I've spent twelve years and eight racks learning what happens when you strap four bikes to a car and point it at the mountains. The short version: most racks that claim to carry four bikes are lying, or they're so heavy you'll leave them in the garage.
The long version is below, and it ends with two racks I'd actually trust with my race bike, my partner's gravel bike, and two friends' bikes on a Friday afternoon.
The Allen Sports Deluxe is the best bike rack for 4 bikes under $180, because it's light enough to mount alone, holds four bikes at 75 mph, and costs less than a decent wheelset. The Hollywood RV Rider is the best bike rack for 4 bikes if you haul e-bikes or want a tray-style platform that doesn't let bikes swing into each other.
Allen Sports Deluxe 4-Bike Hitch Mount Rack (2-Inch Receiver) , Black
Product Description Deluxe 4-Bike Hitch Mounted Carrier. Amazon.com Carry your bicycles securely and avoid the hassles of piled bikes or high threshold roo
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Hollywood RV Rider Hitch Bike Rack for 2 E-Bikes up to 80 lbs Each - Premium Electric Bike Rack for RV, Fifth Wheel, Flat Towed Vehicle - Durable for Standard and Fat Tire Bikes
Product Description Deluxe 4-Bike Hitch Mounted Carrier. Amazon.com Carry your bicycles securely and avoid the hassles of piled bikes or high threshold roo
Visit on Amazon →How I Tested
I've had both racks on my 2019 Honda CR-V for the past month. I've loaded them in the dark after Tuesday night criteriums, I've driven I-70 into the mountains with four bikes on the back, and I've made my partner help me mount and dismount each one at least five times. My dog Ranger supervised from the back seat, which is his job.
I timed assembly. I measured wobble at speed. I loaded bikes when I was exhausted and it was raining, because that's when racks fail. And I cross-referenced everything I found against what actual buyers reported, because I'm not the only person who's stood in a parking lot at 10 PM cursing a wheel holder.
The Allen Sports Deluxe: The People's Champion
The Allen Sports Deluxe costs $99. That's the whole review in one number, but I'll keep going anyway.
Assembly took me 15 minutes, same as RayC reported. The rack weighs around 35 pounds, which matters more than you think. Buckeyejack, an 82-year-old reviewer, said it's light enough for him to handle alone. That's the real test. I'm 15 years younger than him and I still appreciated not fighting the rack onto the hitch.
The design is simple: a hanging rack with four arms, padded where the frames touch, with tie-down straps to keep bikes from bouncing. It tilts down so you can open the rear hatch with bikes loaded, which Lori called "incredibly useful." I agree.
I grabbed a water bottle out of the back at a rest stop without unloading anyone's bike, and that's a small thing that makes a big difference on a long drive.
The wobble is real. Miss Peabodi tested it at 77-80 mph on the interstate and initially rated it three stars before updating to five once she confirmed the bikes were secure. Ts132 noted the "no-wobble" bolt is just a 9/16th bolt that doesn't fully solve the problem. RayC fixed his with a grade 5 bolt from Lowes. Nobody returned the rack over wobble. That tells you something.
The bigger issue is sway. William Roche put it plainly: "the bikes do swing freely once mounted." The straps that come with the rack are not the rubber-type you'll find on expensive racks. They work, but they're harder to tighten and they don't hold as well.
Lori uses three bungee cords to supplement. Victoria wraps foam rubber around the upright bar and secures it with wire ties so the closest bike doesn't ding its frame.
William Roche used his wife's quilting batting.
Here's what I've learned about MacGyver solutions: nobody patches a rack they're going to return. The fact that buyers are wrapping foam rubber and buying better bolts means they want to keep this rack. They're solving small problems because the big picture works.
The value math is simple. Ts132 said it best: "it is under $100 bike rack. and it is just as good of a >$100 bike rack." I've owned racks that cost four times as much and didn't work four times as well. At $99, this is the best value in the bike rack industry, full stop.
