The Complete Guide to Bike Carriers for Roof, Hitch, Trunk, Bed, Spare Tire and RV

Transporting bicycles to your preferred riding spot has been perfected over the years. Today, you can shop between a myriad of options and price points to find the carrier that works best for your vehicle and bike. This guide will break down some of the most common styles and mount locations so that you can make an informed shopping decision and hopefully learn a bit along the way!

Some bike rack designs are specific to particular makes and models, however most are universal for vehicles that share similar features, such as roof bars or a hitch. If you are curious about how to install a certain style.

Hitch-Mounted Bike Racks

These are among the most popular types of bicycle carriers for several reasons:

• Fits: Any make or model with a matching receiving hitch (usually 2”)
• Installation: Very easy to fit on a hitch receiver
• Safety: Plenty of options for securing wheels and frames
• Versatility: Several styles available, including with a storage carrier to truly maximize your cargo space
• Ease of Use: They don’t require removal of a bike tire and they don’t require lifting bikes high above your head

Most hitch-mounted carrier are designed to support bicycles either by their tires or their frame, and usually have options for transporting 2 to 4 bikes at a time. Securing methods include arms or levers to hold the bike frames in place, as well as ratcheting or Velcro straps to lash the wheels or frame in place.

Platform Style

Truck Bed

If you have a truck, there’s not much need to add length by adding on a hitch-mounted bike carrier. Instead, truck bed bike racks function much the same way as outside a school or public building – the front wheels are rolled into slats, then secured in place to prevent movement. It’s an organized way to transport multiple bikes in your bed without creating a dogpile.

• Fits: Ford, GMC, Dodge and other trucks with open bed. Will work with tonneau covers. Only caveat is that the bed should be long enough to fit all of the bike.
• Installation: Very easy to place and secure into your truck bed
• Safety: As safe as transporting any other item in your truck bed
• Versatility: Not particularly versatile unless you can use the wheel wells for securing other items
• Ease of Use: They don’t require removal of bike tires, however you do have to be able to lift the bikes into the truck bed

Roof Rack

The biggest advantage to roof bike racks is that your vehicle’s footprint remains the same. The downside is that you need to be strong enough to get your bike up and down from the rack. Just about all of the designs start with a platform bike mount, but it diverges from there. Some racks mount the bike’s front fork, secure the frame, or immobilize the tires before requiring you to lash the wheel/wheels with ratcheting or Velcro straps.

• Fits:Cars, crossovers, SUVs or trucks with side rails
• Installation: Most roof bike racks are light and easy to install. Requires existing crossbars.
• Safety: Properly securing bikes to the rack, and the rack to the crossbars is essential for this style to be safe
• Versatility: Styles vary slightly, however the design and use is quite fixed
• Ease of Use: Possibly the most challenging to load and unload, as it requires lifting bikes above your head and onto the roof of your vehicle, and sometimes you will need to remove a tire

Spare Tire

Now almost a legacy product for most vehicles except for Jeep Wranglers and Mercedes G-Class, spare tire mounts bolt directly to the spare tire for convenient access.