# Vertical Hitch Bike Rack Options



## jsvwx (Jun 17, 2010)

Looking for some help in picking out a vertical bike rack for my Honda Odyssey which has a Class III 2" hitch receiver on it. Needs to be either a 5 or 6 bike carrier. I also plan to install air spring inserts to help keep the rear up.

I'm looking at the following racks:

North Shore NSR-6
Lolo 6 Bike
Recon Gen2 R5
Yakima Hangover 5
Alta 5 Pack

My main concern is the amount of clearance from the bottom of the bike tires to the ground, since the minivan has terrible ground clearance. I measured about 10" on my minivan from the center of the 2" hitch insert to the ground. The longest bike that it would carry is a large sized long travel 29er.

The other things that I'm looking for are that they can hold 20" and 24" kids mountain bikes and also 20" BMX park bikes.

Thanks!


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

I had a Recon Gen2 4, solid it, bought a Velocirax at Moab Outerbike:

https://www.velocirax.com/

Great rack, no complaints.

The biggest decision point is whether you're going to hang your bikes from the foks, teh wheels, or the bars.

I had a Softride that hung the bikes by the bars and it trashed the finish on my bars.

I'm not a huge fan of hanging bikes by the forks, can trash the finish and mess up your brake lines, but it's better than hanging the bikes by the bars.

Best bet is hanging the bikes by the wheels, least impact, most "natural", only downside is the bikes will bounce because the suspension is active in this mountain option.

Because you're planning to run bikes with a huge disparity in wheel base, you may need to rig up a secondary lower wheel support for the small bikes.

FYI: That 10" of clearance is not much, esp on minivan that's overloaded.

If I was you, I'd look at OneUp, they have better ground clearance and will likely accommodate all wheelbases.

If you must do a hanging rack, I feel like Northshore and Altai have the best ground clearance, but to be sure you could email all the mfgs and ask ... though you need a common bike standard.


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## jsvwx (Jun 17, 2010)

Nurse Ben said:


> I had a Recon Gen2 4, solid it, bought a Velocirax at Moab Outerbike:
> 
> https://www.velocirax.com/
> 
> ...


Thanks for the reply! I have a Yakima Holdup 4 right now and will look to sell it because I need to be able to carry at least 5 bikes at once on the rack. I just looked up the VelociRAX 5 that you have. It looks nice and better priced compared to the Recon and Alta models. Hard to tell on the website if one is better than the other or heavier duty than the other?

Question I have for you on yours, since you said it's "active", does that mean that the bikes move side to side and can rub or hit each other or just active but enough clearance that nothing would touch? That's the problem with the Yakima I have. The bikes sway side to side and I have to wrap the parts that may rub with a rag to keep everything nice on long drives or when it's bumpy terrain. I can tell you first hand that the bikes on the North Shores do not budge at all. We took a shuttle up to the UPS/Porcupine Rim and was impressed. I spoke to them on the phone too and they were very helpful, so right now that's the front runner.

I'll keep looking for a little bit longer and see what happens. Just to clarify, the 10" of clearance if when the van is unloaded. I didn't measure it with the Yakima loaded and gear and passengers inside. My Yakima has better ground clearance than the North Shore's, but also sticks out (towards the rear) about 3'-4', so the bike's on the vertical rack may have similar or even better ground clearance compared to my Yakima.

So my question to you is, in my situation, would you recommend the VelociRAX 5 or the North Shore? Why did you get rid of the Recon? Any experience with any of the other racks or seen any of them in person? Last question, which has better ground clearance, the Recon or the VelociRAX 5?


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## Alta Racks (Nov 27, 2017)

*major differences in racks in regards to rise and distance from vehicle*

The only rack that will give you the rise for larger bike is ALTA, and you can always upgrade the 5 pack to a six just by adding a basket.
Our racks are made for minivans, they clear the dips and give major clearance to the bikes. Fully adjustable baskets for pedal clearance.
There is more info on our blogs, and reviews. www.altaracks.com
If you are a NICA or high school team rider or parent, we have a sale coming up as well.






Made in the USA.
Thanks


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## 2melow (Jan 5, 2004)

BTW just get a lift kit if you have a Sienna AWD model. https://www.journeysoffroad.com/toyo...-lift-kit.html


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## 2melow (Jan 5, 2004)

jsvwx said:


> Looking for some help in picking out a vertical bike rack for my Honda Odyssey which has a Class III 2" hitch receiver on it. Needs to be either a 5 or 6 bike carrier. I also plan to install air spring inserts to help keep the rear up.
> 
> I'm looking at the following racks:
> 
> ...


I have a Recon R6 and Yakima Hangover 6.

If I am going to go 10 miles up the road with my buddies, Recon R6.

If I am going to Moab (6 hour drive) I take the Yakima.

