Hatchbacks are one of the common forms of vehicles. Small or big, any hatchback has the ability to carry at least two bikes with the help of a rack, securely. Nowadays, racks for hatchbacks are common but a lot of people don’t know the process to choose a rack for hatchbacks. We have covered that in this article. Also, we have reviewed 6 bike racks in this article for hatchbacks. The best of those racks is “BV Bike Carrier”. It’s a hitch type-platform style rack which is upgradeable and you can even access your hatch while the bike is loaded there.

7 Best Bike Racks You can Buy Today for the Hatchbacks

Bike Rack	Preview	Type	Rack Weight (lbs.)	Bike Load Capacity (lbs.)	Bike Capacity
BV Bike Carrier		Hitch Mount	37.5 & 80.1 lbs.	70 & 140 lbs.	2 and 4
Allen Sports Deluxe		Trunk Mount	7.5, 10, and 18 lbs.	70, 100, & 140 lbs.	2, 3, and 4
Saris Bones 2		Trunk Mount	8.82 lbs.	70 lbs.	2
RockyMounts BrassKnuckles		Roof Mount	18 lbs.	45 lbs.	1
Allen Sports Racks		Hitch Mount	23 lbs.	140 lbs.	4
YAKIMA: Hangover 6		Hitch Mount	73 lbs.	225 lbs.	6
YAKIMA - FrontLoader		Roof Mount	18 lbs.	40 lbs.	1

1. BV Bike Carrier: Best Hitch Rack

BV bike carrier is one of the well-known racks. It has some handy features like tilting, folding ability e.t.c. Two types of models are available that can carry respectively 2 and 4 bikes. Padded arms and safety reflectors are included in the rack to avoid scratch and night collision. Anti wobble design and three-point connection ensure bike’s safety from vibration and wobbling. The fact is, that design isn’t completely accurate. Driving in an unpaved way still degenerates vibration. Otherwise, this rack is a good one to use.

2. Allen Sports Deluxe Trunk: Best Trunk Bike Rack for the Money

The deluxe mount trunk rack by Allen Sports is available with 2,3 and 4 bike capacity model. It’s an affordable bike rack with a good portable design. The rack even supports other than regular bikes like a BMX or a women’s bike with the help of an adapter. The rack is well designed, its installation is very quick. Though there are some drawbacks, overall it’s good within the price range. Full capacity for a longer time on the rack might arise problems. But other features like road safety and stability are covered. It fits with most of the hatchback vehicles, sort of universal design. Overall it’s fantastic for casual use.

3. Saris Bones 2: Our Premium Choice Trunk Mount Rack

Sari bones 2 is the successor of Sari’s bones. Both racks are trunk-mounted rack. The bones are actually plastic injected-molded arms where bikes are hung. It has a strong frame and authentic design. The price is a little bit high. Its bike straps have an anti-sway feature that keeps the bike steady. The company provides a lifetime warranty. The protection measurement is good here. It will save your bike and vehicle from getting scratched. What is amazing is the weight of the rack. It’s super lightweight. But problems arise too due to this. The rack is overall a quality rack.

4. RockyMounts BrassKnuckles: Expensive Roof Rack Choice but Worth the Money

The Rocky mount brass knuckle is a roof mount rack. It carries just one bike but with the good weight capacity. It’s a hassle-free process with the bike loading as no frontal wheel removal is needed. This also keeps the vehicle and the bike scratch-free. It is foldable and compact. There is an option of lock core which is purchasable. The rack is compatible with all type of crossbars

5. Allen Sports Racks: Hanging Style Hitch Rack

Allen sport racks are affordable, have good capacity and fantastic for casual use.  Allen sports hitch racks are an economical choice for racks. This offers virtually all of the attributes a good rack should have. The only problem is sustainability in the long term. The rack is well suited for casual use. The rack itself weighs 24 lbs and has a full scale holding 140 lbs. It is a good rack overall.

6. YAKIMA: Hangover 6: Vertical Hitch Rack for Carrying 6 Bikes

Yakima is outstanding amongst other rack building company. Hangover 6 is one of their best worth rack with an incredible conveying limit. The Hangovers are vertically positioned designed rack. It is accessible in two models, 4 and 6 bicycle limit racks. The rack has worked for genuine and experts who concentrated on carrying trail/MTBs. It has a restricted scope of utilization however it does best what it was expected to do. Simply get your that circle with bikes for an MTB ride with this rack.

7. YAKIMA – FrontLoader: Our Another Roof Rack Choice

The Yakima constructed fantastic roof-mounted bike rack  Yakima Frontloader is suitable for Honda CR V. This rack fits single-bikes. It uses Zipstrip to lock the rear wheel. You can load the bike easily because wheel removal isn’t needed. Because of the universal design, it is compatible with most of the vehicles. And the company has another product which is 2 SKSS locks, which is a security upgrade for this rack.

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What are hatchbacks?

