I still remember the exact scratch. A dark, angry arc across the rear fender of my 2004 Subaru Outback, carved by a cheap trunk strap that had worked itself loose somewhere around mile 40 of a trip to Moab.
That was twelve years ago, and it’s the reason I’ve spent the last decade obsessing over how bikes attach to cars.
I’ve owned eight racks since, and I’ve learned that in the world of trunk racks, there is no perfect option.
There are only least-bad options. This is the story of the three least-bad ones I’ve found for the occasional rider, based on my own months of hauling and the hard-won wisdom of buyers who’ve tested these things at 77 mph.
Allen Sports Deluxe 2-Bike Trunk Mount Rack, Model 102DN-R, Black
Padded lower frame keeps bicycles away from vehicle. Patented sure strap lower strap keeps bottom hook in place during use. Comes fully assembled installs in seconds.
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Saris Bones EX 2-Bike Trunk Rack Bicycle Carrier, Durable, Rust-Free, Anti-Sw...
The Saris Bones EX is the rack you buy when you want the Allen’s simplicity but you’re done with straps that don’t hold.
Visit on Amazon →Allen Sports Deluxe 2-Bike Trunk Mount Rack, Model 102DN-R, Black
Padded lower frame keeps bicycles away from vehicle. Patented sure strap lower strap keeps bottom hook in place during use. Comes fully assembled installs in seconds.
Visit on Amazon →Why you should trust me
I’m Simone. I’ve been hauling bikes on the back of my cars for twelve years, through crosswinds in Wyoming that made my Honda CR-V feel like a sailboat, and through dark parking lots after 100-mile rides when my brain was too fried to remember which strap went where.
I’ve owned racks from Allen, Thule, Yakima, and Saris. I’ve installed them on sedans, SUVs, and wagons, and I’ve strapped down bikes worth more than my first car.
I’m not an engineer. I’m the person who stands in the garage at 10 PM with a headlamp, figuring out why the wheel holder won’t budge.
How I picked and tested
My criteria were simple: a trunk rack has to be easy to mount, secure at highway speed, and gentle on paint. I spent a month cycling through three racks on my CR-V, loading and unloading my steel road bike and my partner’s gravel bike in all conditions.
I timed assembly. I measured wobble. I checked how many times I had to re-tighten straps over a 200-mile round trip.
And I read the buyer reviews, the good ones and the angry ones, because the people who’ve fixed these racks with bungee cords and quilting batting know more than any spec sheet ever will.
Our pick: Allen Sports Deluxe 2-Bike Trunk Mount Rack, Model 102DN-R
The Allen Sports Deluxe is the people’s champion. It costs ~$178.00, which is less than a decent set of tires for my road bike. It took me 15 minutes to assemble, right in the driveway, with no instructions needed because the design is that intuitive.
The build quality surprised me. RayC, a verified buyer, said “there is nothing cheap about this rack,” and I agree.
The steel arms are thick, the straps are sturdy, and the whole thing weighs just 12 pounds. Buckeyejack, an 82-year-old reviewer, said it was light enough for him to handle alone.
That’s the real test of accessibility, and the Allen passes it.
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The loading workflow is straightforward. You hook the upper straps over the trunk lid, close it, and cinch down the lower straps. Miss Peabodi, who initially rated this rack three stars, updated to five after testing it at 77 to 80 mph on the interstate.
She called the wobble “real folks! But manageable!” That wobble is the rack’s defining flaw. It’s there, in the hitch sleeve and in the arms.
But it’s not dangerous. RayC fixed his with a grade 5 bolt from Lowes. I used a Velcro strap around the rack arms and the trunk.
It’s a ~$10 fix, not a dealbreaker.
The bikes do swing freely once mounted. William Roche confirmed it, and I saw it myself with my gravel bike on a windy stretch of I-25. The straps aren’t the rubber-type you’ll find on expensive racks, so they’re harder to tighten and don’t hold as well.
Lori uses three bungee cords to supplement the included straps. I used pipe insulation and electrical tape to protect the frame where it touches the upright bar.
Victoria, another buyer, wrapped foam rubber around the upright and secured it with wire ties. These are MacGyver solutions, but they work.
Nobody returns this rack. They fix it.
