Tow Hitch Bike Rack Recommendations

[TheYuens]

I have two questions:

1. If you buy a bike rack meant for a tow hitch receiver, can you easily remove it from your car when you are not on a biking trip? This is probably a stupid question but I have never had anything but the racks that go over your trunk that you can obviously easily remove when not using.
2. What is the best tow hitch bike rack for two bikes and not a ton of use? (this assumes the answer to #1 is yes - if it is not, any other racks recommended if you want to regularly remove them from your car?) 

Thank you! 

[OldGuyot]

It might depend on the particular bike rack but yes generally you can remove them by just taking out the pin that goes through the receiver.   You will want to use a locking pin for that reason.  Some of them also fold down or fold out so you can more easily access the rear gate of an SUV or Truck

I have one for a 2 inch receiver that supports up to 4 bikes hanging from arms...think it is a Hollywood brand.  It folds down.  It is steel and quite heavy but for me provided a good price/feature trade off.

I suspect the ones that support the bikes by the wheels on rails are kinder to the bikes but they seem to be quite a bit more expensive.

[REI-AlyS]

Hey there @TheYuens!

I see that one of our users @OldGuyot was able to answer the first part of your question.  Removal is not a difficult task with hitch racks!  To answer the second part of the question, i'll link you to a previous conversation where @REI-JohnJ gave some great advice on hitch carriers for heavier bikes.

You might also take a look at the Yakima Ridgeback hitch rack or the Thule Helium Pro hitch rack.  I like the Helium bike rack because as its name suggests, it is very lightweight!

Before you settle on a rack, be sure to know what size hitch receiver you have.  Some racks are offered in 1.25" or 2".  However, some racks are only available in one or the other.

Hope this information helps!