Apex BC-08581-2A-2EXT Bike Adjustable Wheel-Mount Bicycle Rack

This is one of my rare 5-star ratings.I had done some extensive research on 4-bike racks before I decided on this. I'm glad for it. I have taken the family out with this numerous times, including a 4-hr trip. Never a problem. It's very sturdy and holds the bikes very well. Setup is easy, although it's pretty heavy -- which is a plus IMO. I got a trailer hitch just for this, with the combined price still less than many other racks. Highly recommended.A few points:1. If you don't have one already, an anti-rattle lock hitch pin is recommended. Keeping the anti-rattle insert aligned in the hitch could be tricky. I use packing tape to keep it in place.2. When setting it up, put the bikes in the right order -- heaviest closest to the car, alternating front orientation, outside peddle down. Adjust the tire rails accordingly -- pull out the rails, put on the bike and level it (not with front or back tire too low), then push the rails in. Later on you want to load the bikes the same way.3. The screw for securing the 4-bike extension goes in one way. I've been driving with it going in the wrong way for many trips. This makes the extension slightly loose.And yes, you can open the trunk with it installed -- just remove one pin and tilt it. You can open the rear glass window without touching anything.I don't see how any of the more expensive models could be better in any way.

We used it this weekend for the first time with all 4 bikes on it. This is a very sturdy rack. It was easy to assemble, and the fact that it swings up out of the way when not is use is very convenient in tight parking lots. No worry that someone will run into it while your on the trail. The tilt down feature is good for the 2 bike rack, but if you let it down with 4 bikes on it would be impossible to lift all 4 back up. I couldn't figure out how to get the wheel straps on, but they really aren't needed. The adjustable wheel rails keep the tires snug. It takes a while to figure out how to use the top stabilizer bars according to the model of bikes your carrying, but once we got the hang of it we could get them on pretty quickly. Other 4 bike racks will only accomodate skinny road bikes, but this one fit our 4 adult hybrids with no problem. Everyone agreed it was a super bike rack. Great design! Well worth the price!

Very solid and a great value for a rack of this size. It holds the bikes firmly in place and the holders don't cause paint damage. On the recommendation of another review, I also bought a hitch clamp to prevent rocking side to side; a must, in my opinion, for a four-bike rack. The rack folds up neatly when bike are not installed.Why four, not five stars? It has some quirks.The Velcro straps are tricky to figure out, and I'm not sure I have yet. It sounds simple, but Instructions would be useful here. They are long enough to wrap round an MTB tire, but you really don't want to do that. Wrapping around the bottom of the tire doesn't hold the wheel in place and can actually cause it to pop out. I strapped through the wheel and across the mount's paralell bars to ensure the wheel cannot pop out, but I have not figured out how to keep them firmly in place. The straps are actually too long for this, indicating I'm not doing it quite right.The adjacent racks are a little close together. When the bikes are installed as directed, in alternate directions, the handle bars and adjacent seats crowd each other. The tire racks are designed for the wheels to sit directly on the cross members for stability. Therefore, you cannot stagger the bikes left and right, to offset the handlebars from the seats. I solve by removing the seats--easy on MTB with quick release, but a hassle on my road bikes. If only carrying two bikes I lean the rear bike out instead of setting upright in the stand. Either is non-optimal, but they work.Finally, be aware, the rack is only compatible with a 2-inch hitch mount.Over all, I like the rack and recommend either the four or two bike model.

The rack is okay but I don't love needing to use two ratchets every time I want to put it on and take it off. I'm giving one star because we didn't tighten one of the wheel holders enough and it fell out and is gone forever, and discountramps (what seems to be the new owner of Rage PowerSports) has not been helpful.

I still have regular bike rack, where you need to hang bikes. Regular rack is OK, but it is real pain to mount bikes with frame which is not exactly parallel to ground. It is really difficult to fit bike on this rack and wheel really dangerous to surface of road. Also bikes constantly hit each other and bikes have multiple scratches.So I decided to go with completely different Rack.This one is little bit too heavy. It is not obvious how set up upper handles with multiple bikes, but after some experiments I got to use it. What is brilliant about this system, that it is easy to mount bike. Bikes did not stay close to ground, bikes doesn't hit each other. And specially for this system, I like that it consist of two parts. So when I need more than 2 bikes, I just quickly attach extension, which is not required in regular usage. Great Rack, highly recommend. Maybe something is better around, but I personally really satisfied.