Review of Allen Deluxe 2-Bike Trunk Mount Rack

Allen Deluxe 2-Bike Trunk Mount Rack
By: Allen Bike Racks Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 23
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Great rack for the price

On: 2008-07-09

The rack took about 10 minutes for initial set up and is quite sturdy. It also folds down small enough to store in my trunk without taking up much space. I have not yet had 2 bikes on the rack, but it is very stable with one. It also seems to have much better "padding" in the areas that rest on the car than the cheaper rakes that I have seen. After purchasing several other racks that would not accommodate my bikes frame (15" mens trek), I was relieved when my bike fit without a problem. It would be helpful if Amazon included a link to the list of vehicles that the rack fits. I had to spend a good amount of time searching various other websites to ensure the rack would fit my car (Toyota Avalon).

Excellent! Stable and Simple!

On: 2008-06-20

I bought this for mounting my wifes mountain bike. I found it was compact in size and very easy to mount. It was very stable so far since the road I drove on was very bumpy.BTW, my car is Saab 900s hatchback.In summary, I liked it.

Very reliable

On: 2008-06-14

This is an excellent rack and I highly recommend it. I purchased this rack to haul 2 mountain bikes on a 900 mile round trip. I was a little nervous at first. But after cruising at top speeds with out any issues, I was able to relax. Each time I stopped to get gas I checked the tension and no adjustments were needed going both ways. I would say the total weight of our bikes were around 55-60lbs. We will be using it for another up coming camping trip which will be around a 600 mile round trip. I have all the confidence in the world in this rack. Buy it!

Better than Expected

On: 2008-06-04

I use the Allen Deluxe 2-Bike Rack on my 01 Audi S-4. With two mountain bikes it handles fairly well - a bit of play on the bumpiest of Chicago streets - but not bad if you take it easy. With one bike, it is quite solid. I put rubber sheets under the metal trunk clips, as some have suggested. It hasnt bent or warped the trunk at the attachment points, although when I first put it on with two bikes, I worried it would. It is compact, quick and easy to put on and take off. Well worth the low price.

Not friendly with the Mazda3 Hatchback

On: 2008-05-30

Its a great bike rack, but the curvature of the Mazda3 Hatchbacks rear did have problems with the design of the unit. Be prepared to place a piece of heavy cloth or foam between the unit and your car, so no scratching occurs. This isnt the fault of the rack, since the Mazda3s design is different from many other cars, so Im not going to take off much for that fault. I would have liked to see the Hatch version of the 3 on the list of compatible cars, however.

It Works

On: 2008-03-28

I have a 4 door sedan and it fits on the trunk just fine. It has two top hooks and one lower (under trunk lid) hook to hold it on. Ive driven with one and two bikes on it with no problem. Ive gone on the freeway and to the beach and over not so great roads and it does what its supposed to: holds bikes when you drive. Plus, it was a good price.

it works

On: 2008-01-18

it works pretty well, I hauled a pretty heavy beach Cruiser 2000 miles and never had to adjust it except the one time I had to open the trunk. no complaints so far and I have had it for over a year now.

Doesn't work well on hatchbacks

On: 2007-12-02

I have an Acura RSX and this bike rack wasnt stable or secure on the back at all. Compatability guide said it fit, but didnt really fit too well.

Great Price, Easy to Use.

On: 2007-10-27

So far I have not been disappointed. Its very quick and easy to attach to the car (takes only a minute or two), its sturdy while driving. folds up compactly for easy storage in trunk. Definitely worth the price. I havent tried it with two bikes or with travelling long distances, but I have no reason to believe it wouldnt handle well in those cases.

worst bike rack ever

On: 2007-09-16

This is the worst bike rack ever made. Ive used it twice and both times as soon as we got above 30mph the rack just wobbled back and forth. The arm supports apparently arent wide enough to stabilize 2 bikes properly. We checked and recked and tightened and re-tightened only to eventually put a dent in my MDX. We will never use it again and we are buying a hitch bike rack next.

A little flimsy

On: 2007-08-28

I recently bought and used this bike mount for a 2 hour trip. The bike mount felt flimsy. My boyfriend and I took the front tires off because it seemed like the bike rack couldnt handle 2 fully assembled bikes. We also had to tie the bikes to each other becaue it looked like the bike on the outside was going to fly away when we were going 70 mph. I wish I spent a little more money, but got something a bit more sturdy.

Irene

Perfect for long distances

On: 2007-08-12

I used the Allen Deluxe 2-Bike Trunk Mount Rack on my 650 mile move from IL to TN and it was PERFECT! While I was understandably hesitant at first, I quickly realized that, even at highway speeds, my bike was secure. It was easy to attach to my SUV and easy to remove with no damage to my truck. I now use it to tote my bike to all the bike paths and would highly recommend it to anyone!!

Did not fit Mustang GT

On: 2007-07-09

Bought this for my father in-law. It did not fit over the spoiler on his Mustang GT. On the back of the box there is a lot of detail on which cars it fits on and which cars it will not. The Mustang GT appeared to be one of the very few that it would not fit. Had I known this in advance I would not have ordered it for him. Looked like a very nice bike rack though. Amazon was very good about taking it back.

Basic, Simple, Does the Job

On: 2007-07-08

This product is very basic, fairly universal, and relatively inexpensive. The simplicity of design makes it very easy to attach (and detach) from a vehicle as well as a bicycle. There is some risk of scratching the trunk with the metal connectors, not ideal. Overall fairly functional and moderately durable with no frills.

