Bike Rack Similar to Kuat Piston Pro that Can be Used with Flat Towed Vehicle

Question:

I am in the market for a new bike rack and have a question regarding the Kuat Piston Pro X. KU98VR Why does the product listing for the rack say that it is not suitable for a flat towed vehicle application? It seems to me that the rack would be perfect for such an application with the integrated taillights. Please let me know. Thanks!

asked by: Brett

Expert Reply:

This is a really good question. So when a vehicle is being flat towed on the highway you'll notice that the vehicle tracks from side to side when as the steering corrects itself and then over corrects itself. It almost looks like someone is in the vehicle and just ever so slightly turning from left to right. This then ends up putting extra strain on a bike rack that is installed in the hitch as that creates additional stress that's not normally on the rack.

So the Kuat Piston Pro part # KU98VR is not rated for this additional stress but we do have racks that are like the Kuat NV 2.0 part # NV22B which is a similar platform Kuat rack that only touches the bikes by the tires. This rack does not have lights built into it but since it does not obstruct taillights we've found that this isn't an issue at all.

expert reply by: Jameson C