Allen Sports Easy Load Deluxe 2-Bike Hitch Rack, Model XR200, Black

I decided to wait a bit before posting my review of this bike hitch so that I could put it through its paces. In the past couple of weeks, I have transported our two bikes to several locations. The bike rack has performed admirably! Now... I'll add this in. I would NOT rely on the straps that come with the hitch. When I purchased this bike hitch, I also purchased a set of 6 quick release straps. When the straps arrived, I cut each one of them down to about a 1 foot (to 2 foot) lengths and I use 3 straps on each bike in tandem with the straps that come with the hitch. The bikes don't wobble and there seems to be very little movement at all while I'm driving. I would VERY strongly advise getting this rack if, AND ONLY IF, you also purchase a set of straps to use in addition to the factory installed straps. The hitch itself is heavy duty and seems like it will last me a good long time. OH... one negative thing... the screw down straps that allow you to position them in different locations on the upright bar don't screw down very tightly. Just another reason why you need to buy a set of 6 tie down straps to use in conjunction with the manufacturers straps.Update after trip to Florida: We took a 2000 mile (round trip) journey to Ft. Myers beach this past month and took 2 bikes along with us. This Easy Load Deluxe hitch worked flawlessly. I never felt worried one bit that the bikes were in danger of coming off. Of course, if you read my review above, you will know that I used 6 extra straps... three extra straps per bike in order to hold the bikes in place. I would not recommend using the straps that come with this hitch by themselves. I don't believe they would hold the bike in place. But, by using the extra straps, this hitch worked like a CHAMP!

Had my doubts about this rack but went for it anyway, ultimately glad I did. At first we were very disappointed, as we had almost assembled the entire rack and went for the last piece, the vertical support arm, only to find the box was empty! Our rack had arrived missing this crucial piece, making it unusable. I sent a message to Allen via their website with my order number, went out of town and forgot about it. A week later I get a message from someone in our building asking if I ordered a 50 lb package; Allen had shipped a full replacement, no questions asked, this time WITH the vertical support arm. This was unexpected and I was very appreciative for their timely and excellent resolution.The instructions left a lot to be desired but it's not too hard to figure out on your own. I've taken it loaded for two trips on the highway and several around town and everything holds up perfectly. We did forego the front wheel straps as they seemed a little flimsy, opted for bungee cords instead. The other straps (back wheel and bike frame) work well. I love how easy it is to load up the bikes. Also love that the rack folds up vertically without the bikes to get it out of the way. With my car this blocks the trunk from opening but you can't always have your cake and eat it too, it's easy enough to pop it down to get into the trunk. The stem fit perfectly (no give) into the 1 1/4" hitch receiver so I can't comment on the 2" adapter. All in all very sturdy, functional and a great price, excellent customer service. Very glad we went with this rack.

UPDATE: I'm. leaving my original post below for reference. The update is that after a few emails back and forth with pics and then a video with customer support, I was able to get replacement "red squishy clips" (aka "the cradle" from Allen) with the strap. I popped them on in 5-minutes and it has made a big difference. Since the tips of the black strap are firmer and the springs are a bit more flexible, it's so much easier to strap on the bikes.I'm still not super happy with how the angled vertical piece doesn't line up well with the frames of our bikes. The "cradle" straps never get close to the tubing. But as long as the clips and straps hold, I guess it's ok.Overall the rack is fine for us and how much we use it - especially at the price.(Original)This was a COVID purchase, and it has worked well enough for us over the past two years. Seems like a good company and I was really hoping this affordable purchase would be "better" overall. Alas...Before I point out what I feel are poor design dimensions, I want to say that I have not yet reached out to the company to see if they are willing, or able, to help me out. (I'll update the review after that happens.)Sqeezey clampsI'm these clamps made great sense on paper, but in practice - they are awful. The problem is that you can't squeeze them enough to get the strap through it. The second issue is that over time, the straps get softer and softer, so there's not enough structure in the strap to let it easily go through the teeth in the clamp. You can see in the photo I've created my hack of using vise-grip pliers to open the clamp enough to get the strap through.This worked the first time on both clamps. However, after the ride was over, my hack only worked on the one clamp so I had to use a bungee on the other. If you have to use bungees to keep your bikes secure, that's a fundamentally poor designThe VerticalThis design has an in-between vertical thing that, I think, is supposed to align with the downtubes of the frames. As you can see in the second photo, that's never lined up for our bikes. It very well could be because our bike frames are older and the angles are just different, or it's a poor design.The problem with the weird angle, is that you can't adjust the clamps so that they are close to the tubes to get a good fit (with the squishy clamps that don't work well.)Lifting bikes onWhile this rack is positioned as "ez load," the reality is that I have to load up the bikes, my wife can't really do it. To me, that's the real litmus test for usability. Our Honda CRV hitch isn't all that high, higher than a sedan would be but ..., so if my wife wants to bike on her own, she can't. Maybe that's only a feature you get on an overpriced, expensive, Thule or Yakima - not sure. The flat design is certainly far better than others out there, but we've not found it to be "ez", in general.ConclusionDo I want to love this rack? Yes, yes I do.Do I plan on keeping this rack? It all depends on what response I get from Allen. Stay tuned ...Thanks for reading!

Heavy. Awkward. Ridiculous system of straps to secure bike. But it works. Why would a manufacturer use three different types of straps? Why? And only one is good. Two wheels, two different types of steps. Seriously? Trying to thread a frayed strap through a crappy buckle.