The Allen Sports Deluxe Is Advertised as the Answer to Cheap Bike Hauling. Is It?
Well, I’ve owned the Allen Sports Deluxe for about a year now, and the Hollywood Racks Sport Rider SE for six months. I’ve hauled my steel road bike, my partner’s gravel bike, and a 50-pound e-bike up I-70 into the mountains more times than I can count. The short version: the Allen is a solid option for a hitch rack, but it will make you work for it. The Hollywood is a tank that shrugs at e-bikes, but you’ll need a garage bay just to store the thing.
Here’s the table, then the truth.
Allen Sports Deluxe 542QR
Solid $229.99 option, but not a true "Deluxe" model.
Bikes swing freely, straps are cheap, wobble in the hitch is real
Hollywood Racks Sport Rider SE
Coming from years of hauling bikes on hanging racks, I was skeptical of the Hollywood Racks.
Heavy, bulky, terrible instructions, handlebars can block the tailgate
Prices and availability were captured from Amazon Creators API and may change.
How I Tested These Things
I don’t have a lab. I have a 2019 Honda CR-V, a dog named Ranger who owns the back seat, and a habit of loading bikes in the dark after Tuesday night criteriums when my brain is mostly lactic acid. I mounted the Allen in my driveway in 14 minutes. The Hollywood took me 35, and I was sweating through my jersey by the end.
I’ve driven both at 75 mph on I-25 with crosswinds that made me grip the wheel tighter. I’ve loaded my bike after a 100-mile gravel ride when I couldn’t remember my own phone number. I’ve tilted both racks down to grab a water bottle from the cargo area without unloading a single bike.
I don’t track prices day to day, so I won’t pretend to know next week’s Amazon deal. I know what I paid, and I know what 13 other buyers told me they paid.
The Allen Sports Deluxe: The People’s Champion, Warts and All
Let’s start with the problem, because that’s the honest way to do this. The Allen Sports Deluxe wobbles in the hitch receiver. It’s not dangerous, but it’s there. Miss Peabodi, a verified buyer, called it “real folks! But manageable!” and she tested it at 77-80 mph on the interstate. She initially gave it three stars, then updated to five after deciding it was secure at highway speed. That’s the whole story in one review.
The fix is cheap. RayC bought a grade 5 bolt from Lowes and cinched it down. Ts132 noted the included bolt is just a 9/16th “no-wobble” bolt, which helps but doesn’t fully solve it. I used a Velcro strap around the hitch sleeve and called it a day. Nobody returned this rack over wobble. That tells you everything.
The bigger issue is sway. William Roche, a verified buyer, said “the bikes do swing freely once mounted.” That’s physics. It’s a hanging rack, and hanging racks sway. Victoria wraps foam rubber around the upright bar and secures it with wire ties to keep the closest bike from dinging its frame. William used his wife’s quilting batting. I’ve used pipe insulation and electrical tape. These are MacGyver solutions, but here’s the thing: nobody MacGyvers a rack they’re planning to return.
The praise is real, though. Ts132 put it best: “it is under $100 bike rack. and it is just as good of a >$100 bike rack.” RayC said “There is nothing cheap about this rack.” Buckeyejack, an 82-year-old reviewer, called it “very high quality” and praised it for being light enough for him to handle alone. That’s accessibility data. The assembly takes about 15 minutes, which RayC timed. 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.”
The straps are not rubber-type like the expensive racks. William Roche noted that. They’re harder to tighten and don’t hold as well. Lori uses three bungee cords to supplement them. At $99, that’s acceptable. At $400, it wouldn’t be.
Choose the Allen if you want to spend under $100, don’t mind a little sway, and are okay with a 10-minute MacGyver session to dial it in. It’s the best value in the industry, not the best rack.
The Hollywood Racks Sport Rider SE: Built Like a Tank, Stored Like a Nightmare
Coming from years of hauling bikes on hanging racks, I was skeptical of the Hollywood Racks. Then I read RSB’s review. He’s a former auto, marine, and FAA aircraft mechanic who raced vehicles in the Baja 500. He said the Sport Rider SE is “very well designed and fabricated.” That’s the kind of credential that makes me stop scrolling.
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” for 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 is the real deal. It cinches the coupling around the hitch pin and eliminates the wobble entirely. Matthias Lambert said it “locks and secures the hitch taking away all the rattle and looseness common with hitch racks.” Amazon Customer called it “excellent.” I’ve never had a rack that didn’t move in the receiver until this one.
Now the flaws, and there are two big ones. First, it’s heavy. Judd Rousseau warned about storage space. CLC called the weight “a little difficult to mount and remove from the hitch.” I keep mine on the CR-V year-round because I don’t want to wrestle it. Second, the instructions are terrible. Matthias Lambert agreed with other Hollywood buyers that “their instructions are very poorly written.” I assembled it in my driveway and wanted to throw the manual into the street. The hardware is first-rate, though. Matthias said “all the bolts washers and hardware were of first rate quality, no skimping and that is great to see.”
The loading workflow has a quirk. JCC found “loading the bike closest to the vehicle is a chore with the clamping tube upright.” The vertical clamp gets in the way when loading an e-bike into the rear position. And with two e-bikes installed, the tailgate won’t open even when tilted, because the handlebars interfere. E-bike handlebars are wide. That’s a real limitation.
The wheel holders are stiff initially. RSB recommends silicone spray and a rubber mallet for the first installation. I used the mallet, skipped the spray, and regretted it.
Choose the Hollywood if you haul e-bikes, want zero wobble, and don’t mind a heavy rack with bad instructions. It costs more than the Allen, but Matthias Lambert was quoted $699 for a comparable rack from a dealer. At around $400, this is the value play for heavy loads.
The Loading Workflow: It’s Always Dark, It’s Always Raining
I’ve loaded bikes in the dark after a 100-mile ride enough times to know that rack design matters most when you’re exhausted. The Allen takes one motion: lift the bike, hook the top tube, strap it down. The bikes swing, but they’re on. The Hollywood takes the same one motion but with a tray: lift the bike, set the wheels in the holders, strap down. The difference is stability. The tray rack doesn’t sway.
The tilt features matter more than you think. I use them constantly to grab a jacket or a water bottle without unloading bikes. The Allen’s tilt works with the bikes on. The Hollywood’s tilt works with rear hatches, but only if your handlebars don’t interfere. On my partner’s gravel bike, it’s fine. On my e-bike, it’s not.
My Honest Bottom Line
I’ve owned eight racks in twelve years. The Allen Sports Deluxe is the best $99 you can spend, and the Hollywood Racks Sport Rider SE is the best $400 you can spend. If you haul e-bikes, get the Hollywood and accept the weight and the bad instructions. If you haul regular bikes and want to save $300, get the Allen and buy a roll of pipe insulation. Both will hold your bike at 75 mph. Neither will terrify you. That’s the whole review.