Hitch and Bike Rack Recommendation for a 2012 Honda CRV

Question:

Hello- I would like to buy a bike rack for my mommy-style huffy and two kids bikes a 12inch and a 16....and perhaps space for my husband to bring his bike? I have a yakima bike rack because I used to have a sedan, but think it wont work? My car has a rear camera and I am anxious about blocking that soooo ...what do you suggest I get OR how can I use the one I have? I have a 2012 Honda-Cr-V it is the L edition

asked by: Yasmene

Expert Reply:

Nearly any bike rack will work with a womans or childs framed bike. However, an adapter bar like the Yakima Tube Top Bike Adapter Bar # Y02531 may be necessary to allow the bike to attach to the rack. This product will provide a horizontal top tube that will allow the bike to be carried on a hanging style rack in a level manner. What this adapter does is connect from the seat post of the bike to the steering stem which is where the bike rack will attach to. Check out the video I attached to get a better idea how it works.

Will all that being said, a 12 inch bike frame will most likely be too small to fit on a bike rack regardless of whether or not an adapter is used. So that bike will need to be transported inside your 2012 Honda CRV.

Yakima has made several different bike racks over the years. If you could email me back with more information on the rack you have I would be able to tell you if it could work for you. If you are not sure how to describe it you could just email me a picture of it also.

Regardless of what rack you end up using it will probably hinder the viewing angle of the rear view camera on your vehicle. You will just need to be more aware of what is behind you when you have the rack installed.

I did check with Thule and they do not recommend any trunk mounted bike racks for your vehicle because there is not a safe place to install the lower strap. So your best option would be to get a hitch mounted bike rack. You might have a hitch already, but if not, you could get a Draw-Tite Trailer Hitch # 75742. This hitch has plenty of capacity and would work well to carry a bike rack.

Since you have 3 bikes now that could be carried by a rack, but since at some point the 12 inch frame bike you have will get out grown I would recommend you get a 4 bike rack. For that I would recommend you get a Swagman Titan 4 Bike Carrier # S63410. This rack has anti-sway cradles to help prevent contact between your bikes, a built in cable lock, anti-rattle hitch pin and a tilting feature to allow access to the cargo area of your vehicle.