Kuat Racks NV Base 2.0 Bike Rack

My son had purchased this rack from his local bike shop in Buda, TX. I fell in love with the rack and had to have one for myself. I picked one up on Amazon and the shipping was very fast. Assembly was straight forward and really easy. Literally 5 bolts. I put it on the tailgate of my truck with a beach towel underneath to protect. This kept me off the ground and it was a pretty good height. There is absolutely no rattle of wiggle once you tighten the cam that takes up the hitch slack. If you have decent bikes, don’t skimp on your hitch! This rack also looks really nice on the back of my black Tacoma and my wife’s white Porsche Cayenne. The lock feature is also nice. It locks at the hitch and the pull out cables for the bikes is a nice touch. They can be cut by a good pair of bolt cutters but will slow down the average person looking to swipe a bike. If you’re on the fence, jump down and get this rack!

Love this bike rack and am very glad I bought it. It looks sleek and functions beautifully. I can't quote on the installation but I think it was easy. I had a hitch put on and they put the bike rack on and I leave it on. Great addition to some summer fun for biking. Pretty darn flush for a bike rack.

Had a Yakima OnRamp and could not get my eBike to ride up the ramp safely and it wobbled a bit while driving. I found it easier to move bike alongside rack, hold back brake and pull up front wheel. Put that wheel into rack holder then lift the back wheel onto rack. Cuts the eBikes weight in half thus no need for ramp. Also, with a ramp, you need 12ft or so on EITHER side of vehicle to load bike. The ramp is not practical for me. The cable lock on this rack is kinda funky and getting it locked and opening up the weatherproof cap on the lock is not easy. I will likely use my own cable/lock. Also, this rack does NOT have a welded ring or something to attach a lock cable to. The only way to lock a bike to the rack is to lock the racks cable into a loop and pass your own cable thru that loop. Going down road, this rack does not bounce, the bolts/fittings etc. are very close tolerance. I also found you do not use/need a threaded rod that goes thru hitch. All you need is a 5/8" pin with a lock on the end. The rack has a knob that takes out any slop in the hitch. I have checked the tightness a few times after driving a bit and sometimes I can put back another 1/8 turn but no more. It stays quick snug. Assembly was very quick and simple but the instructions could be improved. Why not give install details about end caps ? I had to take the rack all apart just to get the end-cap inserted properly. Then the wrench/tool. I don't recall any guidance on how to store that tool on the rack. Overall very strongly recommended.

Lets get the bad out of the way firstly.. It's very difficult to put together and I'm pretty good at putting things together. They give you a barcode that you are suppose to take a photo of with your phone which leads you to a video that instructs you how to put it together. There is not a lot of pieces to put together but the thing is awkward because of the way the middle hitch is elevated.. Basically there is a left and right side for the wheels that have to be bolted together that connect to the middle hitch and without something the exact height to elevate the wheel shafts to the holes are a real chore to line up. It's seriously difficult and will take most people around 45 minutes to an hour. It's super frustrating I'm not going to lie.. Also the kick lever to raise and and lower the bike rack has no indicator how it's supposed to face or go on.. If you can't find the video, or no device to help you it's impossible because it can only be screwed in one way to work properly although the rack will accept it mounted in other configurations as well but none of those work.. I ended up finding a video on youtube of some dude putting it on his car and watched how his was angled..Okay, now the good- The bike rack is stunning looking and solid as a ROCK.. It doesn't move at all and can fit my two 29er beastly road bikes with ease.. The bike lock system is genius and the hitch lock is industrial grade. I couldn't ask for anything more out of a bike rack quite honestly.. Previously I owned a kuat sherpa 1.0 and that thing is a toy compared to the NV 2.0.

Solid and secure, no more bouncing around like cheaper options.

great price, great quality. You can tell when something is high quality or not and as soon as I opening this bike rack up and started putting it together, I knew it was built well. Works great, no bouncing thanks to the adjustable hitch tightener.

Sturdy and very well engineered. Everything on the bike rack is very well thought out. We use it to carry our 2 Evelo delta x's and they weigh about 60 lbs each with the battery off. It handles them very well. There is near zero wobble and putting bikes on and off is super easy and very quick. My bikes have fenders and that is no problem for the rack. I just clamp down as close the fender as possible and I dont over tighten the clamps down. They work great. The integrated cable lock works great for us to run in a restaurant and grab a bite to eat and we worry less. Its not a chain but if you park in a decent spot where the vehicle is secure I would not worry about someone grabbing them. Even Evelo recommends this rack for their ebikes.

This is a great bike rack. Very strong and stable. Weight limit 60lbs each bike but mine weigh 66 each and no problem for this rack. Only thing I don't like is the locking feature. It's just cables that can be easily cut with a bolt cutter or grinder. Would be so much better if the main arm locked in position. Also you really need ramp to load heavy bikes which is sold separately