Review of Bell Locking Three-Bike Rack

Bell Locking Three-Bike Rack
By: Bell Average Rating: 3.5 Total Reviews: 14
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Bell Locking Three-Bike Rack

On: 2008-07-07

Bell Locking Three-Bike Rack

I have owned and used lots of bike racks and have always viewed the Bell brand as the department store brand. I made a trip from Florida to Michigan and back using this Bell bike-rack. It worked like a charm and did not leave any dents, smudges or damage to the van. The only thing I would like to see different in the rack is for the arms to be adjustable. On this rack the arms lock into one position. The slope of the rear window will dictate the angle of the arms. My van s window is almost vertical which laves the arms horizontal. You would like to see the arms slightly angled. Nevertheless it worked find. I only carried two bikes a mountain bike and a beach cruiser. Very good quality and for the price it cannot be beat. The cable lock also is a very nice feature.

More like 2

On: 2008-04-02

Mounts to the car fine. Did not cause any dents as other reviews have noted; however, if you plan to carry three bikes I would not buy this carrier. If you have heavy mtn bikes (over 40lbs) you can carry only two bikes.
Works fine for everyday small bikes.
Bonus cable is very useful.

It works!

On: 2007-10-24

It does the job its supposed to do, so Im happy to have a way to bring my kids bikes with us on our KIA Sedona minivan. We used it for 2 bikes, I dont think Ill try it with 3. Boy style bikes are much easier to put on it than girl style bicycles.

Great Rack.

On: 2007-10-18

I bought this rack and have been very satisfied with it. Its been great for transporting my bicycle, easy to use, and a great value for the price.

Works but will dent cars

On: 2007-09-02

Both my friend and I bought the rack and was planning on hauling 6 bikes about 200 miles. When we got to our destination, we noticed that there were several major dents on both our cars. This rack will get you to the place you want, but will also leave noticeable dents in your car.

Seems like a good quality rack, but does not work on a Prius

On: 2007-08-09

This seems like a very heavy-duty bike rack, but the clips for the side straps do not fit a Prius. Actually I bought a Saris rack after buying this one, Saris claims that the rack does work on a Prius, but the side clips only work if you put them on when the hatch is open. This might be a problem with most racks due to the unique hatch on the Prius. The quest continues.

Terrific find, at an affordable price

On: 2007-05-13

This works great. And its so much cheaper than other products out there.

Terrific find, at an affordable price

On: 2007-05-12

This works great. And its so much cheaper than other products out there.

Great for the price!

On: 2006-09-13

This bike rack is pretty sturdy and it does bring something to lock the bikes. I have only used it for short distances but it did the job really well.

Bell Bike Carrier

On: 2006-03-19

I bought this rack because it didnt require a hitch but it was somewhat unstable - I had to keep stopping to re-tighten the bikes.

I stopped using the carrier completely when one of the plastic braces broke in transit causing bike to get dragged behind the car until I could pull over.

This is probably only good for hauling childrens bikes.

Great Rack - Unnecessary Locking Mechanism

On: 2005-12-16

This bike rack gets it done. I strapped it onto the back of a minivan for a winter cross country drive, and it worked GREAT! It was simple to attach to the back of the van, and was very secure throughout the trip.

NOTE: the bike locking mechanism that is spoken of, is a simple cable lock that locks the bike to the bike rack. If you already have a cable lock, this locking "mechanism" is unnecessary. It is also redundent, because the mechanism may "lock" the bike to the bike rack, but the bike rack is only secured to the car via canvas straps (and metal hooks). If someone really wanted to steal your bike, they would slice the straps, and walk off with both the bike and bike rack (even though they would be locked together). Afterwhich, it would only be a matter of time until they got the lock off your bike.

I found the description misleading, but its still a great bike rack.

BTW - although this rack is supposedly made for both SUVs/minivans and regular cars, the directions do not provide clear directions for attaching this to a regular four-door car.

good value

On: 2005-08-26

I was hesitant to get such a cheap rack to haul around my expensive bicycle but it looked worth a try, and, though I have no point of reference since this is my first rack, I think it is great especially for the money. It took me about 7 minutes to get this out of the box and on my vehicle, and then another 3 minutes or so to firmly attach the bike and lock it. As we started down the highway my wife could not believe I had not tried the rack out before starting a long trip, but I have now driven over 800 miles with it without a single problem.

Great for the price!

On: 2005-04-27

Ive had this bike rack since last summer and have had no problems with it. It states clearly in the directions to make sure the area where you place the padded bars is clean. If there is any debris between the pad and car, it will scratch your paint. This has nothing to do with the rack itself. I have driven my car 300 miles in each direction with 2 bikes on the rack. I have no complaints. I found it easy to use and it gets the job done.

Do not buy this product!

On: 2005-01-16

I live in a major summer vacation area and was extermely excited when I noticed these convienient bike carriers everywhere last year. I asked a woman where she found hers and she said that she loved it for transporting her one bicycle around the area. This Christmas I added this to my list thinking it would be great to take our three children riding more often. I followed the instructions implicitly and was not at all put off by the difficulty I had getting the bikes fitted and tightly secured. Come on- I wasnt expecting cheap, convient, and easy to all come together perfectly, but I was extremely infuriated when the day after our first trip, my husband noticed a 4 inch pressure dent in the rear of our vehicle. I will be contacting BELL when they open on Monday.

Do not buy this product!

On: 2005-01-15

I live in a major summer vacation area and was extermely excited when I noticed these convienient bike carriers everywhere last year. I asked a woman where she found hers and she said that she loved it for transporting her one bicycle around the area. This Christmas I added this to my list thinking it would be great to take our three children riding more often. I followed the instructions implicitly and was not at all put off by the difficulty I had getting the bikes fitted and tightly secured. Come on- I wasnt expecting cheap, convient, and easy to all come together perfectly, but I was extremely infuriated when the day after our first trip, my husband noticed a 4 inch pressure dent in the rear of our vehicle. I will be contacting BELL when they open on Monday.

good bike rack

by: Anonymous On: 2004-06-27

this is a great bike rack buy it!!!!!!!!!!!!

good bike rack

On: 2004-06-26

this is a great bike rack buy it!!!!!!!!!!!!