YAKIMA RidgeBack Tilt-Away Hitch-Mounted Bike Rack

I’ve had an opportunity to use this carrier a few times now . The pivot at the hitch is a bit tight and caused some confusion when setting it up for the first time but once I understood what to do it was no big deal. The carrier secures the bikes in very secure as it has the ratchet straps over the cross bar of the bike, as well as one to the seat post. While it would be nice to have a carrier that swung to the side to get access to my cargo area it wasn’t worth the extra cost in my opinion. My wife’s bike required a tube-top adapter to be mounted but I bought an off-brand of this at my local Canadian tire for about half the price of the Yakima equivalent. Overall it feels very well constructed!

great rack, easy to install, a bit heavy but that goes to the strength of it. My only down comment would be that the bike movement on the cradles can rub your paint off the bike and if you were to put 4 bikes on there they would all be touching somewhere which again would cause some wear on the paint. (I took an old tire tube and wrap the bike where it contacts the rack and cinched it down tightly. ) Bike sits nice when i do this.

We use it for mx. 3 mountain bikes so we cannot say anything about using four.
Very sturdy product with smart design.
Very easy to install and also very easy to handle, like tilting forward when installed is a breeze.

We bought the 5-bike version over the 4 since we figured the extra length of the arms would better accommodate our 4 bikes without them needing to be manhandled so much. It was a wise decision.

The rack is heavy, but then it is designed to hold perhaps upwards of 100lbs of expensive bikes securely, over bumpy roads, without failing. I do sorta wish that hitch end could be purchased for Class 2 hitches only instead of one that internally spreads to engage a variety of hitch sizes. But it works, and it stays secure after a long drive.

The lock itself is pretty lame, but you can provide enough leverage to securely screw the spreaders to keep the rack firmly attached to the hitch socket. Stealing the rack with attached (and presumably tethered/locked) bikes would be quite the effort. The straps that hold the bikes down work well and adjust pretty effectively. I do wish the level at the top to allow the rack to fold were something a little more sturdy. The plastic feels like it will give (although it hasn’t). The decal on the main column promptly shed.

Overall, I’m really happy with the rack and glad we got the 5-bike version. We use it primarily on a Tesla Model Y, and don’t really have issues mounting or unmounting the rack. It does have a noticeable impact on range at highway speeds. We also use it on a Honda Odyssey where it sits in a shadow aerodynamically. Both hitches are class 2.

The reason I didn’t give this 5 stars is because of the zip strips that secure the bike. They seem to work fine, and are secure, but I worry over the long term durability both of the zip strips and the latches that secure them. The rack is heavy enough that I worry they will get damaged if left on the rack when it is off the car (if say it fell when leaned against a wall) and I will need to come up with some sort of storage pouch or bag so I don’t lose track of them as well as the wheel and safety straps. To be fair, the zip strips are a far better solution than another similar rack that used rubber straps that broke with the first use. I’ll be keeping some rope handy until the zip strips have proven themselves.

Otherwise, this is a well designed and well made product. The welding is all flawless…I have flown airplanes with welds that looked sketchy by comparison. All the hinge points are snug and rattle-free, and the wedge attachment insures it doesn’t rattle in the hitch either.

As an example of the thought that went into the design, there is a skeg on the rear underside so that if you bottom out on a dip or steep driveway, the locking knob is kept off the ground…a nice touch that isn’t even mentioned.

The simple levers to unlock the hinges are very nice. All similar tilting racks I have used require pulling pins that are not conveniently located, and fussing with the position to get the pins back in the holes. The arms will lock down in stowed position, but the whole rack only locks into the travel position, smart, and it makes things easier.

This rack is quite a bit taller than a couple of other similar racks I have used. This is important to me because I am very tall, and so ride bikes with very tall frames. A 64cm frame 700C bike hangs on this rack with the tires still 3-4″ above the bottom of the rack, and since I bought this for use on a compact with minimal ground clearance, I am glad to not have to worry about my tires dragging on dips, etc.

Something not mentioned in the descriptions is that there is a ski/snowboard carrying accessory available if you buy the 4 or 5 bike version, which might be a reason to go for that rather than the two bike one I got. (I think it needs the extra arm length for stability) Also, the spacing is fairly tight, so it might be good to go for extra capacity beyond what you think you need. Depending on seats, bars, racks, etc a particular set of bikes might need an extra space or two.

Also, many of the descriptions show the “handcuff” for locking bikes to the rack, but this must be be purchased separately.

They don’t detract for my use, but potential negative points might be:

It IS a heavy mutha! I’m thinking I may want to come up with some tie-down straps for when it is stowed in the back of my hatchback…this thing could cause some serious damage in a wreck.

ALL racks of this type are intended for traditional level top-tube diamond framed bikes. You will most likely need an adapter bar for most other frame designs, and some might not even work with that. Full suspension MTBs would be prime suspects for “no-workee”.

Edit: I decided to purchase some spare zip strips, in case one was lost or broken. The replacement strips don’t fit! It turns out my rack was delivered with the cradles/zip strips from a LiteRider rack, which are a bit different. In particular the literider uses a integrally molded hinge point on the latch for the strip, while the Ridgeback latches pivot on a metal roll-pin. This seems more secure. The Ridgeback cradles are currently out of stock at Yakima and all dealers I checked. My suspicion was that Yakima had supply problems, and used Literider parts to cover production needs… shame! The point is to look closely at pictures and compare when buying replacement parts.

Edit2: It turns out that Yakima have discontinued the old ridgeback cradles. Only the LiteRider cradles are put on new racks, and the older cradles are not even available as spares…unless you luck out and find a dealer with old stock, but I struck out there.