Do I need a Bike Adapter Bar to Mount a Womens or Childrens Bike on a Yakima King Joe Bike Rack

Question:

I am in the market for a trunk bike rack and I have narrowed my search down to Yakima. I intend to carry one adult men's mountain bike, one adult women's mountain bike and a kid's bike. I read a few online reviews and it sounds like I might need a tub top attachment to carry a women's mountain bike. Can you verify if a top tube would be required? Thanks

asked by: John

Expert Reply:

It is highly recommended to use a bike adapter bar if you are carrying any women's, children's or alternative framed bikes without the top horizontal cross tube. This is because most bike racks, like the Yakima HangOut 3 # Y02638, use the horizontal cross tube to mount the bikes to the bike rack. When a horizontal cross tube dips down, like with a women's bike, or is very short, like on a children's bike, mounting bikes to a bike rack can be difficult.

Using a bike adapter bar will not only make mounting the bikes easier, but allow the bikes to be mounted safely to the rack.

I recommend using the Swagman Bike Adapter Bar # 64005 to mount your women's and children's bikes to the Yakima Bike Rack. I attached a demonstration video of this bike adapter bar you may want to check out.

expert reply by: Sarah H