Can Just 1 Bike be Loaded in Last Position on the Swagman XTC Bike Rack

Question:

I am a short 5foot 2inch female with not a lot of upper body strength. I am concerned about lifting the bike high enough to use the bike mount closest to the car. Is it ok to mount one bike on the outer mount only? i am confident I can lift the bike into the furthest out mount but not sure of the difficulty of the inner mount. I want to use this bike mount for only one bike.

asked by: Sue T

Expert Reply:

Ideally you would put the bike in the position closest to the vehicle for hitch mount bike racks such as # S64670. Having the bike in the second position without another bike loaded will make the rack more unstable in the hitch.

What I recommend for this rack is to first fold the center arm down. Then put the bike in the furthest position back. Then you could lift one end at a time into the closest position, hold the bike, and put the center arm back up.

Another option is a different kind of platform rack such as the Kuat Transfer # KU74FR. This rack has a U-shaped allowing you to walk in further to load the bike in the first position.

expert reply by: Michael H