In search of the best hitch-mount bike rack for R1S

[J-Flo]

I have used a Kuat NV 4-bike rack for a decade. It‘s been a great rack, but the tailgate on my R1S hits the empty rack in flat position (unlike my old Land Cruiser), I don’t like how it blocks the reverse camera, and besides the old rack is beat up and needs replacing.

I like to leave the rack on most of the time, so it’s important to me to be able to put the rack in flat position with no bikes then open the hatch and tailgate to load/unload. This worked on the NV and I could stand between two of the bike support trays to access the back of the vehicle (which wouldn’t work with the rack in the lowest position).

I’ve considered most of the options out there and they all seem to have some drawbacks, except perhaps the QuickrStuff Quick Rack https://quikrstuff.com/.

This seems to be a new-improved refresh of the 1Up rack (it’s designed by the inventor of the 1Up rack) that is US-made and solves some of the 1Up’s issues. Main drawbacks seem to be that it’s expensive and relatively heavy. Does anyone have a Quickrstuff Rack? If so, please share impressions and fitment pics!

I like the Quickrstuff design because I think it won‘t block all of the rear camera, it has all the advantages of the 1Up, and it’s super-easy to add/remove the extra bike add-ons (which I will only need occasionally) via a tool-free process that takes less than 60 seconds. But they are a new company, require payment two months before delivery (they’ve had a slow and painful start up process), and I don’t want to drop over $2k on this rack unless I‘m sure.

I know that most racks can fit with a swingaway add-on option, but having used that in the past I don’t like it due to the extra weight and length/floppies it adds to the system. I am going to leave the two-bike attachment on the truck most of the time so need this to be a compact system that doesn’t interfere much with city parking.

Now that the 1Up patent has expired there are many racks hitting the market that use the same excellent concept, grabbing only the front and rear tires to hold the bike down on a tray. RockyMounts and Yakima to name a few (the RockyMounts one looks very good) but none of them seems like it would fit the way I want. Kuat Piston also looks like a great rack but it’s going to block my camera, removing/installing extra trays will more of a project, it will be even more expensive than the Quickrstuff, and there’s no room to stand between bike trays.

i might just get a 1Up but those are a pain to operate with 4 bikes and the ratcheting system is a bit clunky (we’ve had two of them in the family). Thoughts?

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[khenry]

I'm generally happy with my 1UP, but with anything there are pros (easily change between 2, 3 or 4 bike setup, fits all bike/tire sizes, very durable, made in Wisconsin, etc.) and cons (requires hitch extender on R1T, minor maintenance to keep parts moving freely). I'm able to open the tailgate with the rack swung down. I've been using a tailgate pad the last few months, but my rack almost never left the truck for the first 18 months.

 

[twizzstyle]

I have a 1up for hauling two bikes. It’s the only hitch mounted rack I have ever used, so my input doesn’t mean much. But it is rock solid even with my 70lb e-bike.

I have a 4” drop hitch adapter so I can open the tailgate and not risk it hitting the bike rack. Not sure how the R1S tailgate compares.

 

[Redmond Chad]

I have a Quikrstuff Quik Rack Mach 2. Details:

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...e-e-bikes-with-their-rivian.15744/post-346154

 

[Gee Bee]

One up also as I have few hpc Rev XX bikes
If you need range and speed , then hpc will build to your spec if you have coin .

I use a extender and with 3” drop

 

[Jakelake]

I have the 1 Up that I move from my Sprinter van to the R1T when I'm on a long trip. The 1 Up has 2 trays and one of them I have set up to carry my Fat Tire electric bike the other carries my Mountain bike. I also use the Rack Attach so I can swing everything to the side when needed. When riding local I use the Rivian tailgate pad.

 

[mzdds]

Kuat Piston Pro X. I had the NV and I sold it as the handlebars would touch the tailgate top.

 

[J-Flo]

I have a Quikrstuff Quik Rack Mach 2. Details:

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...e-e-bikes-with-their-rivian.15744/post-346154

Thanks Redmond Chad! Somehow the search function didn’t find your helpful post. Looks like a nearly perfect though tight fit, but I would think the handlebar on a MTB might hit the hatch. One question: are you able to get the hitch pin on the Quickrstuff Mach 2 to fit through the hole on the Rivian receiver and the hole on the rack, or does the rack not insert this far? (this detail is necessary to figure out whether I can mount an MTB with medium-wide 740-760 bars in the first bike position).

Kuat Piston Pro X. I had the NV and I sold it as the handlebars would touch the tailgate top.

Thanks mzdds. I take it you can safely open the tailgate with the rack in flat position? Is it quick and easy or a minor project to add/remove additional bike trays on that rack?

it looks from the Kuat specs as though the Piston Pro X extends about an inch more out from the receiver than the regular Piston Pro or NV 2.0. That may be the key to a good fit.

Unfortunately the rack makers don’t make this easy on line, as they all provide different measurements with their specs, and I don’t want to use any hitch extenders or lowering mods (would be a problem on my driveway).

