Kuat NV owners: how bad is it to have the arm sit against the frame?

Triathlon Forum
1

About to buy a hitch rack and leaning towards the Kuat NV 2.0, for the quality, design and repair stand feature.
I found reviews mentioning an issue with the arm having to sit against the frame causing rubbing on both the frame as well as the arm.
This is or example mentioned and demonstrated in this video review from minute 1:10:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNmpJVe6pZc.

Thanks in advance for your input.

P.S.
Also looking at the 1UpUSA and the Saris Freedom Superclamp.
If you have any thoughts on those please share.

2

I have the Kuat NV - I have the add-on so it’s a four bike rack. Never had a concern with it touching the bike. It will touch the fork on a mtb and the front brake on a road bike, but this hasn’t caused any damage to any of my bikes, and I’ve been using the rack for 4+ years.

3

No issues with my Kuat NV rack. The 2.0 looks awesome.

4

I have the Kuat NV - I have the add-on so it’s a four bike rack. Never had a concern with it touching the bike. It will touch the fork on a mtb and the front brake on a road bike, but this hasn’t caused any damage to any of my bikes, and I’ve been using the rack for 4+ years.

Ditto

5

I have the NV & if I was buying a new rack, I would buy it again 10 times out of 10. The rubbing thing is a non issue. The guy in that video seems a bit anal. He says he doesn’t want anything touching his bike, but that’s not possible with any bike rack. Something is going to have to touch something. On my tri bike, it presses up on the front brake and when it is tight, the bike & the rack do not move an inch.

6

I have an NV2.0 and absolutely love it. My wife and kids love it too… super easy to use, looks great, functions great… On my road bikes, the only contact is at the tire/front brake. I have 3 road bikes and it doesn’t touch the frame on any of them. I echo the 10 out of 10 on buying again.

7

We just bought a hitch rack for my wife’s new car. I wanted the KUAT NV, most of the guys at the shop have one, which to me, speaks volumes. Nearly all of them recommended the Thule T2 Pro, so we bought the T2 Pro. It is a fantastic rack, so long as I don’t have heavy bikes on it, it is one handed to tilt and very user friendly. I wanted the work stand and almost everyone said that they have used it once maybe twice and it wasn’t a feature that would be missed. With no adapters you can carry anything from a road bike to a full on fat bike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5noHvO3D2Q&feature=youtu.be

8

I just got a NV 2.0 and it is fantastic. They fixed a bunch of little issues from the first NV and made it a ton nicer. It is expensive but it is the nicest thing you can buy. Two days after getting it we drove to a race 3 hrs away and it was amazing at how little the bike moved the entire time. Included everything from crummy back roads to going down I-95 at extra legal speeds with no concerns ever.