csj0952

This thread:
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...ght=bike+hitch


Was posted awhile ago reviewing what appear to be the best hitch options for bike mounts.

I'm looking to know if anyone tried any out from hitch-web.com and if so, could we see some pictures?

I'm just trying to find the best hitch to buy that will hold 1 or 2 bikes and will be easy and inconspicuous when in the winter months.

Thanks,
Chris

slfmade

i dont understand why you would want a tow hitch on anything except a truck or suv, let alone a tsx. get a bike rack, its easiest to use and you can easily put it on and take it off whenever you need to use it.

csj0952

Cause a bike rack, whether it be on your hood or your trunk RUINs your paint.

csj0952

Does anyone have a picture of the hidden hitch on thier TSX?

Xtremespeed2102

i have a hidden hitch (i think, its all the same stuff cept for the labels) and a yakima hookup

Kighter

Amen!

Don't forget the noise you don't have to listen to with a roof rack and the access to the trunk you don't have with a trunk rack.

I'll never go back to anything other than a hitch rack.

Xtremespeed2102

most trunk mounts wont fit on the tsx... ive tried with all the racks at my shop. the gaps are too small and the trunk buckeles, forget the paint damage

csj0952

Can i see pictures of your hidden hitch with and without the yakima hookup?

Thanks.

Xtremespeed2102

yeah, ill take some pictures this weekend. sunday is bike day so ill be putting the hitch on the car.

i keep the hitch spray panted black. i didnt like the painted on logos, now its pretty much out of sight. granted you can still see it but its not an eye sore.

csj0952

So the hitch is easy enough to take on and off the car in the winter months?

Xtremespeed2102

yes.

one bolt

Xtremespeed2102

wait i read your question wrong. Once you put this hitch up you dont want to take it off. Its a B I T C H to put up by your self. its not terrible with a partner. there are 4 bolts that hold the hitch up and you have to lower your exhaust. It took me about 2 hours and i did most of it by myself. you have to make two of holes bigger to fit the bolt into it, that took the longest tho i used a dremel.

the actual rack is easy to take off, its one bolt with a lock on the end.

slfmade

i guess im assuming you arent going to be going cross country with bikes on the back of your car, my friends bike rack has never made a sound while with it on his car and dont see how it is going to ruin your paint with such a small amount of time actually being on the back of the car. and trunk access is not really that hard, seeing as how the bike and rack can be removed from the car in about 20 seconds. i dont know, just seems like a really bad way to make your car and you look more hoosier.

csj0952

SLfmade, what kind of trunk rack are you suggesting fits the TSX the best? Also, when you go over any bump in the road, the contact points of the rack will cause clear coat damage cause there is most likely dirt on them that you can't see or dirt on the car when you put it on. Dirt = mini rocks which scratch I believe.

Xtremespeed, do you think a professional car mechanic would be able to install this hidden hitch or should i take it to a trailer hitch sales person?

Daffunda

For those of you who think that roof mount will ruin the paint....

Yes it will ruin the paint IF YOU DON'T TAKE THE PROPER PRECAUTIONS.

I have a roof rack on the TSX. I put clearbra material on the contact points, and paint problem is solved, no more wear and tear on the paint. The noise isn't bad after I put the fairing on it.

Why I don't think hitch mount is a good idea.

1. Unless if you get one of those hide away hitches, (I think a guy at RDX forum did it, which looks nice) it looks extremely gay on a sedan.

2. If you're the one who has those expensive 1000+ bikes, then hitch mount is a bad idea. Someone hits you from behind, then you ruin the hitch, you ruin the bike mount, you ruin the bike, and you ruin the back of your car.

3. Depending on the vehicle you drive, the rear of the vehicle is where the wind turbulence is the most violent. Makes sense why the rear/sides of your car gets the most dirty driving on a crappy road, and that vehicles with a steep rear (like SUV's) have rear wipers.

I agree that those strap on bike mounts that mount on your trunk is bad. I almost lost my bike on it on a freeway since those carriers suck. You get what you pay for.

So, roof mounts for me. If I had an SUV, I would gotten a hitch mount, since, 1. It doesn't look gay. 2. SUV's are too high to lift your bike up on the roof.
3. Most SUV's come with a hitch.

csj0952

A roof mount on a sedan doesn't look gay?

Xtremespeed2102

Let me start clearing some stuff up here. I have pictures, ill post them in a minute. I have alot of them but ill post a few, if u want the rest let me know.

First off any trunk mounted rack will ruin your paint. I dont care how clean you make your car, unless its on there for less than a few minutes. The whole putting the rack on and off and putting your bike on scratches it. I dont care what you say, ive been biking as long as i can remember, i even sell the stuff. If your a car enthusiast this isnt your rack.