The Recon has a lot more movement fully loaded, and bikes rub each other. Racks which hold by the wheels in a basket simply have way more movement than the Yakima and North Shore style. More potential for damage, especially cruising at 80mph and hitting dips in the road, etc.. Yakima is far more secure, and the way the rear wheel trays sit you can reposition them a bit. I make sure the fork crown is clean on the Yakima for transport, as I can see it wearing potentially if left dirty/sandy.

Recon 6 is nice for quick trips, I actually also use an Otto lock and a cable lock to double hold the front wheels, as I have lost 2 bikes (slow speed, on bumpy dirt roads). But I have an older version R6 where the bungee pops out. Cody has since improved this on new models. But still I double secure each wheel so a bike doesn't pop out.

24" bikes are OK, I used some foam grips in the stock baskets as spokes hit the flat bar. I believe there is now a 24" basket, and 20" basket. The 20" gets a special mount for the rear wheel which bolts into the rear tire crossbar.

Not sure as to clearance, we use our racks on a Ram 2500, Land Cruiser and Q7. Tons of clearance, but you will need air bags on a minivan for sure. That's a lot of weight hanging off the back for stock minivan suspension.

I have a buddy with a North Shore 6 and it is a great rack as well. The knotted rope to secure the rear wheel is a bit primitive, but does seem to work. Many FS bikes and rigid front end bikes will not work with the design though, keep that in mind.

Hope this helps!


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## Alta Racks (Nov 27, 2017)

*made for minivans*

We hold 20 and 24 inch bikes. the 20 inch we used for development are BMX bikes. the adjustable baskets allow for horizontal adjustment so the bikes never contact each other. the ground clearance for minivans is excellent. there is zero contact to the frame of the bike, long term use that will be an issue with carbon fatigue. We have full comparison on the website between all the racks, under the blogs.


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## jsvwx (Jun 17, 2010)

2melow said:


> BTW just get a lift kit if you have a Sienna AWD model. https://www.journeysoffroad.com/toyo...-lift-kit.html


Thanks but it's a Honda.


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## jsvwx (Jun 17, 2010)

2melow said:


> I have a Recon R6 and Yakima Hangover 6.
> 
> If I am going to go 10 miles up the road with my buddies, Recon R6.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the great information! I have a tailgate pad on my pickup, which is my go to vehicle for transporting bikes but I'm really looking 4 this vertical rack for road trips with the minivan. It will be used for long road trips so the bikes definitely need to stay put.

would you happen to know between the Yakima and the North shore, which one has better ground clearance?


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

Yes, the bikes move on the rack because the bike suspension is active due to the bike being held by the wheels. Yes, they could bounce and have contact or come off the rack, that is the downside of wheel mounted hanging racks.

The best rack I ever used was OneUp, but four bikes makes for a big rack, and bike to bike clearance is tight. The bikes could still touch on a big hit.

No perfect solution.

The Altai owner is as close to a shill as is possible without being a customer, so take what he says with a bucket of salt. I've used his racks, they're good quality, expensive, but no better that any other wheel hung bike rack.

I still like my rack, but for long trips I typically keep my bikes in the van, and I cable lock the front wheels into the rack for extra security.



jsvwx said:


> Thanks for the reply! I have a Yakima Holdup 4 right now and will look to sell it because I need to be able to carry at least 5 bikes at once on the rack. I just looked up the VelociRAX 5 that you have. It looks nice and better priced compared to the Recon and Alta models. Hard to tell on the website if one is better than the other or heavier duty than the other?
> 
> Question I have for you on yours, since you said it's "active", does that mean that the bikes move side to side and can rub or hit each other or just active but enough clearance that nothing would touch? That's the problem with the Yakima I have. The bikes sway side to side and I have to wrap the parts that may rub with a rag to keep everything nice on long drives or when it's bumpy terrain. I can tell you first hand that the bikes on the North Shores do not budge at all. We took a shuttle up to the UPS/Porcupine Rim and was impressed. I spoke to them on the phone too and they were very helpful, so right now that's the front runner.
> 
> ...


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## plummet (Jul 8, 2005)

Interestingly many of these similar racks have advantages and disadvantages.

I think you need to find the rack that has the advantages you like and the disadvantages dont bother you.

i hadnt heard of https://www.velocirax.com/ before. That is another interesting take on a vertical rack. Personally the damped hinging mechanism is abit overkill for my tastes. But it looks like a quality rack.

As to the comment above re wheel basket style racks bikes moving. Yes they do. However they all move in the same direction. If the spacing of the bikes is wide enough and you mount the bikes slackest, longest fork/headtube first through to steepest, shortest then there is never any bike rub.

I think the magical anti rub spacing for wheel basket ra is around 325mm between bikes. Much less than that and you are into potential rub dimensions.


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## bremmick (May 21, 2008)

Who has first hand experience with most of these? Was looking at Hangover 6 from Yakima, mostly because of the large discount I can get on it. 

