RockyMounts MonoRail Hitch Bike Rack: Customer Review

In this review, our customer Madeline weighs in on her new RockyMounts MonoRail hitch rack. When purchasing a new bike rack, bike security, reliability, and functionality should all be boxes you are trying to tick off. This rack from RockyMounts seems to do just that. Read more!

Overview

If you are tired of shoving one or two bikes into the back of your tiny Subaru, then it's time for this rack. It's truly worth it.

A couple months ago, I started riding. My partner and I would prepare to ride which included the following: standing in 100-degree temps while we dismantled our bikes to precariously squeeze them into the back of a car not made for bikes. Before we even left for our ride, we had burned 20 minutes loading-up. When we arrived at our trail head, we added even more time reassembling. We rode, and then repeated the steps, but this time tired and sweaty.

We finally caved, realizing we NEED a rack. We started shopping around with two goals in mind: affordable and reliable. During our search, we checked out several brands. The RockyMount started popping up again and again with different retailers. The price was spot-on (not overly expensive, but not bottom of the line). We weren't sold though because we could not find an abundance of reviews. With some detective work, we were able to find a couple. The few reviews of the rack were solid in themes of durability and bike safety. We ordered!

Set Up

The rack came in a few pieces that were easy to assemble (took less than half an hour to rig). We hadn't realized it before but were pleasantly surprised that the rack came with measures to lock the rack to the car and bikes to the rack.

Loading two bikes literally takes less than a minutes. We simply open up the holds and pop the bikes on. There is a strap that goes around the rear wheel and is pulled to tighten. A large metal hook secures the front of the bike. Looking at the set-up, the bikes are clearly safe. There is no way for them to fall off if correctly secured.

Performance and Final Thoughts

We have taken the rack over several different types of terrain. City driving, freeways, back roads. It holds on just fine. When we are done using the rack, it's a quick and easy lever to pop the thing up into a compact position again the car.

One last bit of praise, the other day we were backing up our car (with the rack on). We got a little hasty and rammed the rack into the garage wall. This rack handled it like a champ. No scrapes, bending, etc.

I would highly recommend this rack to folks looking for an affordable and reliable way to transport bikes. Of course, you could get a pricier one, but what's the point when this rack is just as functional!?