Second, unless you are riding a road bike i strongly dont recommend a roof rack. Theyre a PIA to put on first of all. If you forget to take your bike off and u pull into the garage u screw stuff up. I ride a mountain bike and i dont trust putting it on the roof. Not only is it hard to get a bike up there, If your bike is muddy or slippery just pray you dont drop it and slam it through your roof. On the muddy part, I dont want to put a muddy tire in my trunk.
More so with the roof rack you are going to get alot more car sway becuase you are ruining a greater part of the aerodynamics of the car. There is now more wind reistance since there is more bike going through the wind. So again, if you have a road bike, which is specifically designed to be areodynamic i would never get a roof rack.

Onto the rear mounted rack. When you look at the pictures you really dont see the hitch. If it bothers you, sorry my car isnt a show car trailer queen, she gets used. Next, If someone hits me from behind with the rack on, id rather just hafta repaint the steel on the rack than pay for a new bumper. Worst comes to worst i spend a few bucks for more parts. The rack retail is < a new bumper, which i cant put on myself.

Finally, Im sorry Daffunda but having used both and studying for an engineering degree i can most definatly say that putting a mountain bike on the roof will create more driving difficultly and turbulence. The front of the car is what needs to slice through the air and go smoothly over the roof. In the rear the bike pretty much fits behind the car. So for the most part its like tailgating someone. You see this in NASCAR when they ride so close and get going so quickly.

But anyway, to each thier own. I personally would never use a roof rack on my TSX, no matter how much plastic i put on the roof.

Xtremespeed2102

I personally wasnt confortbale with the idea of a sale person putting the hitch on my car. Granted they do it day to day, but they arent a car mechanics.

I would talk to your mechanic and see if they are willing to do it. If your trusting them to do your other work on the car, they should be able to do it. You need to just lower your exhuast (take them off the rubber gromets) then take off the shields. Took about 2 hours.

So yes, if you arent confortable doing it, speak to your mechanic. Make some phone calls around town n see how much you can get the rack for, and how much it would cost to put on. Speak to your mechanic, and check online.

Xtremespeed2102

Heres some pictures

chrisc133

I'm not too handy...where could I take this hitch to have it installed? Will UHAUL install it?

csj0952

I just ordered a hidden hitch and I'm thinking about going with the yakima hookup but it is just so much money....Xtremespeed, did you consider the Thule or Saris trays as well?

Xtremespeed2102

uhaul should install it for you. just call around your town. there are a few shops here that will install it aswell.


i didnt consider thule. We used to carry sport works, they were recently bought by thule. Ive seen the yakima rack inperson before and it looked much stronger than the thule. The saris was hard to get a good look at so i went with my best judgement. i think it was a worthy investment.

chrisc133

I see you went with the Hookup rack instead of the BigHorn which is much cheaper. What are the advantages of this rack vs the other? I have a $1200 bike, but the hitch and Hookup rack are pretty expensive.

csj0952

I had a tougher time figuring out the difference between the bighorn and the kingpin 2....

The tray rack Hookup 2 fits all frame and wheel sizes. If you have a big top tube, it might not fit correctly in the Bighorn. plus the big horn looks alittle worse in my opinion and may be heavier. I don't know, I agree, the tray is really expensive...but it looks so much better.

chrisc133

Think the bighorn has a greater chance of messing up your bike? Are you installing the hitch yourself or paying someone to do it?

Daffunda

Well, everyone has their own opinions.

I just rather not have someone rear end me and wreck both my car AND my expensive mtn bike. My buddy had a hitch rack with an expensive mountain bike, and after a makeup applying lady hit him, I decided not go with the hitch. From the impact, the rack/hitch got pushed in, and slightly bent the vehicle metal/frame that the hitch bolts onto. (Not to mention a total loss of the Turner and a damage to the carrier.) If it is a wallymart bike, then I guess it doesn't really matter, as you're going to have to repair the car anyways.

I never dropped a bike on my roof, fortunately, as I am very careful when I am doing it. (yes, it is a pain in the ass, but luckily TSX has a lower roof compared to my previous vehicle) I even have a stepstool so I have enough control of the bike when I load/unload the bike from the rack. (Yes I am a short guy )

I had the roof rack for 3 years now, (on a different vehicle before I got the TSX) and never was dumb enough to drive under a carport or a garage. Preventing yourself from driving under a low clearance section while your bike is up on the roof is somewhat controllable, but someone hitting you from behind is not.

Just my

csj0952

Paying someone to do it, the place i'm buying it from says they'll install it for 30 bucks

csj0952

Hey Xtremespeed2102, how do you lock your bikes up? Does Yakima's lock system work wiht your rack?

Xtremespeed2102

yes.