Most probably this is the common version of cars we see every day. The other common version is a sedan. The hatchbacks are those cars that have hatch type rear doors and after unlocking, it goes the upward direction. Well, now you can say most of the car’s hatch goes upwards after unlocking. So, the definition is a bit blurry here. Actually, it’s not just the door going upwards but there is a window attached to the hatch.

Hatchbacks are popular because these are economy class cars. There are luxury hatchbacks too. Most of the regular, average and economic car style is hatchback, in general. The hatchback, SUV, CUV, MPV; This all car style has one thing in common, the hatch door with a mounted window on that. These cars have an adequate number of passenger seats as well as a good area for cargos or things that we keep back of the cars.

So, the fact is this type of car can carry both people and cargo on a good scale. In this article, our focus will be on racks that can be carried by hatchbacks.

What kind of bike racks are supported by hatchbacks?

We already told that hatchbacks have a good cargo area. It’s not just inside the car but also outside the car too. But they are not usable like the inside area. The inside area of the car which exists behind the door is built in. While the outside areas aren’t. We need extra tools to make that usable for transporting objects. These extra tools are cargo racks. There are different types of rack for different purposes. As cargo types can vary. Like- luggage, bike, skis, kayaks e.t.c. There are racks for each of the cargo type and also there are multipurpose racks that can carry different types of cargos. Here for cargoes, our main concern is the bike. Different types of bike racks are available in the market for hatchbacks.

They are categorized into several types depends on the fitting area:

1. Trunk mounted
2. Hitch mounted
3. Roof-mounted

1. Trunk/Hatch mounted racks

This rack is installed on a car’s hatch/trunk/boot/rear door/dickie/compartment. The trunk is generally found at the back of a car. No extra screw is needed here for the installation of the rack. Just mechanical support and a few straps are enough. The material is either steel or aluminum. One is heavy and the other is lightweight. Certainly, The trunk type has its own advantage and disadvantages. Let’s see those:

Advantages

1. 1. Installation is very easy. After confirming the mechanical support you have to strap it tightly and securely with the hatch.
   2. The maximum carriage capacity is 4 bikes.
   3. Some of the models are foldable which is a great plus. Uninstalling those is easier like installation. They are easily detachable
   4. You won’t need additional parts or tools for installation.
   5. Trunk type racks are generally less costly than other rack types.
   6. The rack models are universal. That means this type of racks is generally built for all types of cars.
   7. Bike loading in this kind of racks is easy. Sometimes adapters are required for different types of bikes.
   8. This type of racks provide good ground clearance

Disadvantages

1. The bikes stay in a hanging position. So, naturally, they sway. Because of that, there is a chance of bike frame-rack contact, bike-vehicle contact, and contact between bikes themselves. Bike body may get damaged if the contact is rough between the body and rack or the bikes themselves. In the case of contact with the vehicle, you might need a new car paint there. Also, there might be a few scratches.
2. You can’t access your cargo frequently. Or accessing it will be troublesome. If you want to access the trunk then you have to detach the rack first along with unloading the bikes.
3. The bike’s weight puts a heavy toll on the rack if it is used for a long time. The rack arm may bend because of it. So, there is a probable chance of an accident if the arms bend and bikes fall from there during a journey.
4. The rack may get unstrapped from the vehicle because of the road vibration. It is also dangerous.

2. Hitch mounted racks

The most popular version of bicycle racks. The racks are attached to the receiving hitch of the car. As they will be being attached to a vehicle’s towing component, this type of racks are built strong, durable and with good carriage capacity. Hitch mount racks are generally for heavy performance. There are several hitch types. Like-

The hatchbacks fall in Class I to III categories. Generally, the rack is attached to the hitch with an adjustable knob. Here, for rack material, steel or aluminum is used. Now, there are 3 types of hitch-mounted rack

# Tray/Platform-style:

A platform or bike-tray is connected to the hitch. The bike can be loaded or unloaded easily here. You can store up to 2 to 4 bikes here. This style can be built with features like anti-sway and tilt. The anti-sway feature reduces swaying and tilting feature enables the user to access the hatch by tilting the rack a little.

# Mast/Hanging style:

Mast type hitch rack has arms where bikes can be hung. This type of rack also can carry up to 2 to 4 bikes. Sometime’s bikes need adapters to be hung here. It can be foldable and have tilting ability depending on its design. Hanging style racks are generally less expensive than other types.

# Vertical style:

This type of hitch rack is for storage purposes. They can store up to 6 bikes. The specialty is here you can save space by loading the bikes vertically. As bikes are loaded vertically and adjacently, there is a chance of contact due to vibration. Because of loading, a lot of bikes, these racks are made durable and stronger. It is expensive.

The common advantage and disadvantage of all hitch type racks are:

Advantages:

1. Installing the hitch isn’t troublesome. It is easy.
2. Loading and unloading bikes are simple and quick
3. The hitch type holds the maximum bike capacity among all other racks
4. Hatch accessing is possible due to the tilting feature of the racks
5. Multipurpose rack, which means can carry bikes as well as other cargos.

