26461 A Pick Up Shuttle Pad Black 54″ Tailgate Bike Rack for Bikes, Surfboards or SUP

My wife purchased me of these for my Christmas 2011. At first I was very skeptical. I have owned several bike racks, and it seemsthat the only ones worth buying are way overpriced. Installing is easy, but goes quicker if you have an extra set of hands. Thereare several straps that wrap around your tailgate to hold your pad in place. After installing, I have just left it on. It comes withplenty of Velcro loops that goes around the bike to hold it securely onto the pad. It works as described, and is so much easier to loadthan any other bike rack that I have used (this is my 3rd, all of different varieties). Having to remove my front wheel seemed to be theworst of the designs. It literally takes less than 10 seconds to put the bike in the truck and secure it. I have not tried it with 6bikes, but it seems that they should fit. The nice thing is that it does not matter the design, whether it is a hard tail, FS, DH, or anyother bike.. all of them fit.I have (accidentally) hit railroad tracks going way to fast, and the bike held perfectly secure and upright even with the truck going airbornefor a second. I am sold on the product. For the price point and convenience it does not get any better than this. As far as durability, Ido not know how long the product will last. It seems to be made out of very thick weather resistant material. At this price range as long asI get about 5 years out of it I will be very happy.

As a grandfather with 2 grandsons that are into Mountain Biking, I had been transporting the bicycles on a Yakima hitch carrier. What a hassle, Mounting the carrier and securing it to the truck. Loading 3 bicycles of different sizes and being on the lookout for snagged cables while I was doing it. Then lashing bicycle with those silly rubber stretchable straps. Honestly, it was a lot of effort of a person of my age and condition, not to say the least about my temperament.The bicycle pad fits easily on my tailgate, then all it takes if to lift and set each bicycle on the pad. Add a strap if we are going to be bouncing a lot on the way to the riding site. Get home, off-load the bikes in minimal time.A couple of the reviews mentioned pads getting dry-rotted and damage to the tailgate when left on. Why leave it on? Installing and removing the pad is a piece of cake. In my neighborhood I wouldn’t think of leaving it out anyway.