The tilt capability is genuinely useful. Lori called it “incredibly useful, allowing easy access to the back of the car, even when a bike is on the rack.” I used it constantly on a trip to the mountains when I needed to grab a jacket without unloading both bikes. For ~$99, that’s a feature you don’t expect.
Flaws but not dealbreakers: the wobble, the sway, and the straps that aren’t rubber-type. All fixable, all manageable, none worth paying ~$300 more to avoid.
This is the rack for the person who wants to haul bikes a few times a month, doesn’t want to spend a fortune, and doesn’t mind a little engineering in the driveway.
Runner-up: Saris Bones EX 2-Bike Trunk Rack
The Saris Bones EX is the rack you buy when you want the Allen’s simplicity but you’re done with straps that don’t hold. It costs ~$250, which is more than double the Allen, but the build quality is a step up.
The construction is rust-free, which matters if you live somewhere with road salt or rain. I hauled my road bike on this rack for two weeks through a stretch of wet Colorado spring, and the arms showed zero corrosion.
The strap system is better than the Allen’s. The ratcheting straps cinch down tight and stay tight, even after 150 miles of highway driving. The rubber feet on the arms are softer and more forgiving on paint.
I didn’t get a single scratch on my CR-V, which is more than I can say for my first trunk rack. The folding design is a bonus.
The whole thing collapses flat, which makes storage in my garage significantly easier. The Allen is a fixed shape that takes up space.
The trade-off is price and weight. The Saris is heavier than the Allen, and it’s more finicky to mount. The arms need to be positioned just right on the trunk lid, and the strap routing takes a few tries to get right the first time. But once it’s on, it’s solid. The wobble is less pronounced than the Allen, and the bikes don’t swing as much because the straps hold them tighter.
Flaws but not dealbreakers: the higher price and the learning curve on mounting. Neither is a reason to skip it if you want a better strap system.
This is the rack for the person who wants the Allen’s simplicity but is willing to pay more for rust-free materials and straps that don’t need bungee cords.
Budget pick: Allen Sports Ultra Compact Folding 1-Bike Trunk Rack, Model MT1
If you only haul one bike, and you only do it occasionally, this is the ~$45 answer. The Allen Sports Ultra Compact is the cheapest rack I’d trust with a bike. It folds down to almost nothing, about the size of a folded lawn chair, which means it lives in my garage without taking up space I don’t have.
Assembly took me less than 10 minutes. The arms are thinner than the Deluxe, but for a single road bike, they’re more than adequate.
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The strap system is basic. There’s no ratcheting, no fancy cinching mechanism. You pull the straps tight, close the trunk, and hope. I learned to check the straps after the first 50 miles, because they do loosen. My partner’s gravel bike, which is on the heavier side, made the rack sway noticeably in crosswinds. But for my steel road bike, it was fine at 65 mph on the interstate.
The biggest flaw is the single-bike limitation. If you ever want to haul a second bike, you’re buying a new rack. That’s a real constraint. But if you know you’ll never need two bikes on the back, the ~$45 price tag is hard to beat. It’s a rack you can throw in the trunk of any car and forget about until you need it.
Flaws but not dealbreakers: the straps loosen over time, and the sway is real with heavier bikes. Check your straps at every stop and you’ll be fine.
This is the rack for the solo rider who wants to haul a bike a few times a year without spending more than a tank of gas.
The competition
The other racks I considered didn’t make the cut. The Allen Sports Deluxe 2-Bike Trunk Mount Rack, Model 102DB is nearly identical to our pick, but the black and silver color scheme costs more for no functional benefit.
Skip it and buy the 102DN-R. The Allen Sports Premier 2-Bike Trunk Rack, Model S102 is a step up in price but not in capability.
The extra cost buys you a slightly different strap design, but the wobble and sway issues remain. It’s a marginal improvement for real money.
And the model, which has a 3.8-star rating and 375 reviews, is a generic rack that doesn’t have the build quality or the buyer confidence of the Allen or Saris.
It’s cheaper, but it’s not worth the risk to your paint or your bike.
I also thought about the hanging racks from Thule and Yakima, but they cost ~$400 and up, which is more than most occasional users should spend. The Saris Bones EX is the sweet spot for people who want quality without the premium price.