Accessories

Rack is fine but can't be secured
The rack itself is fine but there's no way to secure/lock this rack to a 1.25" hitch. The hole in the rack is only 3/8" wide but all locking pins are 1/2". Having a rack full of expensive bikes with no way to lock them makes this rack essentially worthless.

Allen Customer Service was extremely rude.

Receiver too short
I purchased this right before a trip and had to use it or I couldn't take my bikes with me on the trip. Otherwise I would have returned it.

I had a huge problem with how long the "insert" that goes into the hitch is. When I had it all assembled I tried to put it on the hitch but the holes on the receiver didn't match the holes on the hitch! It was too short! The pull pin, with the ball on top that allows you lower the arm so you have access to the back of you vehicle, was hitting my bumper. I had to remove the pull pin and replace it with a bolt I had in my garage. This gave me an extra quarter inch to line up the holes on the insert and the hitch and put a bolt through them. So now the carrier is on my SUV.

The next problem was when the arms were in the upright position, so you can put your bikes on it, the rack is too close to my SUV. There is enough movement that the rack can hit the back of my SUV. When my bikes are on them the arms are loaded enough that the rack leans away from the my SUV. Luckily I didn't have to stop suddenly or else I'm sure it would have made a dent in my back door. What did happen was the rack scratched my back door. I assume this either happened from the off road we took to get to the trail head or by driving with the arms in the upright position without bikes on them. So I used some duck tape and put a small rag on the part that could scratch my SUV.

I looked at my brothers carrier and his insert was a good foot longer than this one is. Other than these two problems the carrier worked great and it was definitly the cheapest carrier out there. If your hitch sticks out further than your bumper and door than you should be okay. My hitch is an inch or two under (behind?) my bumper. So purchase with caution or don't purchase right before you need to use it so you can return it if necessary and get one that works for you.

Don't buy this rack - buy a Yakima
I just bought this rack based on the good reviews on amazon but what a dissapointment. Box says designed in USA but made in China.

Amazon packaging is non-existent. They ship in original box which was busted open on 1st order. Rack was scratched. And also on the replacment order box was torn open in shipment.

For the rack itself, First, the drawbar mount is loose in the hitch reciever. You will need shims to stop the rattling in the hitch reciever.

2nd, for the tilt dowm mechanism, the upright lock on the hitching post is not well made. There is a 5/16 gap between the pin and lock, making the hitching post rattle when you acclerate and or brake. At the top of the rack, it will move about 2" forward and back. Replacement item has the same problem. which leands me to think that the manufacturing is at fault. The design is good but the China manufacturing has very poor tolerences.

Beware also the hole on the drawbar to hitch it on the car is not standard. I bought the 2" hitch version but the hole is 1/2" for 1-1/4" reciever mount. My 5/8" hitch lock will not work on the drawbar. They give a 1/2" nut and bolt but that can be easily unbolted by a thief.

If it were not for the price, I would have gotten a Yakima which is $20 more at my local store.

Nice Bike Rack for the Money
Just finished a 500 mile trip using the Allen bike rack, sturdy, and easy to use. Very nice for the money! Two comments - one which I have read previously in comments.

Unless I was doing something wrong you will need to drill a hole in the frame in order to use the provided bolt and secure it to the hitch receiver. No big deal, took two minutes to do. When connecting the frame to the hitch receiver there is a little play - easily rectified with a wood shim!

All in all a very nice unit.

Nice rack =P
solid well thought out design. The bikes are held close to each other so I tie a few rags in key spots to prevent bike on bike contact. So far there have been no scratches. It works with my sons 20 inch as well as my 29er. It will also work with my Townie cruiser if I use the cross bar attachment. Hope this helps
Dan