Best Car Racks For Electric Bikes – 2021 | Electric Bike Report

Thule has been around for what feels like forever – and for good reason. The Swedish manufacturer has a clear reputation for building quality bike racks that will last you for years to come.

Thule’s T2 Po XTR is a heavy-duty bike rack that gives you ample room between bikes. It can be expanded to add up to two more bikes giving you a total of 4 trays to carry bikes with. It supports wheels up to 5” in diameter, comes with an integrated cable lock and knob locks for securing the rack to the receiver. Thanks to the HitchSwitch lever you can tilt the rack down for access through your car’s rear hatch. Thule also includes wheels you can use to easily get the rack in place for attaching it to the hitch.

Info:

• Max bike weight: 60lbs
• Total weight capacity: 120lbs (expandable up to 240lbs)
• Rack weight: 52lbs
• Limited lifetime warranty

Washington state-based manufacturer Yakima has been producing quality racks for around four decades now. They have excellent offerings on racks for whatever your outdoor adventure needs may be, but they have some particularly great bike racks.

The Yakima HoldUp can adjust to most wheels with no problem. You can also offset the bike rack trays to better arrange two bikes next to each other. Yakima even offers a limited lifetime warranty so you know they believe it’ll last for the long haul

Info:

• Max bike weight: 60lbs
• Total weight capacity: 120lbs
• Rack weight: 49lbs
• Limited lifetime warranty

Thule is one of the most trusted names in the bike rack biz, and as the name of this product suggests, they make carrying an e-bike easy from the hitching process to the securing of your bike. Its compact design, good weight capacity, tilt function, foldable bike ramp and optional fat bike wheel straps make it a great option for almost any e-bike.

The Electric Bike Report team has used this rack to tote review bikes to video shoots for several months now, and we appreciate its exceptionally well designed mechanism for attaching and removing from your vehicle. We also like the small wheels that let you roll it like a suitcase when not installed on a car and the rack’s overall light weight, which makes lifting it on and off a car very easy. Despite that light weight, it still has a great 65 lb per bike carrying capacity.

Info:

• Max bike weight: 65lbs
• Total weight capacity: 130lbs
• Rack weight: 45lbs
• Limited lifetime warranty

RockyMounts is based out of Colorado with its beginnings in bike racks dating back to 1993. The company was started when its founder, Bobby Noyes, saw a need for more versatility in car racks. That versatility is on display with the BackStage.

We love having tilt on a bike rack so we can access the rear hatch of an SUV when needed. But the RockyMounts BackStage really goes the extra mile by allowing you to get your bikes out of the way completely thanks to their swing away platform hitch rack. It also carries bikes with tires up to 5” thick and 29” diameter, and makes use of an anti-wobble system axis on 2” hitches.

Info:

• Max bike weight: 60lbs
• Total weight capacity: 100lbs
• Rack weight: 59lbs
• Anti-wobble tech

Saris calls Madison, Wisconsin home and prides itself on its made in the U.S. offerings.

Many cars are equipped with smaller hitches than those found on trucks and SUVs. Those with smaller hitches are more cognizant of total weight than most. But with the Saris Superclamp EX 2, the 1¼” hitch crowd can still get a tilting bike rack with a high weight capacity of 60 lbs per bike. The rack itself only weighs 35lbs, making this a great featherweight choice for vehicles with smaller hitches.

Info:

• Max bike weight: 60lbs
• Total weight capacity: 120lbs
• Rack weight: 35lbs
• Limited lifetime warranty

Hollywood Racks has roots in making quality bike racks stretching back to the 70’s. They are known for making great heavy duty racks for cars, campers, trailers and more.

Made specifically with e-bikes in mind, the Hollywood Racks Sport Rider holds up to 80 lbs in each tray. That is great for cargo bikes and even accommodates tire size as large as 5” wide, folds up when not in use and has a patented No Wobble-No Tools Hitch Tightening System for 2” hitches. Say goodbye to the worry of seeing your bikes shake around in your car’s rear view mirror while on the road!

Info:

• Max bike weight: 80lbs
• Total weight capacity: 160lbs
• Rack weight: 58lbs
• Limited lifetime warranty

We got a sneak peak at Yakima’s new StageTwo bike rack at the Big Gear Show in Park City, UT, and boy were we impressed.

It’s a bigger, stouter and more feature-rich rack from one of the biggest names in bike racks. The StageTwo can carry up to two 60 lb e-bikes and was designed with a greater emphasis on stability and user-friendliness. It’s compatible with a loading ramp — a huge plus for those heavier e-bikes — and sports integrated tail lights for greater visibility on the road. Perhaps the coolest feature is a rear wheel strap that hangs out of the way while loading, a fix for one of the more annoying nuisances of tray-style e-bike racks. This rack is expected to go on sale starting November 2021.

Info:

• Max bike weight: 60lbs
• Total weight capacity: 120lbs
• Rack weight: N/A
• Integrated tail lights

Part of a new breed of hanging bike racks, the high-capacity VelociRAX can accommodate up to four e-bikes weighing up to 55 lbs with a total carrying capacity of 230 lbs. The largest model has spots for seven bikes, so depending on the weight of the bikes you’re carrying you can take the whole family plus some friends — just make sure you stay within the weight limits. They include damper-assisted hinges to lower the rack so you don’t have to lift the bike on and off. It also has a garage mounting kit to keep your bikes organized at home. Versatility like that in a bike rack is great to see.

Specs:

• Max bike weight: 55lbs
• Total weight capacity: 230lbs