I use the hitch lock, its the only one u can use to lock the rack to the car.

Yakima sells a dead lock that come with a cable setup to get the bikes to lock on the rack. It also comes with the hitch lock in a combo.

With a little ineginuty you can probably devise a better plan to get the bikes to lock on the rack. Right now i personally use bike lock cable since it was what i had in my garage. Once i get some time im going to devise a better cable system for both bikes.

I dont ever keep my bike on the rack for too long when im not around. Once i hafta go on longer trips im going to figure out a better idea. I have some now but i hafta see what i can find.

csj0952, check you pm's

chrisc133

Is that it will make the car ugly. The hidden hitch in Xtreme's pics doesn't look that bad--so I'm tempted to order that hitch. UHAUL sells one as well:

Hitch# Type Class Max weight Max distribution weight Finish Price Details
24724 Sportframe 1 1/4 inch Rec 1 2000 N/A Black $139.95 Buy now


Is this basically the same thing?--It would be much easier to just take my car to UHAUL this weekend and have this installed---but I don't want to get something that is too noticable and mess up the appearance of my car--and I don't have a picture with the UHAUL hitch installed to compare...

Suggestions of which to get?

Xtremespeed2102

there is physically only one hitch that is made for the TSX. It is sold by two or three different manufacturers with thier own stickers and painted on decals. I think there is maybe one different rendition but there is really only one way this thing fits on our car.

Hidden hitch sells one and so does drawtight and its the same thing. so im going to go out on a limb and say the uhaul is the same just with stupid orange stickers.

i spray painted my hitch black to cover up the stupid white decals. If you have a dark colored TSX it would blend in much more. Matter fact if i had time and money to throw at stuff i would consider getting that bottom part of the bumper painted black. the part thats indented.

chrisc133

Great--Thanks a lot Xtreme. I'll probably get the hitch installed this weekend. Now just have to find the right rack. I'm thinking I might go with the BigHorn type rack instead of a trey type rack...much cheaper and I only really need the rack to travel to Triathlons on the weekends and I'll take it off when i'm not using it. I think Saris, Thule and Yakima all make one pretty much the same. Any thoughts there? I"m thinking I might go with a 2 bike model maybe to reduce weight. I only have a mountain bike and really light road bike.

Xtremespeed2102

depends what you want. I personally wouldnt get the 2. You arent saving much weight since the bars are aluminum... iirc.
I would get the kingpin. It has an extra folding option thats worth the extra bucks.

they all basically make the same stuff. i really havent looked at saris hitch racks. yakima is the shit tho

chrisc133

I've found some pretty good prices on the KingPin4--and will probably order that. I'm trying to decide where to get the hitch...can order from the website posted for $150. Uhaul website says $140--and I'm guessing that is the same price as the store offers it. The UHAUL near me is sketchy and I'm not sure how I feel about them installing anything on my car--but they do it often I guess. The other option is to buy the hitch and have my mechanic in my home town install it--he says he's installed several before and will just charge by the hr.

Xtremespeed2102

If you want it done right your mechanic is the best bet. Search around online, i used e-trailer.com and they offered me a money back option when i found a lower price. Someone was offering free shipping.

csj0952

I got the hidden hitch, now waiting for the yakima rack to come in....it doesn't look bad and it isn't that noticable. The rubber cap that is on the hitch is kind of annoying, I may try to find one that doesn't say "hidden hitch" on it.

Xtremespeed2102

hmph, i dont keep a cap on mine. i was thinking of getting an interesting one or just some sort of cap but ive sorta lost interest since i dont use it much unless im biking. so weekends

csj0952

Doesn't crap like water and stuff get in your hitch if you don't have a cap on it?

Xtremespeed2102

eh, i mean i dont think so. theres a hole for the lock. I probably should put a cap on it that locks so some punk doesnt come steal it. I dont attend to my car daily as it sits in the parking lot unless i go to work.

so, so far its only rust. A word of advice. If you havent put the hitch on the car its a bit easier. Theres a stupid metal tab inside the reciever. This prevents the rack to completely fit the whole way into the receiver and allow the lock to bolt.

I used a chisel and a few other tools to hammer that piece out. Its easier to get it out in one piece but I didnt find out about it until i bought the rack and was putting it on to take home. So if the hitch was off i could have maneuvered a few other tools a bit better. So i took some material out of the rack itself. ( a few mm).

A few quick sprays of paint on both ends stopped most of the rusting. Alot of rust tends to collect from iron particles that i believe aren't from the rack itself. Possibly picked up from the road. Although there is light surface rust since it rains alot here. Or at least used to.

csj0952

I doubt someone would goto that much effort to steal it. Does spray painting prevent rust or just cover it asthetically? Is there a better coating product out there that we could use?