The Yakima DoubleDown 2-Bike Hitch Mount Rack is most likely the first and last bike rack I will ever own. When the box arrived at my door, it was stamped with Yakima’s “Love it till you leave it” guarantee. Right out of the box, it was simple to assemble with easy to follow directions in both English and Spanish – and as I found out later, you can also download the assembly instructions via PDF document (in case they are misplaced) on Yakima’s Web site. The tongue adapter allows you to connect the bike rack to a 2 inch receiver/hitch, but since I have a smaller, 1.25 inch mount, all I had to do was remove one screw to slide off the hard-shell outer casing. From assembly to mounting, it took me just over 20 minutes to get it all done. The best part, when bikes aren’t attached, is that I can release a locking pin to access the rear hatchback door of my Ford Escape SUV. Also, the supportive upper arm folds down when the rack is not in use.

The only reason I did not give this product the full five star rating is because although the unit is secure, it’s just a little top heavy when it is attached to the vehicle but not carrying any bikes. Finally, the DoubleDown 2-Bike Hitch Mount Rack is meant to support two bikes at a time – more realistically at all times. With two bikes on the rack, it prevents excess sway of the front handlebars and bike tires. Since I only have my bike to support, I have fixed this problem by purchasing a couple of nylon elastic stretch bands to help prevent this swaying motion. This has worked well. With two bikes on the rack, however, I don’t believe I would have this issue.

To end on a positive note, as long as you have it mounted correctly and tightly, the rack with bike(s) attached handles well at highway speeds in excess of 70MPH. Overall this is a great product that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a fairly priced hitch mount that is built to last.

I bought this hitch mounted bike rack to fit a medium frame mountain bike and an extra small frame mountain bike. Overall it feels like a solid built rack, however it seems quite small for two bikes. When my 2 bikes are mounted, I have to fiddle around with them to get both of them to fit. I did manage to get both on, but peddles are touching and handle bars through the the other bikes spokes. I tried and there really is no other way for me to mount these bikes.

If I had to do it over again, I would buy the 3 or 4 bike rack, just for the extra room. Also, I bought a master brand hitch locking pin, that does not work with this rack because the hole is threaded. I assume you have to buy the Yakima branded lock with is $15 more than I paid.

This is a solid built hitch mounted rack, I just wish I bought a bigger sized one for the extra room as 2 bikes are really tight on this rack. Check out the Saris Thelma before you buy this one, wish I had.

The set-up is easy and I wanted a sturdy mount for my bike. My only complaint is that I’m a girl and 5’0″ so I have to really use my strength to pull and strap the bike. Also, the rack mounts to the hitch with a screw bolt and you have to carry a wrench to screw/unscrew the rack. Very stable and I don’t feel like I have to worry about my bike moving around.