Yakima RidgeBack Bike Rack for 4 Bikes - 1-1/4" and 2" Hitches - Tilting

Check out my other review on the hidden hitch for a 2015 BMW 4 Series for the majority of the review, but this thing is great. Easy setup and install, does all the things it's supposed to do. Mounting and removing bikes is a snap with the included clips (big difference from some of the cheaper variants with nylon ratchet straps). Fits very snugly in my 2" receiver, and pretty solid on the highway and over bumpy roads.1311959

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Ryan

12/20/2023

One year update - still working just fine BUUUUUT if anyone at Yakima is listening, the red, dorito-shaped tensioner is utter crap. Its nearly impossible to get a good grip on to fully tightenloosen. And you may as well peel off the stickers the day it arrives, since like the other reviews have said they remove themselves in a month or two of use. Other than that, this rack still works great. Took it on a 1500 mile road trip last summer and held up very well.

Mike L.

12/20/2023

@Ryan Do you have some channel lock pliers? Those might be a good option so you can get a better grip on that tensioning knob. We will certainly pass that along to Yakima.

First trip with 3 bikes. Nary a wobble. The anti-sway strips appear to make a big difference.1307000

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Michael E.

6/2/2023

I like everything about it, except: the rack get slightly looser in the hitch every time I use it, and I am constantly re-tightening it.

by: Luis 07/20/2023

The rack itself is fantastic. Not too heavy, easy to attach to hitch, and very easy setup. The only real downside is if your bicycles don't have a standard frame, you'll need to buy the Yakima Tube Top Bike Adapter Bars (~$50 each) in order to be able to mount them on the rack. I will say that smaller bikes (for my 9 year old) can be a challenge to mount with larger bikes as you'll need to finagle the handle bars and such to get them to line up but once you do it a few times you figure it out.1627710

Shopped around for different bike racks at different places locally and online. Prices varied quite a bit. I decided to check Etrailer because I have ordered from them before, they have a great selection and their prices are fair and quite often, as low as any you'll find. In this instance, their price was the lowest and they offered free shipping. And for a bike rack, shipping costs are not insignificant. This Yakima RidgeBack4 turned out to be a good choice and I have been extremely satisfied with it. I also purchased the HandCuff Bike Lock as an accessory and it was easy to install on the rack. I would without question recommend Etrailer for your next purchase.152901

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Product arrived in good condition. A little hard to figure out how to adapt it to a 1-1/4 inch hitch, but eventually I figured it out. So far it is sturdy and seems good. Will be taking it out on my first ride soon.1739583

by: Daniel 07/17/2022

Fantastic unit! Only 4 stars because the Yakima sticker continues to peel away and require reapplication to every couple of months. Get 3 months in between if I use a heat gun. Other than that this is trouble free and works great with both 1.25” hitches and 2” hauling 2 adult road bikes and two kid mountain bikes with ease.1331253

Daniel

7/18/2023

Overall holding up well. Occasionally the runner bike post pads pull-away too much and require refitting. Also, the vinyl graphic in some places wants to pull away requiring the occasional heat gun to lay flat again. A year later 910 for the product bring a flexible, strong, and easy to use. I switch it between a 1.25” and 2” hitch on two cars several times a year hauling 2-4 bikes at a time. Love that!

It’s relatively heavy but super easy to install and use. No rattles from hitch or bike areas. Red Yakima stickers on the vertical beam are low quality, not firmly attached, and I expect them to peal off. Otherwise, very happy with the rack.1111694

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I am so impressed with this product. It is my second bike rack. Only reason I had to buy a new one with someone rammed into the back of my car and caused damage.1393418

Debra

9/6/2023

It has been a year since purchasing my Yakima bike rack and I am still loving it. Built well and works well.

Mike L.

10/28/2023

@Debra Awesome, we're glad your Yakima # Y02458 RidgeBack bike rack is working well for you!

So far all is good. Easy assembly out of the box. Customer support from strainer is terrific. Had a question on modifying the adaptar to fit 1.25 hitch and they answered a call immediately. Product is sturdy. Looks great. And is very easy to operate. Highly recommend938147

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by: Bryan07/27/2022

Good - will hold 4 bikes. the tie downs are easy enough to use. The folding portion helps to get it out of the way when opening the tailgate.

