Yakima Introduces Two New Hitch Bike Racks

Hitch racks are all the rage these days, and for good reason. For instance, raise your hand if you’ve ever driven into a garage or drive-through with bikes on the roof of your car? That right there is reason enough to ditch roof racks. Then there’s the lifting bikes over your head thing—mountain bikes aren’t as light as they used to be, and we’re not getting any younger, right? How about fuel economy? It’s 2021, folks—if I’m going to be destroying my mileage and adding a ton of wind noise to my vehicle, it’s going to be with a rooftop tent, gas can, traction pads, high-lift jack, and one of those tube shower things.

That’s why most new bike racks coming out these days are of the hitch-mount variety, and Yakima has just announced not one, but two new hitch racks.

Yakima HangTight

After the success of the original vertical shuttle rack, the North Shore Rack, vertical racks are popping up all over the place. Actually, Yakima’s new HangTight is the brand’s second vertical offering.

The biggest difference between the HangTight and the HangOver is the mounting point. While the HangOver hooks on at the fork crown, the new HangTight holds onto bikes how we do—by the handlebars.

The padded mount cradles bikes by the bars on either side of the stem and uses familiar ratchet straps to hold them in place. A third ratchet strap secures the rear wheel. Because most bikes have handlebars, and because bars don’t vary in size as much as wheels and tires do, this seems like a pretty universal way to carry almost any bike. Sure, it might look funny seeing a bunch of road bikes on what many refer to as a “shuttle style rack” but heck, a Mount Lemmon road shuttle does sound pretty fun.

Yakima is offering the Hang Tight in two versions: 4-bike for social riders, and 6-bike for party starters. Here are a few more details:

• Integrated steel loop for users own lock
• Foot operated tilt
• Rotating rear-wheel cups accommodate a wide range of wheelbases.
• Built-in bottle opener
• Weight: 85 pounds (6-bike)
• HangTight 4: $799, HangTight 6: $999

 

Yakima StageTwo

 

Yakima’s newest tray-style rack is called the StageTwo. The name hints at one of the rack’s features: stadium seating. What this means is that the trays that hold the bikes are offset in height, just like the bleachers at your local sportsball park. It’s a nice way of offsetting the bikes to create more clearance between them.

The StageTwo is rated for bikes up to 60-pounds each (36-pounds if you’re doing heavy off-roading) and the standard wheel hook that’s been around forever can secure a wide range of wheel and tire sizes. StageTwo is available in 1 1/4″ or 2″ hitch sizes, and comes in either black “Anthracite” or silver “Vapor”. One of the best things about this rack is the ability to quickly install or remove it using what Yakima calls the SpeedKnob (Yakima doesn’t like using spaces in its naming conventions). The knob tightens a wedge, sort of like an old quill stem, that not only keeps it secure, but eliminates wobble. There are no tools required, so you can easily drop the rack when you don’t need it, and throw it on when you do.

There are also some accessories for the StageTwo, such as ramps for loading e-bikes without lifting, and a license plate and brake light accessory, both of which also have clever, un-spaced technology names. But wait, there’s more:

• Integrated steel loop for users own lock
• Ergonomic, forward facing remote tilt lever with action release tilts loaded rack
• Wheelbases up to 52 inches
• Weight: 66 pounds
• MSRP: $749
• +2 add-on MSRP: $549

Here’s a little video that Yakima put together for the new racks: