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Yakima DoubleDown Hitch Rack - 5 Bike

$279.00

(10)

Item # 767987

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The Yakima DoubleDown hitch bike rack gives you the best of both worlds by safely transporting up to 5 bikes, and then providing easy access to your vehicle.

Once bikes are removed, tilt-down mast tilts rack out of the way to provide access to back of vehicle
Fits most bikes but adapter (sold separately) may be required for women’s or kids’ bikes; not designed for use with tandem or recumbent bikes
SwitchBlade anti-sway bike cradles eliminate bike-to-bike contact and bike-to-vehicle contact
ChainStraps on each cradle securely anchor bikes into place
Intuitive levers with anti-pinch trigger covers make folding cradle arms and mast a simple endeavor
Cradle arms can be lowered when not in use
Fits 2 in. and 1.25 in. receiver hitches; designed for Class II hitches and higher

Please note: Yakima products can only be shipped to U.S. addresses.

Imported.

Item 767987

View all Yakima products

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Yakima DoubleDown Hitch Rack - 5 Bike Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews

Yakima Doubledown Hitch Rack - 5 Bike

3.6

(based on 10 reviews)

78%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

Durable (7)
Easy to install (7)
Stable (5)

Cons

Hard to install (4)

Best Uses

Large cars (4)
Road bikes (4)
Mountain bikes (3)

- Reviewer Profile:
- Casual/ recreational (5), Avid cyclist (4)
- Was this a gift?:
- No (5)

REVIEWS

Reviewed by 10 customers

Sort by

Displaying reviews 1-10

Aug

2008

(22 of 24 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Loved the integrated anti-sway cradles!

By Blumenfeld5

from Minnesota

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy to Install
Easy to Use
Stable

Cons

Mis-manufactured

Best Uses

Family Bikes
Large Cars
Mountain Bikes
Road Bikes

Comments about Yakima Doubledown Hitch Rack - 5 Bike:

With a now 5-bike family, transporting all of them became a real challenge. Yakima stepped in nicely to fit the bill. We had utmost confidence in Yakima products, and were happy to turn to them for a new hitch-mount bike rack. Integrated anti-sway cradles, simple release/fold down mechanisms and logical installation made it perfect for our family. Unfortunately, due to a manufacturing snafu, we received a 4-bike sized rack with 5 cradles instead of a 5-bike sized one in our box. With a bit of research, an online consultation with Yakima, [...]we've received a correctly assembled unit in no time. We (especially our kids) are delighted!

Jul

2009

(9 of 11 customers found this review helpful)

3.0

Not all it is advertised to do

By Jack

from Denver

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to Install

Cons

Does not hold 5 bikes

Best Uses

Comments about Yakima Doubledown Hitch Rack - 5 Bike:

We tried to put 5 bikes on the rack and found that if 1 bike is designed for an adult Female rider, you can not carry 5 bikes but only 4 due to the way you have to put the 1 bike on. It will hold 4 bikes very well but the fifth bike I'm not so sure.

May

2009

(9 of 11 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Beautiful Rack

By CycleBuzz

from Atlanta, GA

About Me Avid Cyclist

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy to Install
Easy to Use
Lightweight

Cons

Hard to Install or Use
Unstable

Best Uses

Large Cars
Road Bikes
Small Cars

Comments about Yakima Doubledown Hitch Rack - 5 Bike:

This is a great looking rack that is very ergonomic. We have a class III hitch that this rack fits into through the use of an included adapter. The adapter makes it a little more difficult to get it in the hitch. A bolt secures the rack to the hitch and does a good job stabilizing it. The rack is very ergonomic and had two adjustments that can be made through red latches. The first allows the rack to swing down to allow access to your vehicle. I would not recommend doing this with the rack loaded. This mechanism also allows for a significant amount of play making the rack unstable while driving. The rack is often swinging back and forth and side to side. The second latch allows the rack to take up minimal space and works well.

Attaching bikes is a snap as long as they have standard frames. Mountain bikes, kids bikes, and other frame types prove to be more difficult. The mechanisms to attach the bikes do hold well and secure the bikes fairly well. Bungee cords are recommended to finish securing the bikes to the rack.

May

2010

(7 of 8 customers found this review helpful)

1.0

Not at all happy with this rack

By Davlance

from Colorado

About Me Avid Cyclist

See all my reviews

Pros

Cons

Hard to Install or Use
Unstable
Weak Construction

Best Uses

Comments about Yakima Doubledown Hitch Rack - 5 Bike:

Five bikes will sometimes fit on this rack, order and placement are key, frustrating trial and error is the rule when loading. Most frames a pain to work with, must use additional top bar for most mtn bike frames, $ and PITA + some frames do not mount well. Tight fit when loaded with 5, rubbing of bikes common. Finally pivot bushing broke after a couple of months, had to strap the rack to the truck to keep it from swaying wildly.

Apr

2010

(5 of 5 customers found this review helpful)

4.0

Easy Installation

By George in Cincinnati

from Cincinnati, OH

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Easy to Install

Cons

Best Uses

Large Cars
Mountain Bikes
Road Bikes

Comments about Yakima Doubledown Hitch Rack - 5 Bike:

Installation was simpler than I expected, nearly out of the box and into the 2 inch hitch. Quality of rack was very high as I have come to expect with several Yakima products purchased over the last 20+ years.

