YAKIMA - HoldUp EVO 2" Hitch Mounted Tray Bike Rack, 2 Bike Capacity

Here are my first impressions, I haven't had a chance to drive with it yet and will update this review once I do.I wanna take a minute for us Jeep Wrangler drivers, since finding a hitch bike rack is a pain in the butt for us. To start, here are my observations with this rack in regards to owning a Jeep Wrangler. I have a 4 door Jeep Wrangler Sport JL hardtop with a standard two inch hitch, stock lift/height and stock tire. This bike rack will NOT fit with a standard hitch. It requires an extension. The hole on the bike rack does not reach the hole on the hitch, it's about 3" short. Without the holes lining up, you can't secure it with the included pin so it would be unwise and unsafe to use it like that. Speaking of the pin, it does not go all the way across and out the other side. It passes through the left hole of the hitch and bike rack tube, and has a depressable ball to keep it from falling out. The pin does move/rattle around when installed.You need a hitch extension to properly install this on a Wrangler. At least a 4" extension, if you don't care about opening the tail gate. If you'd like to open the tail gate a bit to just reach inside, you can use an 8" extension. However you will not be able to open the window if you have a hardtop, the gate doesn't swing out far enough. The tire hits the bike rack when swinging the gate open more than 4-5". On the JL, the tire is about 2-3" lower than on the JK. Maybe with the JK you can swing the gate open all the way.Here is what I am doing to be able to swing open the gate all the way. What I use is a hitch extension with a second 2" hitch accessory. It's an 8" extension with a another 2" hitch receiver welded about 4" above. They sell them here on Amazon. Normally the extension part is for towing and the second accessory hitch is for hitching a bike rack or cargo rack above what you're towing. What I did was flip it upside down so the secondary hitch is below the extender. Since it's a Wrangler, you have the lift/height to do this. So attaching the bike rack to this lower hitch allows me to swing the gate fully open. I tested it in my driveway with my stock tires and stock lift, and even at the worst/most inclination of my driveway, I had about 3" of clearance between the bottom of the rack and the ground.These Wrangler specific modifications did not factor into my rating since I knew what I was getting into. Now that the Jeep Wrangler specific stuff is out of the way, onto the actual bike rack.-This rack is pretty heavy. I'm a young guy that works out and it's a tad difficult to carry around. But I wanted a full 2" rack, not a 1 1/4" to 2" rack.-There is no easy way to store this when it's not hitched (i.e. somewhere in your garage). The kick lever you use to lower the rack sticks straight down so you can't rest the rack on the floor without putting the full weight of the rack on this kick lever. What I did was use the bike tilt/lower function of the rack to hide that kick lever so it will somewhat lay flat in my garage. But dragging it around will scratch up the main 2" tube and the rack that's further out-There's still a slight bit of wobble even with the anti wobble knob tightened down. And yes I did wiggle it around as I tightened.-The glossy finish is extremely prone to scratching and also makes the scratches very visible-I wish the rear tire straps were fabric instead of plastic, I'm sure they will eventually break with repeated bending/usage.-The bike locks are pretty short. I could not loop it through my frame, it wouldn't reach the lock peg. Instead I had to loop it between my fork stanchions. This doesn't feel very secure because a slightly determined thief can raise the front wheel holder (since it doesn't lock), undo the rear strap and cut the thin lock cable with a lock cutter. I'm going to look into a 20mm steel lock cable to loop through my frame and spare tire for extra security.-The ratcheting system/notches that holds the front tire down is plastic, I hope it will last.-With a 29" aluminum mountain bike installed, the bike feels pretty secure in the rack. There's slight wobble, but I've seen worse during my research into bike racks.-The front wheel trays fold in to make the rack more compact.These are my initial observations. I will update this review once I go out for a ride, I will also add pictures of my setup. Lastly, I'll decide if this rack is worth a MSRP of $500 after I use it. So far it gets a 3.5/5 from me.

This has to be one of the best bike racks I've bought. Now I know there are a few negative reviews, but I personally think it's because they didn't read all the instructions and set their bike rack up incorrectly. Right now I run two full size full suspension mtb's and have no problem with interference with each other. I will however be adding the addition of the two add-on so I can run four bikes. But I still don't think there will be any interference when that happens. Bottom line.... I recommend this bike rack if you're looking for something to integrate with your tailgate.

Product was new, only used thing about it was the box had been opened and resealed. Way beyond expectations of being listed as used. Shipping was quick, arrived 2 days earlier than expected. Rack works excelent for carrying 2 bicycles to various group rides. Folds up smaller than others when not in use. Easy to fold up and down. Built in locking system is easy to use.

Easy to load and unload bikes. No more scratched frames from older style bike rack mounts. Only negative I can say, if the rack would lean another inch or two lower when leaning forward I could completely drop my tailgate. Right now if two bikes are loaded I cannot. They sell an attachment for that, but it’s rather pricy.

A really nice rack. Clamp bar lock end plastic stop needed to be shaved slightly to fit my 27.5 x 4.5” Gnarwhal front tire. Very secure once I made the clamp bar fit. My fix does not compromise the rack. It allows the clamp hook to clear that giant fat tire. Yakima needs to design for about 1/2” more extension to clear studs and big knobbys.

Loving. Easy to put together -watch YouTube video. Great features.

Hard unfold

Easy load and unload of my bikes. So glad I decided to invest in this rack.