Bad - after 10,000+ miles with 4 bikes the portion that hooks to the hitch bent under the weight. Kids bikes are heavy but it should have stronger material. Don't expect to take it on and off as the multi-size hitch is a pain to use on larger carriers. Getting women's bikes on are difficult. Had to flip it upside down to get it to fit.

Descent overall. most of it is built sturdy. I've seen a lot worse for same or more money. I'll likely cut off the bent portion and weld on a new larger receiver hitch that won't bend.1340080

Jenny N.

8/9/2022

You mentioned that the shank of the bike rack had bent and I would like to ask you some questions. How heavy would you say that the bikes are? What type of vehicle are you using the rack on? Would you be able to send a picture of the bend? There is a possibility that the shank could be covered under warranty - I would recommend not welding on a larger receiver to it. It would void the warranty on the rack.

Bryan

8/9/2022

Used it on a suburban. A mix of bikes. One kids bike9 year old, One trek mountain bike, One roadlight trail bike, one more cheaper mountain bike probably the heaviest a no-name off the shelf bike Not high end super light bikes. Regular run of the mill stuff. Ran 2 8,000 mile RV trips with the Suburban as a tow vehicle and bikes on the back of it. Rack is currently at my shop. Not here. Can get a photo for you later. I haven’t had time to get to it yet

Jenny N.

8/9/2022

I would like to see the pictures when you have a chance as I would like to reach out to Yakima about the rack.

The bike rack was received very quickly and is good. I have a 1.25" receiver and it fits very well. The rack does not hold my grandson's trek bike though... I think that I may need an adapter to transport his bike.1637266

by: Larry 07/27/2022

Excellent product. Put it on the hitch, loaded 2 bikes, and took a 3000+ mile trip from Illinois to Idaho. Absolutely no problems. I recommend this but, as others state, am not sure how 4 bikes would fit.1339637

Larry

7/28/2023

Still no problems with this product.

Fits great, easy to install, fits my 2018 Wrangler with 35" spare mounted on back. Still can't access cargo area, but I assumed that going in.1099242

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by: Bryan G.09/12/2020

I have the Yakima fullback trunk bike rack and it was really good for my Honda Civic. Now when I traded in the rhe civic for an MDX i need a hitch trailer and a new bike rack. Luckily I find both in etrailer and ordered them. I’ve been using them for a year now and so far it was good. I only use two bikes for this rack so far. I made a mistake because I didnt know there was a full version of this similar to my other trunk bike that comes with built-in security cable. Next time i have to do more research. But dont get me wrong. This is a good tilt bike rack too. Check out the yakima swing arm also.878054

Bryan G.

9/15/2021

I’ve been using it more and most of the time it is installed on my SUV. Also, I bought a locking cable accessory also from Yakima to lock my bikes. So far the bike rack is working good and I have spray some WD40 lubricant to the hinges as a maintenance and keep it on top shape.

got the bike rack super fast. Had a ton of questions beforehand and etrailer staff were very responsive. The bike rack seems durable and does fit tightly in the hitch. My only concern is the obvious swaying of the bikes when they are attached to the rack - i expected them to not sway as much. We take it on our long bike trip this weekend so we will see what happens. Love that it locks into the hitch227525

Julie G.

9/29/2016

Thanks for checking in. Still love it. Just wish that kid bikes fit better on it.

This is a great bicycle rack that is well built.

When I received the rack, the box was damaged from shipping and the lock keys were missing. I contacted the staff at etrailer and they were incredibly quick to provide a solution. Awesome customer service! Will gladly do business with etrailer again.1616158

by: SD Resdident08/07/2023

Great product. Very easy to add and remove it from vehicle which is a huge advantage for me. Great service from store for all the questions I had.1640635

by: Pete B05/11/2017

I bought a 2015 Subaru Outback and had a Subaru factory installed 1-1/4 hitch added to my purchase. I did not know at the time that Subaru designed the hitch to fit basically only their branded products.

I went to several bike stores trying to find a 4 bike hitch supported by my Subaru. I even took some home and tried to get them to work and none did.

I went on the internet and googled some solutions that were either completely wrong or was a solution by some engineer who customized the bike rack.

Luckily I reached out to etrailer and spoke to their phone rep. He had heard about challenges with the Subaru hitch and recalled there were a couple of 4 bike hitches that would work. He said he would get back to me.

In about a 1/2 hour I got an email about the Yakima RidgeBack. I was hesitant because so many had failed but with the free return policy I gave it a shot.

