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Yakima HoldUp Bike Hitch Rack
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Yakima HoldUp Bike Hitch Rack

Item # 784535

$415.00

Item qualifies for annual
REI Member Refund (typically 10%)

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Take your bikes on and off your vehicle quickly and easily with the Yakima HoldUp hitch rack.

  • No wheel removal required and very little frame contact; arm lifts up and over the wheel to secure the bike in place
  • Streamlined design carries a wide range of bike styles and sizes without the need for adapters
  • Rear wheel cradle with adjustable strap offers a versatile fit for all styles of wheels and tires
  • Updated design allows easier folding up and down up of tray with a spring-loaded pull pin; rack tilts further down for better access to rear of vehicle
  • Security system locks bikes and rack with 1 key
  • Choose 2 in. or 1.25 in. receiver hitch size

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

Yakima Racks

Imported.

Item 784535

Yakima HoldUp Bike Hitch Rack Specs

Specification

Description

Weight49 pounds

Yakima HoldUp Bike Hitch Rack Customer Reviews

REVIEW SNAPSHOT®

by PowerReviews
Yakima HoldUp Bike Hitch Rack
 
4.0

(based on 6 reviews)

83%

of respondents would recommend this to a friend.

Pros

  • Durable (4)
  • Stable (4)
  • Easy to install (3)
  • Easy to use (3)

Cons

    Best Uses

    • Mountain bikes (5)
    • Road bikes (3)
    • Reviewer Profile:
    • Avid cyclist (5)

    Reviewed by 6 customers

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    Displaying reviews 1-6

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    Jun

    7

    2009

    (4 of 4 customers found this review helpful)

     
    4.0

    Excellent Rack

    By Robman

    from Rockville, MD

    About Me Avid Cyclist

    Site Member

    Pros

    • Durable
    • Easy to Use
    • Stable

    Cons

    • Heavy

    Best Uses

    • Mountain Bikes
    • Road Bikes

    Comments about Yakima HoldUp Bike Hitch Rack:

    I was looking for a tow hitch mounted rack that fit unusually shaped bike frames, like a Softride or frames without the top tube. My research led me to the '09 Hold Up, and I have no regrets. [...] I had it installed quickly. It IS possible to incorrectly bolt the bike holders to the frame that enters the tow hitch receiver, so pay attention to the orientation the the clamp arms in the instructions. It's installed on an '09 Nissan Xterra. The rack weighs close to 50 lbs, and is a bit heavy. With two bikes in place, it is a bit difficult to pull the pin and lower the rack to open the rear hatch. It would be great if a future version had a button or lever closer to the bottle opener that let you raise/lower the rack to make it easier for a single person to work the mechanism.The rack holds the bikes securely in place, just make sure to have the clamp arm ratchet down tightly. The hitch bolt tightens the rack to the car quite nicely, and doesn't shake about at all. Within days of installing the rack, strangers have come up to talk to me about. The design and colors make it look like a high tech piece of equipment. I really, really like this rack, and love how there's no risk of damage to the bike frames. I highly recommend it.

    • Gift:
    • No

    Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

    (4 of 4 customers found this review helpful)

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    Jun

    16

    2009

    (3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

     
    4.0

    Solid and Sharp Looking

    By adventurejess

    from Bothell, WA

    About Me Avid Cyclist

    Pros

    • Durable
    • Stable

    Cons

    • Release button location
    • Trickery to get bikes on

    Best Uses

    • Large Cars
    • Mountain Bikes
    • Road Bikes

    Comments about Yakima HoldUp Bike Hitch Rack:

    Overall I am satisfied with this rack. It wasn't too hard to put together (you have to bolt the trays on yourself), is easy to get on and off the car, is stable and looks nice. It is heavy but there is no way around that. It's also nice that you don't have to lift your bikes on to the top of the car. Another thing to keep in mind is that if you plan to ride the ferry, get a hitch rack. If the bikes are on the top of your car you will have to pay an overheight fee (which is basically paying for a second car and driver) which is expensive.

    There are some drawbacks though. The bolts used to attach the trays to the main body of the hitch are not stainless steel and rusted right away. I have had this rack a year and it is also showing some rust on the rack itself. For the price you would think that Yakima could have sprung for some stainless steel bolts. There is some trickery involved to get the bikes on and off. Both arms must be in the "open" position before you start putting the bikes on or you won't be able to open the outside arm because it will catch on the pedals of the inside bike. This can be a problem if you put one bike on, leave the other arm in the secure position, drive to your friends's house and try and put another bike on. You will have to remove the first bike to open the second arm. To keep the bike stable you need to push down hard on the ratchet arm. Taking the bikes off can be difficult because the release button is on the inside and only about a half-inch away from the fork so it is hard to get to. It also takes a lot of pressure to release the ratched mechanisim and that can be difficult because of the location of the button. Also, beware, when both bikes are on make sure that the handle bars of one don't push into the seat of the other or you will get a tear in the seat. All of these things can be worked around if you remember them. And when I tried to use the bottle opener on the rack it didn't actually work. Sad.

    • Gift:
    • No

    Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

    (3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

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    May

    9

    2009

    (3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

     
    5.0

    Best hitch rack ever....

    By SJ_MTB

    from West Sacramento, CA

    About Me Avid Cyclist

    Site Member

    Pros

    • Durable
    • Easy to Install
    • Easy to Use
    • Stable

    Cons

    • Heavy

    Best Uses

    • Mountain Bikes
    • Road Bikes

    Comments about Yakima HoldUp Bike Hitch Rack:

    Excellent rack. A bit pricey but, you get what you pay for. I had a Thule before and the quality of this Yakima is by far superior. Very stable and loading bikes is a breeze. The only negative thing about it is that it's a bit heavy.

