finish on your bike with a fork arm. I have seen and used them, and badly wanted one, but couldn't bring myself to shell out for the full setup. I settled for the Rocky Mounts monorail which has been 'good enough'.

If you park in a garage or underground yes!!!
But they are EZ. bike on 1 are 1 strap secured.
Go!

---

2017 Cervelo P2
2017 Cervelo S2
itraininla.com
#itraininla

My personal usage is this - I have a SUV with roof racks, and also have a Kuat NV four bike rack. If I'm solo, the bike always goes in the car. Taking the front wheel off and putting down the seat is easy. If it's my mtb and it's really muddy, sometimes it goes on top. If my wife and I are both going somewhere and it's a short trip (less than 1 hour of driving time), the bikes go up top. If it's a long trip with a lot of interstate driving, or I'm needing to carry more than two bikes, the hitch rack goes on.

I was going to go with a hitch rack and decided to keep with a trunk rack when I found a Yakima Halfback on Amazon for just $90. It was from Amazon where house where it's basically returns and scratched items. The only thing damaged about it was the box it came in other than that brand new, in the plastic. It's super solid. I guess hitch racks are a bit nicer and more convenient if you want in and out of your trunk. But trunk racks can be basically put on almost any car, including a rental which is what I did for IMMT when we went with the whole family. I can't really answer your question to if it's life changing or not. But I can tell you my Yakima is awesome and other than the ability to use my trunk while attached there can't be much of a difference. My worthless two cents, if money is no issue and it doesn't matter hitch racks are the gold standard. If money is really tight keep doing what you're doing. If it's somewhere in-between and you can't stand your current system. A trunk mount can be found cheap if you're not picky and are willing to search all the big brands (Thule, Yakima, Saris) you can probably find something for under $100.

---

I still lapped everyone on the couch!

useful yes. life changing no. one thing to consider is security. your bike is far more secure inside your car than outside. A few years back I got a yakima hitch bike rack for like $100. it was like some closeout groupon special. it's one where bike frame straps to rack. it's fairly quick to put a bike on. not like the ones that are like a tray. it has a built in cable lock but I swear you could cut the cable lock with a pair of scissors. So I actually have a ulock that can lock to the vertical arm. overall the setup is fine but not a huge change from when I just put my bike in the back of my car.