This heavy-duty, 2-bike rack is perfect for the serious cyclist and occasional riders. U-shape frame makes it easy to load and the tiered mounting positions prevent bikes from banging into each other. It's also safe for carbon frames.
Features:
Specs:
Note: May interfere with bikes with front fenders.
The SplitRail has ratcheting hooks that grab your bikes firmly by the front wheel - not the frame. It's perfect for carrying carbon bikes or bikes with a custom paint job. To load a bike, simply place your front wheel in the cradle, rotate the arm up and over the wheel, and press down firmly on the ratcheting hook.
The sliding rear-wheel straps allow the rack to accommodate bikes with wheelbases up to 48" long. The ratcheting, rubber straps hold your bikes' rear wheels securely in place on the tray and fit tires up to 3" wide.
Most platform-style racks force you to reach out and over the rack to load your bikes or walk around to the back of the rack to access the bike closest to your vehicle. The U-shaped frame allows you to walk inside the rack and get close to your bikes to lift them. Also, it won't block your backup camera when it's folded up.
The mounting positions are tiered so your bikes don't bang into each other. This helps prevent your bikes from getting scratched or dented.
The rack tilts down - with or without bikes loaded - so you can access your vehicle's rear cargo area. Because the tilt-release lever is located at the front of the rack, you don't have to worry about crawling through bikes or squeezing between the rack and the vehicle to pull it. When you raise the rack back up, you'll hear a click to indicate it's secure.
The lever also lets you fold the rack up for storage when you're not transporting a bike. This is great for parking in places where space is limited such as a parking garage
It installs with a threaded, anti-rattle hitch pin. Simply slide the shank into your 2" hitch receiver, insert the threaded hitch pin, and tighten it down with the included tool. This will reduce noise and movement while the rack is installed.
A removable adapter sleeve is included so the rack can be converted for use with 1-1/4" hitch receivers. The sleeve attaches to the shank with a single screw and can be installed or removed quickly.
Average Customer Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars (52 Customer Reviews)
This heavy-duty, 2-bike rack is perfect for the serious cyclist and occasional riders. U-shape frame makes it easy to load and the tiered mounting positions prevent bikes from banging into each other. It's also safe for carbon frames.
I love this bike rack. No issues over the past year. This is a great rack for different size bicycles and tires.
Plastic wheel tray broke during transport.
5 stars otherwise
Brooke M - 04/28/2022First off I have a car so my bikes are getting maximum wind drag with this rack, if I had a SUV it probably wouldn't be a problem. So with all that wind force on my mountain bikes they lean back when at freeway speed and I do not like seeing my bikes looking like its going to fall off. You have to put that tire hook right on your fork just to try and keep the bike stable and that doesn't work when you have mud fender on the front fork that extends 1/2 in past the fork. Even with a road bike it will mess up you paint on the bike with any movement. I had to cut a piece of 1/2 in thick yoga mat double it up to protect my road bikes from the hook. The mountain bikes with the fender it's just scary, all kinds of extra straps to hold it on, not to mention I have to remove one seat to get both mountain bikes on.
Jenny N - 04/05/2022Bought it because I was buying a nice bike and I needed a nice rack! This has been perfect, has zero noise on the highway, and is the perfect height. Though it does cover my license plate...
Car: VW GTI Mk7
Bike: 2021 Trek Top Fuel 7 (29" tires)
Hitch: Draw-Tite Sportframe Trailer Hitch Receiver - Custom Fit - Class I - 1-1/4"
Just installed. Instructions were pretty easy to follow and it seems more solid that the swagman xc-2 it replaced as I needed a wheel mounted option for a carbon bike and a step thru bike. Hope it holds up well.