Disadvantages:

1. These type racks are built for performance. So, it is expensive.
   Swaying will happen because of road vibration. It can damage the bike body
2. The different hitch types have their own advantages, disadvantages, and features which hadn’t discussed here fully. But overall hitch types racks are for performance and they are expensive.

3. Roof-mounted racks

Common racks, people use them frequently for personal use. This type of rack is also multipurpose. The only fact here is, you need extra equipment to install it. Like crossbars/rails or flat tracks. Car roofs are wide and provide a good space for bearing cargos like bikes, luggage e.t.c. Sometime’s while loading a bike, you may have to detach the bike’s front wheel and mount it by attaching the fork with the roof. Let’s see it’s advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages:

1. No swaying. Bike safety is ensured here
2. You can easily access your trunk/hatch
3. It allows several types of bikes as well as other cargos.
4. This type of rack can carry up to 2 to 4 bikes. Generally, 2 bikes are carried
5. If you want your bike to be unaffected, it’s the best choice.

Disadvantages:

1. Bike loading is difficult. You have to lift the bike over the roof to load it
2. Wind resistance increases because of the existence of the bike. Fuel consumption increases due to wind resistance.
3. As the roof is containing a bike, you have to be very cautious of low clearance area restriction. Otherwise, both of your bike and car get damaged.

4. Adapters

These aren’t racks. They are used to hang bikes that have frame design not suitable for the rack. The bike adapter is connected with stem and seat post. It’s straight, hard, made of metal. After the connection, the bike is hung in the rack with the help of the adapter.

Considerable factors while choosing racks for hatchbacks

1. Bike frame contact issue

We carry our bikes through the racks. But the main transportation vehicle is the hatchback.
If there is vibration on the hatchback then the rack and frame will be vibrated too. Depending on the bike’s position, their frames may contact each other with force. Here, the frame can get damaged. Also, if they are in a hanging position they can sway and get contacted harshly with the rack or themselves. This could do potential damage on the rack or bike’s body. So, while choosing a bike rack, this factor should be considered if the bike is expensive.

2. Vehicle damage issue

Swaying may occur in a hanging position. If the swaying is too much the bike can touch the vehicle’s body. Thus the body gets scratched and ruined car paint. Or in trunk mount rack, the bikes generally lean on the car’s trunk. If the vibration is too much, because of the force both cars and the bike’s body have a chance of getting damaged.

3. Weight Limit & Bike Capacity

Hatchbacks do have a good weight capacity. They fall in from Class I to Class III hitch category. So they don’t have a problem with carrying a bike rack with bikes. Now, Different bike racks have different weight and bike capacity. The capacity depends on the model’s design and material.

The roof type has a capacity of up to 4 bikes. Here, weight isn’t discussed as the bikes literally stay on the car’s roof. And a car’s roof can easily handle the weight of 4 bikes. Whatever the bike models are.

The trunk-mount rack has a weight issue. As the bikes hang on the trunk’s arms. Their weight is fully applied to the trunks. And if the carriage is continued for the long term then the arm will start to bend because of the pressure it gets. So it has a weight limit. Generally, for trunk-mount racks, the weight limit is the total weight of how many bikes it can carry. The fact is bending occurs even if the weight limit isn’t crossed, after a period of time.

The hitch mount racks are attached to hitches and prepared for bearing weights. Generally, they have a weight limit of 4 to 6 bikes. If the bike type is different like a mountain bike or recumbent one than bike capacity will decrease as these bikes are heavier than others.

The weight limit and bike capacity depend on the durability of the material of the bike rack. So, before using them and using them efficiently we should know their weight limit and bike capacity.

4. Versatility (Bike type and Cargo type)

If we look at the chart we can easily understand which rack has the most versatility in carrying cargos. We want bike racks that are true but we want convenient racks where we can carry and bike altogether. The roof rack is perfect for all of these.

Then comes the hitch racks. We can make it adaptable to carry certain cargos but we can’t carry all types.
The trunk type racks are single-purpose racks. They are focused on bikes.

It kind of explains why trunk type racks are cheap.

Now, let’s see versatility in a different aspect. Here hitch-mount rack can carry almost every bike type but some of them weren’t suggested in that rack. It’s probably because of the vibration and swaying. Road and triathlon bikes are expensive. Due to swaying, they may get damaged. That’s why they are suggested for roof mount racks. MTB and eBikes are too heavy to lift. That’s why roof mount rack isn’t appropriate for those. The trunk-mount racks are general as usual. They can carry most of the bike type. But not every type.

5. Price ($)

After seeing several factors we can now assume the price. Generally, hitch type bike racks are the most expensive. There is a reason for that. They are strong, durable and long-lasting products. So as roof racks. But they generally carry fewer bikes than hitch types. In some cases, roof type racks are more expensive. The trunk-mount racks are the least expensive. As they aren’t multipurpose and also they are built for casual use.

6. Car Specifications

Rack manufacturers don’t narrow their target customers. So it’s rare they build racks for cars of specific models. Generally, most racks have a feature called universal fit. It means they will fit in any vehicle. So, your hatchback won’t be a problem h