Allen Sports Premier 2-Bike Trunk Rack, Model S102, Black

I have had this rack for two years and it has held up great. Still in great shape. We have left it attached to our 2004 Ford E350 (van) all summer. I have also reliably attached this to my 2013 Kia optima.The bottom straps have a loop around the buckle that was attached using elastic. The elastic broke on one of the straps while tightening it. I am replacing it with a plastic tri-glide slide ($2.00) from Amazon. The strap itself is very strong and durable.The top straps have hooks that go around the edge of the door/trunk and cannot be removed without opening the trunk (or back doors in the case of our van). We have returned few times from a ride where the side and bottom straps were hanging but the top straps were securely in place. We took this as evidence that someone tried to remove it. Although it has never been stolen, I now have a bike lock wrapped through it and around the bumper.The tie down cradles are well made and have rubber pads and rubber straps to protect the bike from scratches. The rubber straps are very strong and hold the bike firmly in place. Very easy to connect and disconnect. Some bikes with a low crossbar may require the Allen Sports Tension Bar Bicycle Cross-Bar Adaptor (check it out on Amazon, it gets great reviews). This works great for bikes that cannot be hung due to lack of cross bar.I gave the rack 4 stars, really should be 4.5, because four bikes are a tough fit (although I did get four bikes in it a few times). Hanging one or two bikes is a breeze, three takes just a little longer. Hanging four bikes on this rack takes time and makes going out a little more of a chore.

I would give this bike rack a 4.5 out of 5 but since there are no half star rating, I’m bumping it up to a 5.Pros:- It comes pre-assembled so you can take it out of the box and install it and be on your way within 30 minutes. It does take some time to figure out where to place the bike rack, but once you’ve figured it out, its an easy 10-15 minutes to install and attach your bike. Pretty simple!- The product overall is well made – it’s sturdy and it feels like it will last.- We were able to fit 4 bikes on the rack without any issues – 2 Fat Tire bikes and 2 mountain bikes – we rotated the handles so they bikes were able to be nestled together.- It is EASY to use – one person can install this without too much trouble & taking the bikes off the rack was a breeze (as far as putting the bikes on – see my comment in the Cons).- I didn’t feel as if my jeep was weighted down with this bike rack – even with the weight of the rack and 4 bikes. I felt pretty comfortable driving with it – there was minimal swinging/creaking during our drive. We have yet to take it on a long road trip- You can use this rack on multiple vehicles so it’s not restricted to just one car – this is a huge plus!Cons:- As others have stated the metal clips were concerning but I bought pads for $10 and although they weren’t the best – they did protect my SUV. I’m going to try other hacks mentioned for the next trip.- You CANNOT open your trunk while this is in use, so if you need access to your trunk you will need to remove the rack and replace the rack- If mounting on an SUV (I have a Jeep Cherokee) it sits rather high so if you’re small like me, you’re lifting the bikes above your head to place it on the rack – I have a carbon fiber bike and it wasn’t that bad, my boyfriend’s bike however, i was unable to lift up without his help.Tip:- You still need to make sure you have additional bungees/zip cords to tie up the extra strap lengths so they aren’t dragging on the ground and to secure your bikes together so they don’t bounce into each other. We did forget to bungee the bikes after our last trail ride because we were in a hurry to get home and surprisingly the bikes were secure and did not bounce too much – but better safe than sorry, it’d be a shame to have your bikes rubbing on each other ruining the frame.- The bottom clips need to be inserted into the jam of the bottom of the trunk and that wasn’t very clear – it made me nervous but once we figured it out, it was pretty simple and stayed secure.- Make sure you bring a lock and secure your bikes, it does not have a security feature included on the rack – we just used our regular locks and secured the bikes to each other AND the rack – so if someone really wanted our bikes, they’d either have to have the materials to cut through the locks or they’d have to try and steal the whole thing.For the price, the pros totally outweigh the cons. This bike rack is a great value and does the job well. Will take pictures to post the next time we use the rack.