Allen Deluxe 2-Bike Trunk Mount Rack

On: 2007-07-08

We were very pleased with this bike rack. There was very little movement of our bikes even with freeway driving. The down side was that we only were able to use it for less than 24 hours. On the second day of usage we were stopped at at stoplight with our bikes on the back of our car. We heard the loud screeching of tires and my husband looked in the rear view mirror and saw the back end of a pick up truck heading for the back of our car. The pick up truck driver was not paying attention and had been going so fast that he did a 180 degree turn when he hit his brakes before hitting our car. Our bikes were crushed but they were still attached to the bike rack which was bent but still holding on to the trunk and to our bikes. The bikes and bike rack cushioned the blow and prevented us from getting hurt at all. The bike rack stayed firm. The trunk of our car was pushed in and crumpled where the padded contact points of the bike rack were but the bike rack still hung on. We are about to order the same bike rack to replace our damaged one. We know it is well made!!!!

Allen Deluxe 2-Bike Trunk Mount Rack

On: 2007-07-07

We were very pleased with this bike rack. There was very little movement of our bikes even with freeway driving. The down side was that we only were able to use it for less than 24 hours. On the second day of usage we were stopped at at stoplight with our bikes on the back of our car. We heard the loud screeching of tires and my husband looked in the rear view mirror and saw the back end of a pick up truck heading for the back of our car. The pick up truck driver was not paying attention and had been going so fast that he did a 180 degree turn when he hit his brakes before hitting our car. Our bikes were crushed but they were still attached to the bike rack which was bent but still holding on to the trunk and to our bikes. The bikes and bike rack cushioned the blow and prevented us from getting hurt at all. The bike rack stayed firm. The trunk of our car was pushed in and crumpled where the padded contact points of the bike rack were but the bike rack still hung on. We are about to order the same bike rack to replace our damaged one. We know it is well made!!!!

Good bike rack!

On: 2007-06-12

I have used this rack to carry two mountain bikes, this rack is great! It holds my bikes securely and fits well on sedan as well as on Minivan. I would recommend this rack to anyone looking for a way to travel with your bikes.

Allen Bike Rack

On: 2007-06-08

For the money, this is a terrific bike rack. Ive just used it for short trips, however the bikes were very stable

Allen Delluxe 2 - Bike Rack

On: 2007-05-13

This rack is easy to put on the car and to operate. Holds two full size bikes and is very stable. Great value for the money.

High quality, easy to use, great buy.

On: 2006-11-10

Jeep Liberty -- mounted the rack solely to the spare tire. It was tough to get the back portion of the rack below the rear windshield wiper at first, but with the right angle (come in high) it can be done. Once mounted, the rack was as solid as could be. Straps/tie downs were all very easy to use.

Putting the bikes in the rack couldnt have been easier. There are receivers for two bikes on the rack, with integrated tie downs. Just drop the bike frame into the receivers, pull the straps through, and flip the little buckles. No bungees or additional straps are necessary.

The frame itself is of good quality tube steel, and it folds down fairly flat so it doesnt take up much room when not in use.

I used this rack to take 2 bikes from PA to NC & back, about 700 miles.
Not one problem or worry it would fall off of the vehicle.

No Worries Rack

On: 2006-07-20

This thing is great. Relatively simple to set up (do a dry run before your first trip), functional for two mountain bikes, no extra strapping or tying needed. You will have to watch out that your pedals dont scrape your car, but the rack itself is totally sturdy. A nice product at a nice price (with lots of buying options).

Works well for the price...

On: 2005-07-25

Ive been pretty nervous looking for a decent but affordable bike rack. After initially getting an Outback Rack from Target, I was disappointed by the flimsy construction and had to return it. I did some more researching and wasnt able to find any reviews for low-mid-priced racks online. Found a Bell 3-bike rack from Walmart and later on a Bell 2-bike rack from Sports Authority. These were a lot sturdier but also quite heavy.

I have a mountain bike that weighs about 35lbs. A friend of mine has a road bike that weighs about 25lbs. I kept looking and finally settled on the Allen because of the price, design and construction.

(I took a star off for aesthetics. The foam supports are grey. The top and bottom struts are unpainted silver aluminum, and the caps at the end of the rack are white.)

A couple of things I learned:

* cloth/nylon strap tie downs are better than plastic or rubber which become brittle after repeated use and exposure to different weather conditions
* use of lighter weight aluminum is better than steel
* the more anchor points to your car the better (3 is the minimum)
* put the heavier bike on the slot closer to the car
* womens bikes or bikes without a horizontal beam from the seat to the handlebar column will require a "bike adaptor"
* when not in use, remove the rack from the car to prevent it from being stolen or the foam padding from melting onto your car
* lock your bike(s) to the rack with a separate chain
* use common sense and dont put more than the number of bikes the rack was designed for
* drive more slowly and carefully on uneven streets

Hope this review helped! :)

Works just fine...

Unable to carry two bikes

On: 2005-07-02

Ive had two problems with the Allen bike carrier. When I took it out of the box, apparently fully assembled, it would not fit on the car. I had to take it appart and reverse one set of contact pads. Fine, and it was a nice light and easy to put on carrier. Then came the show stopper, when the second bikes pedal jammed into the deraillor of the first bike. I tried reversing the second bike, but then the handle bars interfered. The Allen carriers bars are too short for our two normal road bikes, and we have since bought a larger and heavier trunk mount carrier that is a much better design and fully supports both our bikes much more stably. K-H Frohne