One of Hollywood Racks nicest products to date is one of the smoother operating racks they’ve produced, but still undercuts most of the competition.
Hollywood Racks has long been one of the go-to options for a quality bang-for-your-buck hitch rack. The products are true workhorses; they aren’t the fanciest options on the market, but they’re routinely a few hundred dollars less than comparable models while going toe-to-toe on most features and occasionally going beyond.
Spending less for similar features sounds great, but there is usually a caveat or two to consider. Competitors were typically a little more sleek, and while it could carry bikes of similar sizes, the adjustments when fitting bikes were often clunky. Consider those problems addressed with their latest model, the Crosstrack, all while keeping the ethos of producing a product that undercuts others on the market.
The Crosstrack is a platform-style bike hitch rack that uses two arms to establish contact with the tires. The rack handles bikes up to 66 lbs and fits most tires from 20-29” in diameter and up to 4” wide with a 52” long wheelbase.
With no frame contact and an easy-to-fit tray system, the Crosstrack can be loaded up in seconds, and it works nicely for different styles of e-bikes, from road and gravel to eMTB and city. The front-handle pull system quickly snaps the rack into one of four positions, and once I figured out the best practice for unloading bikes, it was a simple start-to-finish experience getting bikes from the garage to the the trailhead and back again.
This has been an intensive year for me in hitch rack product testing and as is often the case, the drawbacks I could find on the Crosstrack for hyper-specific to the life of a bike tester or somebody who is swapping between bikes with different tire-sizes frequently, but overall, I was highly impressed with the Hollywood Racks Crosstrack after weeks of testing and reviewing it. For all the details, read on!
Pros- Simplicity in the best sense of the word! The Crosstrack is a straightforward tray-style hitch rack that is uncomplicated and simple to use.
- Affordability! It has similar functions and features to similar racks on the market, but it has a lower starting price point than other recognizable brand names.
- Versatile for different bikes thanks to the 66 lbs/tray weight limit, 52” max wheelbase, 20-29” tire diameter, and 4” tire width accomodations.
- No frame contact. Your paint job will thank you, and its a carbon bikes best friend.
- Nice security features included like the keyed-alike locking hitch pin, included cable lock, and free (for now at least) wheel locks.
- It has a host of nice accessories that will work with it like the light bar attachment, ramp for heavier e-bikes, and even a dolly system that will hold the rack when it’s off your hitch.
- It sounds like a small thing, but the front handle pull mechanism for adjusting the rack to four different points of location is nice. Many systems use lever style engagement that can be hard to engage when loaded up with heavier bikes.
Cons- The tire spindle requires tools to adjust to different tire sizes. Not a problem if you always carry the same bikes, but we’d prefer a tool-free design to make it easy on people who constantly swap bikes with different tires.
- Nothing is currently mentioned about a fender adapter option
Hollywood Racks Crosstrack Video Review
| Hitch Size(s) | 1.25” / 2” |
| Number of Bikes It Can Carry | 1-2 |
| Max Bike Weight Per Tray | 66 lbs. |
| Total Max Weight Capacity | 132 lbs. |
| Mechanism For Securing Bikes | Dual support arms |
| Max Wheel Base Length | 52” |
| Vehicle Type | Cars, Trucks, SUVs, Class B Motorhome, Note: Not intended for off-road use |
| Max Tire Width | 4” |
| Tire Diameter | 20-29” |
| Works With _____ Frames | Step-Thru, Carbon Fiber,Aluminum, etc. Note: not intended for bikes with fenders. |
| Key Features | -Tool Free no wobble hitch system on the 2″ version |
| Security Features | – keyed-alike locking hitch pin and -8’ security cable – Wheel locks |
| Optional accessories | – Safety Light Bar – Optional Ramp – Rack valet (dolly for when not in use) |
Hollywood Racks Crosstrack Review: Functionality / Using the Rack
Securing the rack to the hitch
The hitch fits snuggly with a locking hitch pin, and on our 2” model, a hitch tightening system. All of it is tool-free installation on your hitch!
The Hollywood Racks Crosstrack fits into your vehicle’s receiver with a locking pin system. Simply insert it and ensure it goes through the loop of the no-wobble tightening system. With the pin in place, tighten down the no-wobble feature for a secure fit and reduced bike sway.
I’m a fan of these setups since it doesn’t require a tool, and to get it back off the hitch all you need is the key to the pin.
Loading is fairly easy. Just lower the arms (I prefer to keep them up higher to snap down quickly), pop the bike in, tighten down, and you’re done! A ramp accessory will be available for those who want extra help with heavier bikes.
