I recently got a new vehicle and am considering bike rack options. I have had fork mount roof racks for years, and I really like the way they offer rock-solid stability, with zero movement of the bike while in transit.
I tried a hitch rack about a year ago on a long trip (1,500 miles RT). I did everything I could to properly attach the rack and tighten it where it met the receiver, yet it still swayed back and forth a bit. This was rather unnerving to me, and I was able to deal with it only because it was only our cheap “camping” bikes on the rack. I would have been very unhappy with my expensive road, tri, or mountain bikes on a rack that was moving around like that. Is some amount of sway unavoidable with a hitch rack?
I would rather not get another roof rack, as I want to keep the top of the new vehicle free of rails or racks if possible. I have read great things about the Kuat NV - but does it sway at all? If not, it would be a top choice for me. I would love to be able to remove and install a hitch rack as needed. Also, is the Kuat NV ever discounted? Online, I see it discounted by small amounts, but have not yet seen a great deal on one.
Any other top-rated hitch racks? Need to be able to carry 4 bikes, and I am aware that the Kuat carries two plus can be expanded for two more.
I’ve had a Kuat NV for almost four years now. The rack does have some sway in it, even when it is completely tightened down. The sway bothered me at first, but I’ve never had any issues with the bikes that I’ve carried coming loose. I love the rack, and if I had to purchase a new rack, I would purchase this again.
I’ve had my Kuat NV for about 4 months and I love it. No movement of the rack or bikes at all (I have a 2" hitch). I’ve taken the rack on and off the hitch a number of times with ease.
Love the Kuat NV. Have the 2" receiver as well and almost no sway. Took it across country with no issues. Great materials and looks great. Also has the work stand built in, which has been awesome.
I have the NV on a 1.25" receiver. It does sway some. The only complaint I have is that it rubbed a spot of paint off on my Lefty mountain bike fork. Curious why you are concerned about the rack swaying.
I’ve really like using the Kuat NV. I haven’t noticed any sway with tightening down the tongue adjustment knob. It’s a fairly heavy rack that I just leave on the car all the time now. One benefit that I notice in heavy urban traffic is that people tend to stay off my bumper more than before.
Pictures and thoughts
You’ll often hear equal good comments about the 1Up rack as well.
You should look at 1upUSA. Their racks are incredible. So easy to use. I have a single and two add ons, but you could buy a double with two add ons later.
I have the NV on a 1.25" receiver. It does sway some. The only complaint I have is that it rubbed a spot of paint off on my Lefty mountain bike fork. Curious why you are concerned about the rack swaying.
Swaying side-to-side with very expensive bikes just doesn’t seem very stable and safe to me, especially since I am used to a fork-mount roof rack with zero movement.
I have the NV on a 1.25" receiver. It does sway some. The only complaint I have is that it rubbed a spot of paint off on my Lefty mountain bike fork. Curious why you are concerned about the rack swaying.
Swaying side-to-side with very expensive bikes just doesn’t seem very stable and safe to me, especially since I am used to a fork-mount roof rack with zero movement.
I guess I still don’t understand what you think is going to happen. Your bike certainly isn’t going to fall off if installed correctly.
I think the quality of hitch you use will impact if there is any movement in the rack. If it is manufactured with close to 1.25 or 2" the fit will be tighter and would limit sway. Don’t see what else would cause it to move around. I wanted the NV but it would not fit on my car based on how recessed my hitch needed to be mounted. Loved the idea of the integrated repair stand. I have the Yakima Hold Up 2 which works great. It was the only one that fit on my car. It does have an integrated beer opener which is a plus post ride. I have zero sway on my rack.
You should look at 1upUSA. Their racks are incredible. So easy to use. I have a single and two add ons, but you could buy a double with two add ons later.
If I had to do it all over again I’d buy a 1Up rack like this person has. I really wanted an NV at first and almost bought one (REI 20% coupon works on this rack) but came upon a deal too hard (for me) to pass up on a Thule T2 listed locally to me off of craigslist. Only after I got the T2 I learned about the 1Up though…once a month for the past year I still think about selling my T2 and buying the 1Up instead.
Ironically the guy who sold me the T2 was buying a NV since he was able to sell a bunch of other stuff to afford the NV.
Love the Kuat NV. Have the 2" receiver as well and almost no sway. Took it across country with no issues. Great materials and looks great. Also has the work stand built in, which has been awesome.
+1. Love the rack. Great customer service and very little to no sway with 2" receiver.
I have a Kuat NV & I love it. It’s the first rack I have ever owned, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I did my research before buying it so I feel like I know the pros & cons of all the competitors out there. Here’s my take on the NV:
I have a 2" hitch on my 4Runner & when I tighten the NV, there is **ZERO **sway. No movement. I try & shake it, and the whole truck shakes. It’s in there solid.The integrated cable lock is awesome, but it can be short and the lock can rest on parts you don’t want them to. I run the cable through the frame & then my pedal to keep it from rubbing the bike. I have only put a single bike on the rack, but I have to think that if you put two, you may need to get creative with how you run the lock cable for the ends to reach.The integrated bike rack is a great idea, but if you have a tri bike, it can be a bit tricky. The clamp will work on a round tube road or mountain bike fine, but getting it wide enough to clamp an aero tri frame can be a bit awkward.The fold up & pivot down features are solid. I had my rack on & loaded/unloaded my entire truck for Christmas with no issues.The rack is heavy. I’m not sure how heavy other hitch racks are, but this one is frigging heavy! I take it off & put it on only when I am using it (about once a week). I have it hanging on the wall in my garage using two of these drilled into the studs. To me though, heavy = solid construction.As with most stand up racks, be careful pushing the front arm down on your front wheel to secure it. I push it down onto the wheel in front of my brake while I see others pressing it down over the brake. Either way, be aware so you don’t damage your bike.The colors are cool as hell.
I love my Kuat NV!! So much that I am on my second rack (the first one was damaged when I was rear ended. Luckily, no bikes were on the rack at the time). Like others have said, the rack is solid, virtually no movement once tightened with the adjusting knob and I love the built in workstand. Also, the tilt feature is great when trying to access the rear of your vehicle when bikes are mounted.
Had a Softride bike rack and then switched to the Kuat NV. Night and day between the two. I have no sway in mine as wiggle my rack and tighten at the same time to remove any play in the receiver. Love the fact that I can adjust from 2 bikes to 4 if necessary. I saved about $250 on mine when I went to Competitive Cyclist.
Hey Cholla – my neighborhood LBS owner is retiring, closing out the store and i know he has 3 Küat boxes sitting there.
Not sure what model or what price, but i can find out for you tomorrow if you’re interested.
It’s in Oregon, so no sales tax, just shipping to arrange.
Ref the rubbing on the lefty fork - I used some foam hot-water pipe insulation (available in a variety of sizes) and duct tape to wrap the rubber “hooks” that go around the wheel/fork, and it has prevented any sort of rubbing or paint removal.
Additionally, I bought the 2-bike version, and then added on another 2-bike extension (total of 4 bikes). Kuat brags about having the industry leading distance between bikes, but what I discovered when adding the second 2-bike add-on is that you have to move the bikes closer together. The original 2-bike components get squished together a bit, and while all 4 bikes are equally spaced, they are now a little tight. The extension arm which hooks around the wheel/fork now touches the back of the frame on the bike in the adjoining tray. So…more pipe insulation to the rescue. It looks a lot better than it sounds.
Finally, ZERO sway. Tighten down that knob boys ;-0 The internally hitch tightening system is awesome. As someone else wrote, you can move the whole car - no sway.
