I have used a Yakima ROC 2 hitch-mounted rack to transport my road and mountain bikes for almost 20 years. I recently touched up a few scraped spots with Rustoleum Rust Reformer and it's ready for another 20. This model is no longer manufactured but can be found used and is a bargain IMO if it's in decent shape.
There are plenty of pros as shown below, but if I had to name any cons, the ROC 2 is hefty (b/c it's so solidly built), the shape makes it a little awkward to handle at times, and nothing folds so the size you see is the size it always is.
Ready to be loaded. Notes:
- The bike's top frame tube sits in the cradle and the rubber straps stretch around it and over the knobby things. Bike is completely secure.
- I added the red reflective tape since it protrudes out a ways from the bumper.
- The bottom piece with the straps and hooks is an accessory called the ROC Solid. The hooks go over the bike wheels and help keep the bike stable.
Hitch-mounted items that rattle around are annoying. The ROC 2's threaded pin screws into a piece inside the rack and secures it in the receiver.
You tighten it down with a 15/16" socket.
The end of the pin is specially shaped to take the Yakima pin lock. The OEM receiver's shape makes the lock a tight fit but it works at the right angle. Of course, nothing will prevent a determined thief from eventually defeating the lock but this gives piece of mind when parked at a trailhead or stopping in to a store.
There's also a cable lock that extends out of the rack...
wraps around the top tube...
and locks onto a pin in the same way the hitch pin lock works.
You remove this pin to tilt the rack down and access the hatch.
Tilted. It's obviously a lot easier to do if you don't have bikes loaded.
Had to go back to my Xterra days to find a pic of my bike on the rack. This is from 2006.
General Notes:
- There is a ROC 4 model that carries 4 bikes if you need that capability.
- Try to find one with the hitch pin lock and bike lock. Can't recall whether those were standard or I bought them separately.
- You may find a "Quarter ROC 2" - that just means the tongue is sized for a 1 1/4" receiver instead of a 2". If the price is right, you can buy it and swap out the tongue as the
2" version is available and not very expensive.
That's it. Fire away with any questions.