To make this even easier, you can add an optional ramp at checkout that quickly attaches to the edge of the tray that helps your ramp the bike into place.
At first I struggled with unloading bikes since the release button needs to be depressed in arder to slid ethe cradle arm back. The first few attempts included the bike following onto me. After reviewing Hollywood Racks instructional video though, they point out how if you loosen one side you can roll the bike out from the other side. That made it much easier start to finish.
Once you’ve moved the spindle into the correct location for your tire size, simply pull down on the arm, and it’ll fit securely on the tire. We do wish a tool-free spindle adjustment would have been standard if you rotate bikes frequently, but it looks like an upgrade might be in the works!
There is 12” of space between the trays, so pedal knocking isn’t much of an issue. There is a slight raise to the positioning of the second tray to help stagger handlebars of one bike not run into the saddle of the second bike, but it’s not as pronounced as some other racks so adjusting the seat might be necessary.
With a 52” wheelbase and 4” tire size accommodation, the Crosstrack will fit most e-bikes except some cargo bikes, and the fattest of fat tires.
One slightly curious ommission is the ability to get a bike with fenders on here. To be fair, this style of rack is popular amongst performance bikes that eschew fenders anyway, but many racks of this style still include an adapter kit you can get if you want to get your fender-clad bike on here. Not the case with the Crosstrack though, so leave the fenders at home, or consider looking at the Sport Rider instead.
There are nice included security features. The bike comes with an 8’ cable lock that will secure your bike when you park and leave it. That’s enough slack to loop through two wheels and two frames too. If you want to go the extra mile, there are wheel locks that come with it as well (at least it’s free with purchase as of this writing).
There are four different positions for the rack, including this declined position that allows you to get into trunks and behind tailgates more easily.
Several rack suse some sort of lever for positioning the rack and it becomes problematic/hard on the wrists when getting the rack back up. Doubly so if it locks in when tilted away with bikes on it – it’s that much harder to hoist the whole thing up when keeping something pushed down that you can’t throw weight behind.
The Crosstrack has the standard four point position system. Folded up, tilted back (for popping open just enough for the rear window, or some extra tailgate clearance), flat for loading, and tilted down for hatch access when bikes are loaded.
I had no issues getting into my Tesla Model Y, but if you are a Jeep or other SUV driver with a rear wheel to think about the Crosstrack will work with extenders up to 8” so long as they have a tightening mechanism.
Hollywood Racks Crosstrack Review: Driving With the Rack
Stability
At first glance I thought the rack didn’t look as thick as other models, but the CrossTrack does a good job of minimizing sway when driving.
The rack isn’t intended for offroad use, so it has some limitations, but overall it’s largely made of metal and it’s proved to be solid as a rock with the miles we’ve put on the rack so far.
Entry/Exit angles and ground clearance
The clearance is pretty standard. If you’ve got 8” you shouldn’t have too many issues except going up very steep driveways.
Accessories
There are a few accessories that are nice to tack on if you’ve got the budget for it. Ramps are always nice if you have heavier e-bikes that are pushing up against that 66 lbs limit, and Hollywood Racks collapsable ramp is easy to use and does make the process even easier.
Extra visibility is always nice to have, and there is al
Hollywood Racks Crosstrack Review: Rack Storage
What it’s like carrying the rack around and storing it
It may seem like a small thing, but the handle placement towards the back is really nice as other racks are hard to tilt up or down, but keeping this on the outside makes the task manageable for lowering your bikes down with relative ease.
Hollywood Racks is one of the few brands that has some accessories for when you don’t want to use your rack. The Rack Valet is a dolly that you can wheel up to your car, transfer over the rack, then easily wheel it away to a corner of your garage.
The rack weighs in the neighborhood of 50 lbs, so it’s doable to unload solo, but spare hands never hurt.
Hollywood Racks Crosstrack Review: Our Recommendation
The included cable lock is a nice bit of a theft deterrent, and the wheel locks are a nice extra-mile precaution if you really want to lock your bike down.
If I’m being nitpicky I would say a higher weight limit would have been nice. Typically these racks that have zero frame contact appeal to performance bikes though. Weights are usually low, so most bikes will fit it just fine.
Other than that, what’s not to love? It’s quick to install, easy to operate, and doesn’t break the bank, so there’s a lot of utility and value to the Crosstrack.
If you’ve got a couple of e-bikes you want to get around with, the Crosstrack is definitely worth a look.
Happy Riding! Make sure to let us know if you have any questions or if you think we left anything out in this review of the Hollywood Racks Crosstrack down in our comments section.
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