Best bike racks for cars and trucks 2024: tow bar and roof rack models reviewed

Among the many joys of owning a bicycle is its ability to help you explore new places - and one of the best bike racks for cars will help you to get further afield for your cycling.

We've tested models from all the most popular types of bike racks, seeing how easy they are to set up and use. There are a range of different places where they mount and different methods to fix your bike to them and different models can carry differing numbers of bikes as well.

Rear racks are popular as they don't require additional equipment. Essentially you just clip them on the boot or trunk of your car and off you go. However, as you'll see from our reviews it's not always quite as straightforward as that.

Roof racks attach to roof bars (unless you opt for the Seasucker brand). This means some added cost if your car doesn't currently have them fitted. Likewise towpoint mounted racks connect to a towbar or towball. Unlike roof bars these will need to be fitted by a garage, which again means additional expenditure.

We reckon that the Seasucker is the best rack system, unless you have a lot of bikes to carry or find lifting your bike onto your car's roof difficult. It's simple to put on and off your vehicle, low profile and easy to store when not in use. There are models to fit up to three bikes, although you'll need to pay extra to lock your bikes to your car.

We'll get into how to choose the best car bike rack for your needs and some of the benefits and potential pitfalls of all three types of racks at the end of this guide. Bur first here are our picks of the bunch. Let’s rack ’em up.

Our pick of the best bike racks for cars

Tow bar bike racks

The Yakima StageTwo takes a classic rack design and elevates it. Not only is it very robust, but everything about it works quickly and easily. The rack is very sturdy when mounted on a vehicle and the hitch on and off procedure is straightforward and tool-free. 

The handle to raise and lower the rack between vertical (empty) and horizontal (full of bikes) is both well-located and easy to operate. Locks are included, and a variety of other accessories are available separately. At nearly 70 lbs, it may be too large and heavy for some people to store though, and the design takes up a lot of space on the vehicle as well.

Read more: Yakima StageTwo bike rack full review

1UP’s reputation and almost cult-like following, especially among off-road cyclists, is deserved. The 2-Inch Super Duty Double hitch rack stands out for its ease of loading, robust construction and durability. 

There’s barely any plastic in sight: there’s an aluminum base, stainless steel hardware, anodized finishes to prevent rust and corrosion; every part is bolted on and replaceable. 

Durable construction aside, the genius of the 1UP racks lies in their simplicity. The tray system relies on two spring-loaded arms and a ratcheting mechanism to secure the bike’s wheels in place instead of the frame. No straps, no frame clamps, no hassle.

This rack will likely last you until your final riding days, and its modular design will allow the rack to adapt with you as your needs change. It’s only the rack’s cumbersome tilt-release that's holding it back.

Read more: 1UP USA's Super Duty Double hitch rack - full review

Thule’s attention to detail comes through in many ways while utilizing this hitch mounted rack. It works with a wide range of bicycle types and sizes, and, even more impressively, folds up into a very compact footprint for storage. 

This design works with a wide variety of bike sizes and shapes including those with fenders—a rarity for hitch mounted racks. The rack also tips down with bikes installed for trunk access via an easily accessed tilt pedal.

Also worth noting: there are lots of accessories available from Thule to customize the rack to your needs, such as a ramp for loading heavy bikes. 

The price is high, but locks and lights are included, as is a license plate holder. Its only significant shortcoming, other than expense, is the fact that it doesn’t pivot out of the way vertically while mounted on a vehicle.

Read more: Thule Epos 2 with Lights bike rack full review

The Saris Freedom 2-Bike rack is an entry-level rack that works reasonably well for its intended purpose. Its simple design and lightweight frame make it easy to load on and off a vehicle as well as store when not being used. 

The combination of dual wheel hold down straps with a central fixture point means that the bike has no room to wiggle around. And because the wheels are attached from below, this design works well with bikes with fenders attached.

I do have concerns about its long term robustness, however, and the straps are frustrating to use. That said, it’s relatively inexpensive and is manufactured in the USA.

Read more: Saris Freedom 2-Bike bike rack full review

The Thule Easyfold XT2 is easy by name and easy by nature. It comes ready to fit out of the box. That means no pre-assembly, which means not having to faff about with bolt, straps and allen keys!