Wondering if the Velocirax or smiliar is worth the higher cost?


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## evasive (Feb 18, 2005)

The Yakima is cheaper, and very adjustable. It also had a fair amount of plastic, which I don’t like. It only carries bikes with a suspension fork, if that’s an issue for you. I’ve used a friend’s; it’s easy to load and works just fine. 

FWIW I thought the damper mechanism on the VelociRax was a gimmick before I got one. It’s the easiest loading vertical rack I’ve ever used. It’s also heavy AF if you need to take it off.


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## mashnslash (May 26, 2020)

I'd stay away from any rack that touches the bike frame or fork crown, no matter what. I have two Alta Six racks (we have a lotta bikes). These things are bombproof; they are super secure. We've had them offroad for hundreds of miles on both a 4runner and a F150 loaded with bikes (when you're carrying 5 or 6 bikes worth more together than your truck, it better be good!) I added the retractable straps - between that and the hitch setup the rack simply doesn't move. 
The Alta 6 you can adjust the brackets and strap locations to handle bikes of different sizes and different geometries. It also leans back easily for loading and opening large tailgates. Both my racks have stands so they hold all the bikes in the garage. It's a great setup.


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## dhjunkie (Apr 15, 2007)

Hey, I didn't want to start a new thread related to this but recently I built myself a vertical bike rack copy of the many that are out there with the same style cage as the Alta etc. My friend is convinced a bike rack like this puts a lot of pre-mature stress on the headtube. I think he is flat out wrong. What do you think internet engineers?


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## Alta Racks (Nov 27, 2017)

Just our 2 cents, your friend is correct. More you lean the wheel more pressure on the hub. However, there is a sweet spot, where there is a good balance with least amount of pressure. The pressure itself is not the issue, its the angle or vector of the force being applied on the hub. That is another reason why we don't build one size fit all baskets, its impossible to control the lean on different size bikes with one size fit all.


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## dhjunkie (Apr 15, 2007)

Alta Racks said:


> Just our 2 cents, your friend is correct. More you lean the wheel more pressure on the hub. However, there is a sweet spot, where there is a good balance with least amount of pressure. The pressure itself is not the issue, its the angle or vector of the force being applied on the hub. That is another reason why we don't build one size fit all baskets, its impossible to control the lean on different size bikes with one size fit all.


Thanks for the inspiration Alta Racks, you guys make some nice stuff. I would understand the hub issue but he thinks the head tube has a greater chance of ripping off. I can understand a little bit of pressure there but to the point of damaging the frame?


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## Alta Racks (Nov 27, 2017)

Thank you greatly appreciate your comment, With tire carry there is no pressure on the head tube. the forces are on the tire, rim, and hub. However, those forces can be manipulated based on the angle of the lean, and the position of the lower bar. Handle bar carry, fork carry, or frame carry put significant high speed vibration thru out the frame, that is exasperated by the vertical hanging or even negative angle hanging. Now you are trashing your head set, fork yoke, and all sorts of stuff. What we don't realize is that the rear suspension is not designed to create comfort for your hitch. the shock and vibe in the receiver area is significantly higher than inside the vehicle. The tires help significantly in absorbing these vibrations.


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## plummet (Jul 8, 2005)

dhjunkie said:


> Hey, I didn't want to start a new thread related to this but recently I built myself a vertical bike rack copy of the many that are out there with the same style cage as the Alta etc. My friend is convinced a bike rack like this puts a lot of pre-mature stress on the headtube. I think he is flat out wrong. What do you think internet engineers?


I agree with you. I think your mate is flat out wrong. The head tubes of bikes are designed to withstand an 80kg rider x velocity². If a head tube of a mountain bike cannot withstand dangling by its on weight (15KG approx) it will not be able to withstand the rigors of riding.

I do also agree with Alta racks in that Fork carry, handle bar carry and frame carry are all worse options than tire basket carry and that the tyres dampen the ride for the bike.

In the case of my Slayer with buttery push shock, the rear suspension does a bit of suspending too during the big hits on bad sections of road.


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## Doub1e_R (May 22, 2020)

I just purchase the Yakima hangover 6 from rei. They have a sale going on until July 6th for Yakima and Thule. So out the door got it for $700. Considering it retails for 799.99 plus tax, I think it’s a win for me. Lol. Going to be hauling 5 bikes for the family.


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## adamophoto (Oct 14, 2020)

*Check your DMs Junkie!*



dhjunkie said:


> Hey, I didn't want to start a new thread related to this but recently I built myself a vertical bike rack copy of the many that are out there with the same style cage as the Alta etc. My friend is convinced a bike rack like this puts a lot of pre-mature stress on the headtube. I think he is flat out wrong. What do you think internet engineers?


I have a question... in DMs


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## Doub1e_R (May 22, 2020)

If anyone purchased the hangover 4 or 6 from Yakima call them and have them ship you the new strap mechanism.


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