Yakima DoubleDown 4-Bike Hitch Mount Rack

I read a lot of reviews and tested a few items, including Thule and Yakima products, at the local bike shops. I ended up buying the Doubledown 4 and I have to say I am extremely happy with the choice I made. I was looking at some cheaper options on Amazon, but when I read the reviews, although most of them were positive, I thought I'd better stick with a more solid construction. This bike rack is extremely easy to put together (took me maybe 5 minutes to put it together). Connecting it to my car's 2" hitch was also very easy. The bolt that comes with it actually threads into the hitch and when you tighten it, there is absolutely no wiggling. Loading the bike is very easy. There are three straps for each bike, one horizontal and one vertical for the back of the frame, right below and in front of the seat, and one horizontal one in the front that holds to front of the frame. It also comes with a short and a long strap that are used to strap the front wheel to the frame to prevent if from turning and more importantly, from swaying side to side and hitting the other bikes. I have a Honda Odyssey and needed to buy a Hitch for it. We traveled 5 hours from VA to the Outer Banks, NC with no problems at all. No wiggling, no noise and no issues at all. I didn't even notice that the bikes were there, except for seeing them on my rear view mirror. We drove on highways and paved roads mostly, except for may be a mile of rough bumpy road (even there the rack was pretty quiet). To open the back door completely, you need to remove the bikes from the rack, which is pretty easy. Folding mechanism on the horizontal part and the also vertical part is extremely simple and well designed. No pins to remove and reinsert. I only loaded two bikes on a Doubledown 4 and it was pretty easy. I could have easily added a third and maybe a fourth one it too. The bike holders can slide on the horizontal bars back and forth and that way you can adjust the distance between bikes. Overall, I highly recommend this bike rack. By purchasing from Amazon I saved about $40. I am a Prime member and received the bike rack in 24 hours for free. Follow up (June 2013) We went on another trip (6 hours each way) using this bike rack and this time I put 3 bikes on it including my brand new Cannondale. The bikes fit very well, but I think fitting a fourth one would be difficult. I still love this product and very happy I didn't buy one of the cheap ones. It is a real solid product. Once the screw is tighten, there is no wiggle at all. I have to say, we only drove on highways and country roads (some of which were a little rough). The only downside is that you need to take the bikes down to be able to open the back door of the minivan completely. If you want to avoid this issue, you need to spend a lot more money. I highly recommend this bike rack.

The YAKIMA DoubleDown 4 Tilting Hitch-Mounted Bike Rack is nothing short of awesome! As a proud owner of this fantastic bike rack, I can't help but sing its praises. First and foremost, the ease of use is truly remarkable. From the moment I received it, I was impressed with how straightforward it was to set up and install on my vehicle's hitch. The included instructions were clear, and the whole process took just a few minutes. No complicated tools or extensive assembly required! Loading and securing my bikes onto the rack is a breeze. The individual cradles and secure straps ensure that my bikes stay in place, preventing any wobbling or potential damage during transportation. I have peace of mind knowing that my precious bikes are safe and sound. The tilting feature is a game-changer. It allows me to access the rear of my vehicle without removing the bikes or the rack itself. This convenience has saved me time and effort, especially during road trips when I need to access the trunk frequently. The build quality of the YAKIMA DoubleDown 4 is top-notch. It feels sturdy and well-constructed, and I have no doubt that it will last for years to come. The finish also holds up well to the elements, maintaining its sleek appearance. Speaking of capacity, accommodating four bikes is a real bonus. Whether I'm riding solo or with friends and family, this rack has space for everyone's bikes, making it a fantastic choice for group adventures. In conclusion, the YAKIMA DoubleDown 4 Tilting Hitch-Mounted Bike Rack is a fantastic addition to any cyclist's gear. It's easy to use, sturdy, and offers excellent bike transportation capacity. The tilting feature adds extra convenience, and the build quality is outstanding. This bike rack is an absolute winner and deserves a solid 5-star rating without a doubt!

It’s been discontinued. I will get to why this is an issue in a sec. First ever trailer hitch, bike rack, and first time installing and I did all myself with the exception of tightening the big important bolt. it is very easy to figure out even if you lack basic mechanical skills like myself. It held two E Bikes through curvy mountain roads, stop and go freeway traffic up to 85 miles per hour and did it without wobbling or scaring the bejesus out of us while driving. The BIG exception is the big important bolt that holds everything in place is threaded and you need a 19 mm socket and small handled socket wrench to tighten it properly and even with The appropriate tool if you don’t have the hand strength to turn that thing super tight in a very awkward position you’re SOL and you have to get help from somebody else. I’m not a weakling and I could not for the life of me get in that awkward place with a big socket wrench, which doesn’t come with it by the way. Most trailer pins are just that pins they aren’t threaded and because it requires a threaded pin getting a pin that locks is near impossible. THIS IS WHY it being discontinued is a problem, the part for this unit is a Yakima DeadLock and there is ONE place you can order and it takes weeks to arrive. You cannot purchase a universal locking pin the nigh before you are leaving! The good news is you don’t really need a locking pin because it is SO awkward and impossible to unscrew the pin without laying under the car with the specific socket wrench thing and working up a substantial sweat to get it undone so it’s unlikely it will get ripped off. Nothing to lock your bikes to the rack while traveling though. For all of that it’s still an absolute bargain for a very decent bike rack.

Simple to use. Worth the price.