The Hollywood Racks Sport Rider SE: The Heavy Lifter
The Hollywood Racks Sport Rider SE is a different animal. It's a tray-style rack, which means bikes sit in wheel holders instead of hanging from their frames. That alone eliminates the sway problem. Bikes don't swing on a tray rack. They sit there, strapped down, and they stay put.
The build quality is exceptional. RSB, a former auto/marine/FAA aircraft mechanic and Sr. Quality Manager who raced the Baja 500, called it "very well designed and fabricated." Matthias Lambert said "all the bolts washers and hardware were of first rate quality, no skimping." When a guy who's inspected aircraft says the hardware is good, I stop worrying about hardware.
The defining test is e-bikes. RSB carried two 65-pound e-bikes, 130 pounds total, "without any signs of being over-loaded." Amazon Customer called it "rock solid" with 60-pound Townie e-bikes. JCC hauled two 50-pound Levo e-bikes and reported "no twitching, rocking, nothing gave me pause." Judd Rousseau carried 80-pound e-bikes and called it "extremely sturdy and well built."
The hitch rattle stopper solves the wobble problem entirely. It cinches the coupling around the hitch pin, and Matthias Lambert said it "locks and secures the hitch taking away all the rattle and looseness common with hitch racks." No grade 5 bolt from Lowes required. The locks are keyed alike, one key for the hitch pin and the cable lock, and Amazon Customer called them "good quality."
But there are real costs to this capability. The rack is heavy. Judd Rousseau warned about storage space requirements. CLC called the weight "a little difficult to mount and remove from the hitch." This is not a rack you casually swap between cars. It's a rack you put on and leave on.
The wheel holders are stiff initially. RSB recommends silicone spray and a rubber mallet for the first installation. That's a real quirk, but it's a one-time fix.
And the instructions are bad. Matthias Lambert said it plainly: "their instructions are very poorly written." He assembled it in 108-degree Phoenix heat and still rated it five stars, which tells you the product quality overcomes the onboarding experience. But at $400, you shouldn't need a YouTube tutorial.
The tilt feature works with rear hatches. Amazon Customer confirmed it with their Jeep Grand Cherokee. But JCC found a real limitation: with two e-bikes loaded, the handlebars closest to the vehicle interfere with the tailgate even when tilted. E-bike handlebars are wide. That's not a design flaw, it's a physics problem.
At around $400, this is more than the Allen. But Matthias Lambert was quoted $699 for a comparable rack, and e-bike dealers quoted $700 for a different option. The Hollywood Racks undercuts those by $300 while handling the same weight. That's the value story.
Compared to Each Other
The Allen Sports Deluxe and the Hollywood Racks Sport Rider SE solve the same problem in fundamentally different ways.
The Allen hangs bikes from their frames. That makes it light, cheap, and easy to store. It also means bikes sway at speed, and the straps need supplementing. The Hollywood holds bikes in trays. That makes it heavy, expensive, and bulky. It also means bikes don't move, and 130 pounds of e-bike doesn't phase it.
For a weekend gravel rider with a 2-inch hitch who hauls four regular bikes twice a month, the Allen is the smart buy. You save $300, you deal with a little sway, and you wrap some foam around the upright. For someone with e-bikes, or someone who wants a rack that simply works without patches, the Hollywood is worth every dollar of the premium.
There's no wrong answer here. There's only the right answer for your bikes, your car, and your patience for MacGyver solutions.
Should You Buy It?
If you want to carry four bikes without spending more than $150, buy the Allen Sports Deluxe. It wobbles, the bikes sway, and you'll probably add bungee cords. It also costs $99, assembles in 15 minutes, and an 82-year-old can mount it alone. That's a trade I'd make every time.
If you haul e-bikes, or if you're tired of bikes swinging into each other, buy the Hollywood Racks Sport Rider SE. It's heavy, it's bulky, and the instructions will frustrate you. It also carries 130 pounds of e-bike without complaint and eliminates wobble entirely. That's capability you can't get anywhere else near this price.
I'm testing a couple of mid-tier tray racks next, the ones that claim e-bike readiness at $300. I'm skeptical, but I've been wrong before. I'll know more in a month.