It’s a great rack! A couple issues. When it is folded upright and the arms are tucked into position there is a major issue when braking. Since the arms don’t actually lock into place, if you end up hitting your brakes somewhat hard the arms will slam into the back for your car. Also I have found it is difficult to have a full MTB on here with any other bikes. I ride a Santa Cruz Bronson and if I put my wife’s bike on with my bike I have to remove her seat for it to fit. Long story short the rack works great just a couple complaints.
I did not receive all the items in my order. So far, ive been on hold for 35 minutes!
Brooke M - 07/26/2022Well made, easy to assemble. Holds bikes securely, easy to use. Tilts down easily to access the lift gate.
Cons locks are not included, a little on the heavy side when taking on and off.
When the rack is not is use, in the folded up position, I have to strap the ratcheting arms to keep them from moving when breaking.
Got the rack with missing pivot nut and one loose thread bolt. Called up CS and they promptly mailed the missing part. Overall the rack is solid and looks great too. My first choice was a kuat rack but it's all too common. Though I'd try this brand and I didn't regret it. My two 29er bikes are secure on the rack with little movement. My only concern is it did not come with keyed locks. I need to order it.
Rachael H - 08/13/2019Awesome product from Rocky Mounts. Seems very comparable to the Kuat transfer at $50 less. I have not noticed hardly any wobble as the previous reviewer mentions. I tightened down the included threaded hitch pin and that took all the wobble out. I have this mounted on a 1 1/4" drawtite hitch from etrailer on a 2013 Toyota Camry. I orginally purchased a "universal" locking hitch pin (item #63147) to go with it but realized that pin didn't work because this rack has threading welded into the shank of the hitch. Basically the threads ended up being different sizes so it was not interchangeable with the pin I purchased separately. After doing some more research, I found Rocky Mounts does sell a separate locking kit specifically for this rack (Item #RKY10224). That kit has one lock that clips onto the hitch pin and one that clips onto a bolt at the pivot point of the bike, holding on the included cable that you can run through both bikes. This originally seemed like an unneccessary expense and I wasn't clear on how it worked because they didn't have much for pictures on etrailer or the Rocky Mounts website, but after installing it and seeing how easy it is I would definitely recommend it. Only complaint so far, and why I chose to remove a star, is that the front tire arm already has a chunk of rubber taken out of it from rubbing against the front fork area of my mtn bike. Some videos online say not to let the arm contact the frame, but the Rocky Mounts manual clearly states it MUST be touching the frame in order to be secure. The rubber on the arm is soft, so it is easily rubbed/chipped off and I expect it to get worse with continued use. Overall this is a great affordable rack, but it does feel somewhat "cheap" in comparison to the much more expensive Yakima's and Thule's I have used.
Perfect rack for the price. Bummer it didn’t come with locks at this price. Sturdy and well built. I assembled this fairly easily while building this directly on my hitch. The only thing I would say that needs to be included with the direction is torque specs. I definitely didn’t want to tighten too hard or too loose. I used an impact drill to tighten the pivot bolt and the hitch receiver bolt. Then used a torque wrench for to tighten to hitch receiver bolt to roughly 110-120 pounds. Figured that would be enough to keep the rack in place. After torquing it, there was no play in the hitch and the anti rattle bolt worked flawlessly. I figured I don’t want to tighten the pivot bolt with a torque wrench since it needs some slack in order to pivot but that lead to some play and movement while driving. Everything else was tightened by hand and feels great. Definitely would buy this rack again. I purchased this in April 2021 and the locks that were compatible with this rack was sold out and was not going to be in stock until July. I went to my local hardware store and grabbed one of their hitch receiver lock and the pin lock worked perfect for this rack. You will want to use the original hitch pin that came with your bike rack since the anti rattle bolt is threaded for the bike rack and use the hitch pin lock from your local hardware store. 4 stars since locks aren’t included.
Installed on a 2017 Toyota Camry. Lots of room for the trunk to open while bike rack was titled against the car.
Excellent bike rack. Easy to mount/dismount bikes. Folds up/down nicely. Very sturdy. Others ask me where I bought it. Very pleased.