I am not real mechanically inclined but in about an hour I figured out how to mount it on my Subaru (it takes less than 5 minutes now that I know how). I used the rack dozens of times, even hauling 4 bikes on it.

This is the second product I have bought from etrailer and could not be happier. They are fast, responsive to questions, and get it right.

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Pete B.

5/11/2018

The product is working out okay. The springs in two of the strap support mounts have broken. Though they still work its a bit of a hassle releasing the bike from the mount. Still really like the mount. Good solution to the limited amount of racks available to the 2015 Outback with factory installed hitch.

The Yakima Ridgeback bike rack is a top quality rack. It's a very sturdy rack, easy to put on and use. The transaction was very smooth and easy. I placed the order late afternoon and received a notice a couple hours later with the shipping info.208933

Kevin T.

7/27/2016

I still love the rack. Its still holding up and working well. I have had bikers ask me where I got it and how much it was. I gave them your website so Im sure you may have sold some from my referral.

by: Caroline05/28/2021

We've been pretty happy with this rack. My main reason for giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is that it doesn't really fit 4 bikes. We usually can get 3 on it and even then, we have to take off at least one wheel but usually 2. Once our 2nd daughter has a bigger bike (that we cannot fit in the trunk), we won't have a way to transport all of our bikes.1048988

Sierra K.

6/8/2021

Thank you for your review. Make sure that you are loading your bikes opposite directions for an even ride. For the very best fit, use bike adapter bars for step through and childrens bikes. Measure the length between the bar that holds your handle bars and the bar that holds your bike seat. Whatever that measures, you can find an adjustable adapter within that length. We have a smaller and larger adapter here:

Helpful Links

dept-pg-Accessories_and_Parts-sf-Hitch_Bike_Racks-pt-Adapter_Bar.aspx

Caroline

5/29/2022

Great now that we bought adapter bars. These made all the difference! We still have to take off wheels to get all our bikes to fit, but we can make it work.

I was pretty disappointed with this rack from Yakima. Assembly was straightforward and the rack seems well made, but it did not meet my expectations as far as performance. I loaded up 2 bikes, a light road bike and a moderately heavy hybrid and drove for a few hours. The road bike flailed around on the rack despite being properly secured, and I ended up with scratches on the frame. For the drive home I switched locations of the bikes and tried to protect the road bike, but ended up with new scratches anyways.

I would NOT recommend this rack if you have a lightweight bike, are concerned about dinging your frame, or if you drive a sedan (maybe the airflow around an SUV would be less of an issue?). If you've got heavier bikes and you don't mind them taking a bit of a beating, this product is probably adequate.670545

Looks like a very good quality rack. Sturdy, very little movement, and no rattle at the hitch after tightening the hitch lock. 2 bikes (1 fat & 1 hybrid, 80 lbs total) went on easy, and tight hold-downs that also came off easy when I needed. Rotating hitch lock pulls a metal wedge inside the hitch to lock it in place pretty tight, and the partial hitch pin then secures it in place. This is a bit awkward relative to just securing with a full size RV hitch pin, but it's a tighter fit, and it includes the convenient lock, so a trade-off. I only have 2 bikes so no issue with loading 4 bikes, which would be tight. Both my bikes have angled cross-bars but loaded fine without adding tube top adapter. Tires easily clear the bumper and exhaust pipe of 2006 Pathfinder. Thanks to Linda H. for tube top research for my config, and modifying my order. Delivery to Dallas was 2 days after order was placed.1142134

by: Jay F05/08/2018

We could not be happier with our Yakima bike rack. Easy to use and handles our 2 bikes with ease. A bit heavy for my wife to attach, but we get it done no problems. Additionally etrailer was great to work with and their website is fantastic.505463

by: Chuck M09/21/2019

One year later and I am just as happy as I was the first time I used this bike rack. From roads bikes to my big fat tire bikes, this rack handles it all. Spending the few extra dollars to get this model has been worth every penny as I like being able to open my liftgate when the rack is on the car. I have recommended this rack to multiple people over the year and recommended etrailer due to the service I received. 706200

Ordered the Yakima bike race and lock. Yakima is easy to use and simple to install. The process was simple and efficient and everything arrived as expected. This is the second order from etrailer for me and I recommend ordering from them without reservation. Great service!166505