7/9/18 The Double Down is built very solid and works as advertised. I gave it 4 stars because it is advertised as 51 inches from the hitch to where the bikes attach. It is very difficult to get exact measurements for any of the bike racks out there. I needed a fairly tall rack as I was tired of pulling my front tire off every time I traveled with my bikes (they hang low). It is only 40 inches from the hitch to the horizontal bar. It is approximately 52 inches off the ground when attached to the receiver on my Honda Odyssey which is approximately 12 inches from the ground. Fortunately, this was enough height for my bikes so that I do not need to remove my front tire every time I go biking. Additionally it was unclear if you could attach it with a pin or whether you needed to bolt it to the hitch. I would have liked the pin as it is easier to put on an take off, however use of a bolt is required as the hitch has threads on the inside where the pin goes. It attaches pretty solid but there is still some wobble as you are driving down the road. I am leaving it on my minivan for the season, which actually saves me time attaching it and removing it every time I bike (twice a week). I am worried that I might get a ticket for obstruction of the license plate but I have not been bothered yet. A state trouper pulled behind me about 3 days ago and did not pull me over. We will see if I make it through till fall without a ticket. 8/12/18 Update. I really like this bike rack. I leave it on my minivan all season so no need to put on and take off every time I ride. I am attaching pictures of my bikes on the rack so you can see how high it is. Our bikes hang really low and there is still plenty of clearance. It is on the back end of a 2015 Honda Odyssey. I changed my rating from a 4 to a 5.

Mounted this rack for a short vacation trip here in Northern California. The rack was installed as per the manufacturer's instructions, and the following four bikes were mounted to it, also as per the manufacturer's instructions: Cannondale SP300 Mens 27" Fitness Bike (ALUMINUM) Trek "Lime" Women's 26" Bike (ALUMINUM) Trek 24" Girl's Bike (ALUMINUM) Trek Boy's 20" Bike (ALUMINUM) I also purchased and installed the Yakima mounting bars which are designed for the two girl's bikes, which mount between the stem and seatpost. After a 62-mile all-highway drive, upon arrival, the portion of the rack which slides into the 2" receiver hitch had bent, so that the entire rack was now pitched downward, away from the vehicle at about a 15 degree angle. The two arms which hold the bikes, also partially defeated the internal latching mechanism which holds them upright, and were bent about 10 degrees downward. The main problem with the design, is that the portion which is inserted in the receiver, is positioned so far out of the hitch, that there is just way too much leverage acting on it. I have no idea what the designers were thinking. It's really a shame that the design is so marginal, for it's intended use. It probably would be OK with two bikes on it. But four real-world Aluminum family bikes, NOPE. Not unless they perhaps are four, featherweight 18-pound carbon / unobtainium uber-road bikes.

My wife and I bought this in order to be able to take our bikes on a trip to the Outer Banks. The unit comes with an adapter already installed for quick mounting on an existing hitch mount. It also comes with a threaded bolt to fasten the hitch to your mount. I did not know this when I bought it, and accidentally ordered a lock bolt for the hitch which I did not need. With a ratchet set and wrench, I installed this in ten minutes. It comes with a cotterpin on the bolt just in case the threads fail. Then the second piece mounts easily on the bottom bar. The hitch has a quick release for tilting it down to allow access to the back of an SUV when unloaded. This is nice to have if you leave the hitch on while traveling, so that you can access the back of your SUV. We drove more than ten hours to the Outer Banks with two full-sized mountain bikes and two children's bikes (below 18" frames) mounted. We figured out quickly that we had to turn our backup camera to avoid automatic braking due to the obstruction it made, but this was easily done. Mounting the bikes is easy as long as you understand how to mount them in alternatively different directions with the stem and cross bar on one side and just the cross bar on the other. The rubber clips are a little difficult to fasten until you realize that if you simply pull them hard, they snap on. I also bought a bike cable lock to lock the bikes to the mount for times when we were stopped while traveling in order to prevent theft. We drove back over 10 hours and had no issues as well. Be sure to use all fasteners and know that the bikes with a frame below 18" were too small to fasten to the mount according to the design, so had to be fastened in an improvised manner. They made the trip safely, but you should be mindful of the issue. I highly recommend this hitch. It was cheaper than renting four bikes for the week, so it paid for itself.

This is definitely a quality product but it was not cheap either. Everything on it like the fold down arms, and the tiling down features worked very very well. My only problem with it was getting my daughter's 24" bikes thru the two arms and thru the mounting points. The mounting points are very good does an amazing job. The bike really don't swing. And the rug coating on the mounts does a great job of not damaging the bike's finish (unlike my prior bike rack). I did not try to mount 5 bike on this rack, so I can't give an opinion as to how it works with 5 bikes. However, I did get 3 bikes on it and it looks like I could easily mount a 4th bike, but it will take some doing to get a 5th bike on it. So, for those who just have 3 to 4 bike to deal with, I recommend getting this 5-bike model because it will be easier for you to deal with.

Excelente producto, fácil de instalar, muy seguro y práctico

easy to install, quality is good regards to its price.

This is a good 4-bike carrier for my car. That being said, it is difficult to load all 4 of our family bikes into it. It requires some juggling of pedal position and handlebars through spokes to make it all work. I have resorted to taking the front wheel off adult bikes so that the handlebars can be turned sideways. Kid's bikes are loaded with one of the carrier arms under the downtube rather than under the top tube. This feels very secure and is much easier to load. I don't mind doing all this for a 1-hour drive to a remote trailhead, but it is a lot of work for the 10-minute drive to our local trails. If I did a lot of short transfers, I would probably go with a tray-type carrier that is easier and faster to load.

buen producto. Los huéspedes dieron de si rápido. Fuera de eso, todo bien

Rattles like crazy and not suitable for any off-road use. Seller was being extremely difficult in regards to return the item and trying to get out of paying full refund.