    • Gift:
    • No

    Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

    (3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)

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    Sep

    25

    2009

    (2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

     
    3.0

    McGyver or back to drawing board...

    By Ride Your Bike

    from Denver, CO

    About Me Avid Cyclist

    Site Member

    Pros

    • It's black

    Cons

    • Lock cable poor design
    • Unable to lock rack
    • Wobbly before McGyver

    Best Uses

      Comments about Yakima HoldUp Bike Hitch Rack:

      I'm rating the 2009 version of the Yakima Holdup 1-1/4, which I believe is Yakima's third attempt at getting the rack right. Yakima still falls short of perfection. It's not that difficult, especially after you put it together from the box to see the issues with the rack. I suspect the 2" version will solve only problem 2 below.Design flaw #1: Locking cable is too short. Looks like about a 7 foot cable. About 2-3 feet too short to go through both wheels and frames on both bikes and then attach/lock the hitch tightening bolt. Come on, Yakima, didn't you even try to do this? Do you think we don't want to lock up our wheels? Would it bankrupt you to make it long enough? Since the lock is not very good anyway, I'll use my own cable and padlock and lock it to the hitch loop.Design flaw #2: Locking cable/ hitch lock poorly designed. Aside from being too short to properly lock 2 bikes, the cable locking mechanism won't fit into the small area where the tightening bolt comes out of the receiver. I have a Curt hitch and I suspect it's pretty standard as far as 1-1/4" hitch receivers go. If I could get the cable to lock to the bolt, the keyhole would be on the back side, facing toward the front of the car and inaccessible. It is possible that Yakima understood this to be a problem, so they built another place to lock the cable to (same fitting as the bolt) on the main rack. OK, fine. So I should go buy the accessory Hitchlock (8007235). Problem 2a, it doesn't fit my standard hitch either. Why couldn't they just copy a company that has done it and done it right, positioned key on the end of the lock, facing sideways, easily accessible. So until I come up with a better method, I cannot lock the rack to the car. I must be able to lock it. Update: Softride part number 25057 bolt and lock works perfectly for the 1 1/4" receiver. 25056 is the part number for the 2" receiver. Both are far better designs than Yakima's, and extremely secure.Design flaw #3: Still wobbly. So Yakima gives you a nice tightening bolt which snugs up the rack to your receiver. This works quite well (aside from #2 above). However, the rack itself still wobbles via the main pivot that swings the rack up (for storage) and down (for trunk access). It has entirely too much play (~1/2" to 1" I'd estimate) in it which I suspect will wear the pivot over time. So I guess now the rack is only half as wobbly as it would have been without the rack tightening bolt. I have a similar Softride rack that has no play whatsoever so I know it is possible. Update: I bought some plastic and rubber washers from [...] took the main pivot bolt out and filled the space with the washers. Tightened it up so it has some resistance, but no wobble.Back to the drawing board Yakima. You have your assignment. I've even provided you with solutions.The above being said, the rack is probably no worse than the other 2 competing racks on the market. Just still not perfect. Especially for the premium price they charge for it. And I doubt most people would go to the trouble of doing what I did to make it a rack Yakima would be proud of.If it costs too much to fix the above 3 flaws, I suggest Yakima remove the gimmicky bottle opener.While I'm on my soapbox, I'd like to suggest an accessory which could be added to the rack. A brake light/turn signal light bar that somehow hooked to the end of the rack and plugs into the hitch's brake light/signal harness. When 2 bikes are on the rack, or even when the rack is in the storage position, the tail lights are at least partially obscured from behind. I'm sure somewhere it's already caused a rear-end accident and I wouldn't doubt that eventually laws will be added requiring the lighting. It's like running a trailer without lights.

      • Gift:
      • No

      Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

      (2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

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      Aug

      2

      2009

      (2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

       
      3.0

      Skeptic

      By J

      from San Mateo

      About Me Casual/ Recreational

      Pros

      • Easy to Install

      Cons

      • Weak Construction

      Best Uses

      • Mountain Bikes
      • Small Cars

      Comments about Yakima HoldUp Bike Hitch Rack:

      All references and reviews pointed me to this rack. I was impressed once I installed it and drove my car around the block. I removed my bike, folded the rack up and said goodnight. In the morning the hitch bolt was broken. The head of the bolt and the lock washer were both on the ground. Maybe a defective bolt? Not sure but I am a little skeptical of this product now as a result. What if it broke off while on the road?

      • Gift:
      • No

      Bottom Line No, I would not recommend this to a friend

      (2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)

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      Please let us know what kind of issue this is:

      Jul

      8

      2009

      (1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

       
      5.0

      Fits any bike size

      By venuko

      from British Columbia, Canada

      About Me Avid Cyclist

      Site Member

      Pros

      • Durable
      • Easy to Install
      • Easy to Use
      • Stable

      Cons

        Best Uses

        • Large Cars
        • Mountain Bikes

        Comments about Yakima HoldUp Bike Hitch Rack:

        One thing I was unsure of when looking at this bike rack is whether it would fit all the bike sizes in my family, starting from the tot bike and all the way to heavy downhill bike. I was concerned since this rack doesn't have the rails to adjust the base width. Not to worry! As it turned out this design nicely accommodates the bikes of all sizes and wheel widths. I am really happy with the product that I am sure going to last forever based on its exceptional build quality.

        Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

        Images shared by venuko

        Traveling Oregon Coast

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        Tags: Picture of Product, Using Product, Made with Product

        (1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)

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