The instructions were easy to follow. The only problem I had was aligning a couple of screw holes. Other than that the assembly went smoothly.
The rack seems well built and I am satisfied.
Great rack! Well made and keeps the bikes secure without rubbing the frame.
Holds bikes great, easy to use. If I had one complaint it is how much wobble and wiggle the rack has, even with the hitch bolt tightened.
Overall I think this is one steady mount. Comparatively, it better than the average hitch mounts, inthat it secures almost all common frames regardless of top tube angle and tire widths common to MTB and road wheels. Ive had one incident in which the bike came loose during a speed bump and I think a design change in the wheel support " strut" should change. The strut arm is designed to swing over the front tire, then a ratcheting "shoe" locks down the front frame, the rear tire then is ratchet strapped to the tire holder. The front swinging arm has an odd shaped inverted "u" that locks against the front brakes, fitting awkwardly at best. It is not a clamp but holds against the front tire, and can scratch more expensive brakes, let alone cantilever or linear style brake arms. There are noticeable gaps in the locking holder, and if not firmly pressed against the front tire/ brake was suspected in my bike coming loose during transport. I recommend that Rocky re-design the holder into a more effective clamp that fits closer and eliminates the space/ gaps. 2nd recommendation is to add hitch mount holes that can allow a closer fit to the hitch and mount. This might seem a minor fitting but allows users to bring the bike mount closer to bumper and should be a relatively cheap fix. Anything that reduces mounts from sticking out is a safety plus and overall quality.
I have had this bike for a year now used it a ton would definitely buy again, easy to put together lighter than most like the different heights for the bikes they don’t touch each other.
This is the first platform / hitch style bike rack I've owned. My primary reason for purchasing the West Slope bike rack was to replace my old trunk mounted unit that kept loosening. I also wanted to be able to keep the rack on my vehicle without losing access to the rear hatch of my 2014 Honda CRV. This rack fit the bill perfectly!
Installation was easy overall, but I did have some difficulty with several screws that were difficult to screw in. The wrench provided slipped off the screws easily, and the process took longer than it should have. Otherwise, the assembly was simple with relatively few pieces. Once installed I did notice some extra play when pulling up on the rack in the bike towing position, but there was no bouncing when driving with the bikes mounted.
When not in use, the rack tilts up to store close to the vehicle, and locks into place securely. In this position my license plate was still visible and I could still see well on my back up camera.
Loading the bikes was easy, especially since you can step through the frame to load the bike nearest the vehicle. The rack allows for plenty of room between the two bikes and the vehicle--even with my beach cruiser bike with wide handle bars.
The rack holds both bikes securely while driving, with good ground clearance. It was solid going over bumps, however I did notice some minor side to side movement during cross winds on the highway.
I did take off a star for not including a hitch lock at this price point. Aside from that, this is a great, solid rack for the price.
This works great on my Golf with a Curt hitch. The raised positioning works well with my low ground clearance. Seems to hold my road bike and XL 29er with no issues.
Very nice bike rack for the money. Easy to assemble and hold the bikes in place solidly. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a rack that does not come in contact with the frame. Ordered on Monday and it arrived at my house as scheduled on Thursday.
The rack was easy to put together. It is very stable, yet not too heavy to take on and off. Most of all, I like the design because it's easy to take the bikes on and off and they don't contact each other during the ride. The hatch of my 2020 RAV4 opens with plenty of room to spare when the bikes are on the rack and the rack is tilted down to make room.
Arrived as scheduled, packed well, customer service team was responsive and effective.
Assembly comes next
We love this rack. It's stable and easy to load. We'll see how long the plastics last on the tire supports.
Bike rack works very well, a great deal when compared to other brands. For long freeway trips we do deflate the front tires a tad before ratcheting down the clamp, and then add air to tighten up the clamp a bit, but that may not be necessary?
Still working great 1 year later
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