 

[mzdds]

Thanks Redmond Chad! Somehow the search function didn’t find your helpful post. Looks like a nearly perfect though tight fit, but I would think the handlebar on a MTB might hit the hatch. One question: are you able to get the hitch pin on the Quickrstuff Mach 2 to fit through the hole on the Rivian receiver and the hole on the rack, or does the rack not insert this far? (this detail is necessary to figure out whether I can mount an MTB with medium-wide 740-760 bars in the first bike position).



Thanks mzdds. I take it you can safely open the tailgate with the rack in flat position? Is it quick and easy or a minor project to add/remove additional bike trays on that rack?

it looks from the Kuat specs as though the Piston Pro X extends about an inch more out from the receiver than the regular Piston Pro or NV 2.0. That may be the key to a good fit.

Unfortunately the rack makers don’t make this easy on line, as they all provide different measurements with their specs, and I don’t want to use any hitch extenders or lowering mods (would be a problem on my driveway).

Absolutely. Once the rack is in a horizontal position, you can open the the split tailgate. It does extend more than the NV 2.0. The gap between the bumper and the rack when you have the rack in the vertical position is about an inch. I have a Kuat HiLo extender that I don't use anymore. I just load 2 29ers on it. I just bought the 2 bike add-on, but don't have a need to use it yet.

 

[JackRussellRacing]

1UP USA

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[Tango45]

I know you said you had tried some of the swing-away options and didn't like the flopiness, but I've found the Kuat Pivot to be tight as a drum and allows for the tailgate to go down without interference. There is no more flop than just the Kuat NV in its 2-bike config.

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...els-tailor-made-for-the-r1s.12813/post-291363

 

[Redmond Chad]

Thanks Redmond Chad! Somehow the search function didn’t find your helpful post. Looks like a nearly perfect though tight fit, but I would think the handlebar on a MTB might hit the hatch. One question: are you able to get the hitch pin on the Quickrstuff Mach 2 to fit through the hole on the Rivian receiver and the hole on the rack, or does the rack not insert this far? (this detail is necessary to figure out whether I can mount an MTB with medium-wide 740-760 bars in the first bike position).

The captive pin of the Mach2 does indeed fit into the hole in the Rivian receiver when the rack is pushed all of the way in.

(However, the Mach2's pin is not designed to go all the way in to the hole in the rack; it just goes in to the receiver to make sure the rack can't slip backwards. As you can see in the following image from their web site - the pin stops short of the rack. The rack hole does line up with the receiver hole though, so you can remove Quikr's captive pin and use a hitch pin if you prefer).

Ugh, this picture is terrible. But if I had taken it from the correct angle, you would see that my handlebars are 7.5" above the part of the hatch that sticks out the farthest. I've raised my the bars on my medium-sized 2022 Specialized Vado 5.0 IGH (specs HERE; but ignore stem and handlebar specs as I've changed those) about 4", so I would imagine the bars of most mountain bikes would still be higher than the hatch.

Again this is a bad angle, but it looks to me like my 27.5" bars are still 2" away from the hatch. A 760mm bar is 30", so would stick out 1.25" farther than my bars. That's only 0.75" from the car, but again only if your bars are 7.5" lower than mine.

(Sanity check measurement: there is 45.5" from the ground - or the Quikr rack - to my handlebars. Road bike handlebars will be a lot lower, but are typically a lot narrower as well. I tried my wife's road bike once and it was nowhere near the car)

 

[SPITmadFIRE]

I'm a huge fan of the Kuat Pivot paired with a Kuat rack. On my Bronco (where the tailgate swings out to the side like a door) it was absolutely necessary to have the pivot for both the spacing and swing-away functionality. There's zero play between the Pivot and the rack, they're both a snug fit and the locking pins are pretty strong, too. They didn't even snap when I was rear ended at about 30mph ?

Here's what my Kuat Pivot + Kuat NV 2.0 looked like on the back, but for my R1S I'm leaning towards a Kuat Pivot + Kuat Piston Pro X to ensure the brake lights are always visible.

 

[chrismc]

I have the Kuat NV 2.0 with the Pivot on my R1T. It’s great, but it sticks out further than necessary due to the design. If I were to purchase today, I’d go with the Rockymounts Afterparty (it didn’t exist yet at the time I bought).

**Edit** Disregard the Afterparty recommendation, I just realized it only holds 2 bikes and is not expandable which was a huge surprise!

 

[Tango45]

I'm a huge fan of the Kuat Pivot paired with a Kuat rack. On my Bronco (where the tailgate swings out to the side like a door) it was absolutely necessary to have the pivot for both the spacing and swing-away functionality. There's zero play between the Pivot and the rack, they're both a snug fit and the locking pins are pretty strong, too. They didn't even snap when I was rear ended at about 30mph ?

Here's what my Kuat Pivot + Kuat NV 2.0 looked like on the back, but for my R1S I'm leaning towards a Kuat Pivot + Kuat Piston Pro X to ensure the brake lights are always visible.

You can also look into the Kody light add-on for the Kuat NV (Kuat actually emailed me about this product). It was easy to install and I got the shortest wire length so I can use an extension cable depending if I'm going 2-bikes straight into the receiver or 4-bikes with the Pivot, or something in between.

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...els-tailor-made-for-the-r1s.12813/post-437794

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