The rack weighs 17.9kgs but we found that the built-in carrying handle is well-placed resulting in a perfectly balanced product that's easy to carry to the car and lift onto the tow hitch. It means that fitting the Thule Easyfold is a genuine one-person job in our experience. 

The XT2 only carries two bikes. However the combined maximum carrying weight is 60kg, which means that it's a rack that can comfortably handle the extra weight of an e-bike. There's an optional bike ramp available to make the loading and unloading of heavy bikes easier as well as a carry bag that's useful when storing the rack. However, both come at additional cost.

Even without the added extras, the Thule Easyfold XT2 is an expensive option, especially when you consider its two-bike capacity. But you get what you pay for, and the XT2 is a well-made with a considered design. The result is a robust rack that we found easy to fit. Once removed it packs away neatly too.

Read more: Thule Easyfold XT2 tow bar bike rack

The Advanced 4 bike tow bar rack is a heavy duty item. Weighing in at almost 20kgs it's certainly robust but it does mean that it's not the easiest to fit. We tried it on our own and concluded that it's a two-person job! Halfords does offer an installation service - however it's likely that you'll have to remove and refit the rack again at some point.

We also found the fitting to be a tad fiddly. The mechanism that secures the rack to the tow bar requires several stages and it's hard going if you're attempting this alone. The lightboard also needs fitting as it's not integrated into the rack. This is done using cable ties but the fact they'll need to be cut and replaced each time you use the rack is a mark against the Advanced.

When set-up the rack will hold four bikes, with a maximum weight of 15kg per bike. This is somewhat limiting if you're hoping to carry an e-bike. Equally the maximum wheelbase length of 109cm rules out many contemporary mountain bikes - however the majority of road and gravel bikes will be fine as should all children's bikes.

The rack does come with a cable lock although we were left unconvinced that it would be sufficiently strong to do the job if you were planning on leaving the bikes unattended. 

Removal is pretty straightforward, although you still have the weight factor involved here. However, once removed it folds up nicely and can be stored away in the garage or hallway without taking up too much space.

Read more: Halfords Advanced 4 bike tow bar bike rack full review

Roof bike racks

SeaSucker shocked the cycling world when it arrived with its suction operated bike racks - doing away with nuts, bolts and fixtures. We were sceptical, too - until we had one in to review, to great success. 

The large suction cups use the same system as used to carry glass panes around and to scale office blocks to clean the windows. In neither case do you want them to fail, so you can be pretty confident that your bike will stay put on your car roof.

Fitting was as easy as a simple pump action, and even with exuberant driving there was no sign of any undue movement. The cups are easy to remove too, making the Seasucker rack much faster than a system using nuts and bolts to install and take off your bike. 

The rack weighs just 2.12kg in total, making it a highly convenient, easy to store option and it habdles both quick releases and thru-axle bikes.

Read more: SeaSucker Talon QR-1 roof rack full review

The Peruzzo Lucky 2 bike rack is an affordable roof mounted carrier designed to hold one bike. 

As you'd expect at this lower price point there's no capacity to lock the bike and it requires you to have roof bars installed on your car. However a locking knob is available as an additional accessory.

All Peruzzo bike racks are made in Italy. 

Boot / trunk bike racks

Arriving fully assembled, this option offers a construction free solution - but it is essential that the six supporting straps are well applied to prevent the rack from wobbling. On test, we found that as long as we could give the rack a good grip on a solid bit of the car, the rack and its load stayed movement free and up to three bikes can be transported.

The car's paintwork is protected by rubber tabs and the rack is designed to fold neatly into the boot when not in use.

Saris makes cool bike racks, and this is no exception. It takes a bit of preparation to get the 'bones' shaped right to fit your car — the rack’s legs and arms have to be completely removed and then refitted at the correct angle — but that means it is adaptable to a great range of rear ends. 

The Bones comes with everything you need — such as bike-retaining straps. As denoted by the name, Saris also makes similar racks for one and three bikes.

Bike racks for cars summary table

Buyer's guide to how to choose the best bike rack for cars

How we test

Cycling Weekly's team of specialist testers understand the bike market inside out and has tested and rated a huge number of bikes, components, clothing and accessory options.

We've cyclists like you first and foremost, so we know what works and what doesn't work so well. Travelling to events, races and to produce our exclusive written and video content is part of the job, so the best bike racks for cars are an essential item to get us and our bikes where we need to be.