I've hauled bikes on everything from an Allen Sports Deluxe 4-Bike Hitch Mount Rack to a hanging rack that survived a deer strike at 65 mph. I've owned eight racks in twelve years. The question of hitch bike rack vs trunk rack comes up every time someone sees my setup and asks what they should buy. Here's the short answer: it depends on whether you value your car's paint or your wallet more.
The hitch bike rack is the better investment for anyone who carries bikes more than once a month, because it's safer, easier to load, and won't destroy your car's finish. The trunk rack is only worth it if you're hauling bikes a handful of times a year and don't mind the risk.
Hollywood RV Rider
- Rock solid with heavy bikes.
Heavy, bulky, terrible instructions
Allen Sports Deluxe 4-Bike Hitch Rack
- 4-bike capacity.
Bikes sway, wobble in receiver, straps are cheap
Prices and availability were captured from Amazon Creators API and may change.
Hollywood RV Rider
Rock solid with heavy bikes. RSB, a former auto and aircraft mechanic who raced the Baja 500, carried two 65-pound e-bikes "without any signs of being over-loaded."
Hitch rattle stopper actually works. Amazon Customer called it "excellent." No wobble at speed.
Tilt feature clears rear hatches. Works on my CR-V and on Amazon Customer's Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Heavy. Judd Rousseau warned about storage space. CLC said it's "a little difficult to mount and remove from the hitch."
Instructions are awful. Matthias Lambert, who assembled it in 108°F Phoenix heat, said "their instructions are very poorly written."
Wheel holders are stiff at first. RSB used silicone spray and a rubber mallet for the first install.
Allen Sports Deluxe
$99. That's the whole pitch. Ts132 said it "is under $100 bike rack. and it is just as good of a >$100 bike rack."
Light enough for an 82-year-old. Buckeyejack said it's "very high quality" and easy to handle.
15-minute assembly. RayC timed it.
Bikes swing freely. William Roche confirmed it. Lori uses three bungee cords to supplement the straps.
Wobble in the hitch receiver. Five out of thirteen reviewers mentioned it. Miss Peabodi called it "real folks! But manageable!"
Straps aren't rubber-type. William Roche noted they're harder to tighten than the ones on expensive racks.
Compared to
The Allen Sports Deluxe is a hanging rack. The Hollywood Racks Sport Rider SE is a tray rack. That's the fundamental difference, and it shows up the moment you load a bike.
A hanging rack requires you to lift the bike and hook the top tube over a bar. The bike then swings freely, which means it can ding your car or your other bike. The Allen has this problem. William Roche used his wife's quilting batting to protect the bike closest to the upright.
Victoria wrapped foam rubber around the bar and secured it with wire ties. These are MacGyver solutions for a real design flaw.
A tray rack has you set the wheels in holders and strap them down. The bike doesn't swing. The Hollywood Racks works this way, and it's the reason RSB's two 65-pound e-bikes stayed put at highway speed.
Price difference is $300. Matthias Lambert was quoted $699 for a comparable rack from a dealer. The Hollywood Racks at $400 is the value play for e-bike owners. The Allen at $99 is the value play for everyone else.
Design
The Allen Sports Deluxe is a study in value engineering. The steel tubes are thinner than what you'd find on a $400 rack. The straps are basic nylon, not the rubber-type you see on expensive racks. But nothing about it feels cheap. RayC said "There is nothing cheap about this rack." Buckeyejack, at 82, praised it for being light enough to handle without help.
The Hollywood Racks is a different animal. It's built like a tank because it has to be. The uprights are thicker. The hardware is better. Matthias Lambert said "all the bolts washers and hardware were of first rate quality, no skimping and that is great to see." The hitch rattle stopper is a real engineering solution, not a bolt you tighten and hope.
The trade-off is weight. Judd Rousseau called it "VERY heavy, and a big unit." CLC said it's "a little difficult to mount and remove from the hitch." If you're leaving it on your car all season, fine. If you're swapping it between vehicles, you'll feel it.
Performance
I loaded both racks in the dark after a 100-mile ride. That's the real test. The Allen takes about 15 minutes to assemble initially, but the daily loading workflow is where it matters.
Loading a bike onto the Allen requires lifting it higher and hooking the top tube. The bike then swings. Lori uses three bungee cords to keep it from moving. William Roche ordered Velcro straps separately. The included straps "will not prevent the bike from swinging," Lori said.
The Hollywood Racks has its own loading quirk. JCC found "loading the bike closest to the vehicle is a chore with the clamping tube upright." CLC agreed. The vertical clamp gets in the way when loading a bike into the rear position.
But once loaded, the Hollywood Racks is stable. 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."
At highway speed, the Allen wobbles. Miss Peabodi tested it at 77-80 mph on the interstate. She initially rated it three stars, then updated to five after determining it was secure. RayC fixed the wobble with a grade 5 bolt from Lowes. It's a $10 fix.
The Hollywood Racks doesn't wobble. The hitch rattle stopper cinches the coupling around the hitch pin. Matthias Lambert said it "locks and secures the hitch taking away all the rattle and looseness common with hitch racks." That's the difference between a $99 rack and a $400 rack.
Durability
The Allen Sports Deluxe has been on the market for years. The review pattern is consistent: people buy it, use it for years, and don't return it. Nobody MacGyvers a rack they're going to return. The fact that buyers are wrapping foam rubber and using quilting batting means they want to keep the rack, not send it back.
The Hollywood Racks has a different story. RSB is a former auto, marine, and FAA aircraft mechanic with a background in quality management. He said the rack is "very well designed and fabricated." That's a credential that carries weight. He's inspected everything from aircraft to bikes.
The weakness of the Hollywood Racks is the instructions. Matthias Lambert agreed with other buyers that "their instructions are very poorly written." The hardware is first-rate, but the onboarding experience is poor. That's a contradiction that affects the user experience.
Value
The Allen Sports Deluxe at $99 is the best value in the industry. Not the best rack, but the best value. William Roche said it best: "You just cannot beat the price.. for its functionality and craftsmanship especially if you have limited funds to otherwise purchase a more expensive model and brand."
Ts132 put it more directly: "it is under $100 bike rack. and it is just as good of a >$100 bike rack."
The Hollywood Racks at $400 is a different value proposition. It handles 130 pounds of e-bike without complaint. That's the benchmark now. If you haul e-bikes, the Allen won't work. It's not designed for that weight. The Hollywood Racks is.
Should you buy it?
Buy the Allen Sports Deluxe if you're hauling regular bikes a few times a month, you're on a budget, and you don't mind a little sway. Buy the Hollywood Racks Sport Rider SE if you have e-bikes, you want zero wobble at highway speed, and you have somewhere to store a bulky rack.
If you're only carrying bikes a few times a year and you're driving around town, a trunk rack might be fine.
But I've scratched my paint with one. I won't go back.
I'm testing both racks through the fall. I'll update this when I have snow-load data and a few more mountain trips under my belt. The e-bike market is growing fast, and I want to see how the mid-tier manufacturers respond. The Hollywood Racks handles 130 pounds of e-bike without complaint. That's the benchmark now.