I was a little disappointed in the 125 pound maximum weight in bikes that can be carried. After weighing all the bikes and seeing an average weight of nearly 30 pounds, the most we will carry is 4 bikes.

Loading adult bikes with a standard cross tube is very easy and quite secure. The kids bikes, especially the mountain bike style are pretty difficult, one of which has to stay in last rack position because I could not twist and contort it the further back on the rack it gets.

Mar

2011

(1 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

2.0

difficult to load bikes 3+ bikes

By onekama mi

from Northern Michigan

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable

Cons

Hard to Install or Use

Best Uses

Road Bikes

Comments about Yakima Doubledown Hitch Rack - 5 Bike:

If all bikes were the typical adult triangle frame, it would work fine for 5 bikes. But with 4 kids bikes it is tedious and time consuming. Also, when you use the tie down straps in colder weather, it is actually hurts your fingers to get them pulled across tab and set. As long as it is warm outside, not so bad. Not so sure I would buy again, I would probably modify a small trailer instead for 5 bikes. The fold down feature is very useful for a raised life gate when empty. When fully loaded, fold up is cumbersome.

Dec

2011

4.0

An excellent 4 bike rack.

By DanK21

from Ft Collins, CO

About Me Avid Cyclist

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy to Install
Stable

Cons

Good for 4 bikes

Best Uses

Comments about Yakima Doubledown Hitch Rack - 5 Bike:

I did mean to call it a four bike rack (even though Yak calls it 5).
It was really easy to put together and use. The rack is very stable on the car, and the bikes are very stable in the rack. The folding features work quite well, but I still take it on/off the car pretty regularly. The features that make the rack stable in the hitch mean that I use a cordless drill to make the on/off procedure efficient.
It's super easy to use for 1-3 bikes (my most common usage) and might be easy for 4-5 standard frame bikes, but that's not the application I bought the rack to perform.
I have one std mtn bike frame, an odd adult mtn bike frame that requires a toptube device, and two kids mtn bikes with odd/small frames.
I only use the hw for mounting 4 bikes, and it's pretty tough to get all four of them on, in a way that won't damage the bikes as they rub together while driving. I learned this the hard way, as one of the bikes rubbed thru the finish on one of the legs of the front shock of my bike. This causes more complicated, time consuming behaviors to reduce the likelihood of damage (a pain).
I advise folks to assume that rack companies are too optimistic about the numbers of bikes that will typically fit on a rack (this is a knock on all the rack companies, not just Yak).

Nov

2011

4.0

Not perfect but solid

By jbomb

from Boulder County, CO

About Me Avid Cyclist

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy to Install
Stable

Cons

Mtn bikes tricky

Best Uses

Comments about Yakima Doubledown Hitch Rack - 5 Bike:

I ride 5 to 6 times per week so this rack has gotten plenty of use in the 7 months that I've had it. If you have a rear suspension mtn bike or a very small frame bike, you will probably have to buy an extra bar to get the bike on the rack. It's a solid unit though and I have taken it on quite a lot of rough dirt roads. I think it is easy to install but it is heavy so that a small person may have a hard time moving/removing it. I agree with others that the downside of the stable frameholders is that they are a pain to guide the bike over as you put it on the rack. Other brands that I looked at just did not look as solid and well-built.

Aug

2011

5.0

Awesome Rack

By Campster

from Palatine, IL

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Stable

Cons

Hard to Install or Use

Best Uses

Large Cars
Mountain Bikes

Comments about Yakima Doubledown Hitch Rack - 5 Bike:

This is a great rack, easy to assemble and incredibly stable. One thing to think about though....if you don't plan on always loading "5" bikes, then I'd drop down to something smaller because it's a little bit of a pain jiggering the bikes over all of those plastic rests and rubber straps...At least for mountain bikes. Road bikes are probably easier to get on. If you've got mountain bikes and most likely will load 2 or 3, 90% of the time and are looking to get the 4 or 5 "just in case"...Go with the 3. Consider it. Also, not sure about other racks, but to attach this one to the car, you need to screw it into the hitch with this huge bolt. Not that difficult, but if you plan on taking the rack on/off your car (cause my truck doesn't fit in the garage with this on!), there might be another rack that is easier. But the bolt sure keeps this thing SOLID with little or no movement when driving on my Explorer. Take my criticism with a grain of salt. Overall, I'm seriously glad I bought this rack!

Aug

2011

5.0

Great rack

By sgreen

from Denver, CO

About Me Casual/ Recreational

See all my reviews

Pros

Durable
Easy to Install
Stable

Cons

Best Uses

Comments about Yakima Doubledown Hitch Rack - 5 Bike:

I recently purchased this rack and used it for a road trip which was about 3000 miles total. I never had a single issue. After reading other reviews, I went with the 5-bike version to ensure that I could easily fit 3 or 4 bikes. I can see how actually loading 5 bikes on this would be a nightmare. It takes some trial and error to get each bike into place, so you just have to be patient and work it out. I don't see how you could avoid this with any hitch style rack. Women's or children's bikes are especially tricky, so you have to work with them a bit to find the right fit. Once loaded though they were very secure.