Saris Freedom 2-Bike Hitch Rack – Universal Fit for All Bike Types, 1¼" & 2" Receivers, 120 lb Capacity, Compact Design, Secure Ratcheting Straps

We recently purchased a 53 lb "commuter" ebike with a step through frame and fenders. Our existing rack can not carry such a bike so I went looking for a new one. I have many requirements.1. Support for both a 1.25" and 2" hitches (I have vehicles with both)2. Support for the e-bike with the weight, step through frame and fenders being notable challenges3. Support for carbon fiber frames4. Support for a few other bikes I haveI spent hours doing research and was nearly convinced that a rack that could do everything I wanted did not exist. Then I ran across this Saris. I'm happy to say that everything on my wishlist is fulfilled!Of course no rack is perfect and this one has its own pros and cons:Pros:1. Sturdy. Loaded up with the ebike and another bike, this rack is solid. There is some axial movement when going over bumps but it's not worrying to me.2. Bikes are held very securely but also gently. I really like the tire straps and the fact that most of the bikes weight is supported by it's tires. The holders are nicely designed and interface the bike with soft surfaces.3. Lightweight. At only 21 lbs, this rack is easy to install and carry around. My 1.25" hitch is only class 1 (100 lbs max weight) so the 21lbs avoids cutting too much into the weight budget for that hitch..Cons:1. Getting the heavy ebike into the (recommended) back position requires some strength. I fold down the center bar which helps a lot but still I'd say any bike being put in the back position will need to be held at chest height for 30 seconds to a minute or more.2. It was quite a puzzle getting everything to fit the first time. The tire holders need to be slid into the best positions and the center support is too short to reach the horizontal bar of my road bike. The tire holders are also a bit close to the center bar and to each other, meaning that there are possible interference issues with the center bar and the bikes. I was able to puzzle through it all and have a satisfactory solution. Now that everything is where I decided to put it, the bikes go on very quickly.3. The shape of the rack makes it a bit awkward to store. I put up some storage hooks that are getting the job done but I wouldn't call it a tidy package when off the car.Overall, I'm very satisfied with this rack.

The strap that comes in the down tube cradle is not long enough for my Aventon Pace 500.3 Step-Through E-bike. I mean, if I remove the bike's battery, remove the rubbery cushion thing that comes wrapped around the strap, position the cradle OVER my down tube (instead of under it), and really pull on (and struggle with) the strap, I can get it to the second ratchet notch (see red circle in photo), and that just didn't seem secure enough for my first drive, so I supplemented the strap with a large black plastic twisty tie (seen in another photo) that I happened to have. The straps that come with the wheel trays are long enough, but somehow these plastic ratchet straps fail to inspire confidence, even when they are long enough, so I guess I'm going to have to find better straps for all three points (the two wheel trays and the down tube cradle).The rack's vertical bar must be locked in the vertical position when transporting a bike, and common sense dictates that the down tube cradle should be as high as possible on that bar (to maximize bike stability), so the position of your bike's down tube will determine where the wheel trays end up. Even with the rack's down tube cradle on top of my down tube (instead of under it), my bike cannot be centered with my car; instead, it needs to be several inches to the right (starboard from my car's perspective). Oh well.The price of the rack seemed competitive, and it's not too heavy for this old man to move around, so that's all good. All in all, I'm pretty happy with the rack, or will be when I find straps I really like, and it might very well be the only bike rack I ever own.I recommend purchasing the optional Locking Hitch-Tite (threaded hitch pin with a lock). I also got a Fioracl Hitch Wall Mount 2-inch Receiver so I don't have to keep the rack on my garage floor when it's not on the car.

We can install the rack in the hitch easily, and load and unload the two bikes with no problems once we got the adjustments figured out the first time. The adjustments did take a while with several trials and tweaks with the wheel holders and center-post clamp positionings. We slid the wheel holders left and right several times until both bikes fit in nicely. The rear bike is a 45-lb electric, so to lift it in, we put the center post down to the left fully. Once in the wheel holders, we leaned the bike back and let it rest against the car while we brought the center post back up straight, and slid up the center clamp onto the down tube. The outer bike, only 21 lbs, was a breeze. Again, you can tilt the bike outward to slide the center clamp up or down into position. Once all six clamps were tied down, the whole affair was quite stable. Don't forget to tighten all six of the moveable wheel holders and center clamps once they are in the final positions. The wheel holders stay in position for any particular bike, so they are already tightened, but the center clamps slide up and down with each loading, so those are what you need to remember to tighten once the clamps are on the downtubes. I thought the assembly of the rack was easy - only a few bolts to tighten.