After acquiring a vehicle that won’t fit a bike inside, I’ve become reliant on hitch racks to move my bikes around. This Spring, I got the offer to test the OnRamp LX 2-bike hitch rack from Yakima. This rack offers a 70 lbs. per bike capacity and a detachable ramp to roll heavier bikes (like ebikes) onto its trays. The rack uses stabilizers to hold your bikes’ frame or seatpost, so it can carry bikes with fenders.
While the OnRamp LX is slightly less user-friendly than other racks, its weight capacity, adaptability to different bikes, and stability on my vehicle all impressed me. Any of the rack’s inconveniences are pretty minor, and in my eyes forgivable in exchange for its trustworthy construction and reliable operation.
Yakima OnRamp LX – Key Specs:
The OnRamp LX carries two bikes, with a max. capacity of 70 lbs. per tray (or 80 lbs. for the 2” receiver model), so it’s a great option for moving ebikes or eMTBs. I tested the 1 ¼” model, and the rack itself weighs 53.5 lbs.
The rack’s trays accommodate tires up to 5” wide, wheels up to 32” diameter, and wheelbases up to 54”. The OnRamp LX’s stabilizers clamp to your bikes’ frame or seatpost, so fenders are no problem and the rack should accommodate nearly any bike.
Yakima’s hitch pin comes with a lock so the rack can’t be removed from your vehicle. The OnRamp LX does not include a lock for your bikes, but any cable lock can be looped around the rack’s frame and your bikes. When not in use, the rack folds up vertically and takes up little space.
Assembly/Adjustments:
Assembling the OnRamp LX was an easy job. Once you’ve installed a single bolt that joins the tongue portion to the rest of the rack, the rack is fully assembled! Attaching the rack to your vehicle only requires you to slip the tongue into the receiver, screw in the hitch pin, and put the lock on the end of the pin.
The only thing I’ll note is the hitch pin must be installed tightly (100 Nm). Yakima supplies wrenches, but they’re thin and not easy on the hands. I used a socket wrench on the hitch pin, partly to ensure it was tight enough, but also because my vehicle and hitch don’t leave a lot of room around the pin. I used Yakima’s wrench to install the bolt that joins the rack to its tongue, but that bolt took a fair bit of torque, so a socket wrench would make that job easier too.
Now the rack is complete and attached to your vehicle, but there are a few adjustments you’ll have to make to ensure your bikes fit on it properly. First, you’ll want to adjust the length of the trays so your wheels fit securely against the chocks. You also need to make sure your bikes are centered on your vehicle.
Adjusting one end of the tray is easy and tool-free, but for the first bikes I loaded (my MTB and a commuter bike), I did have to move the bolted-in half of both trays to get the bikes centered. This requires the removal of one Allen bolt per tray, and only takes a few minutes.
From step one of assembly to having two bikes loaded with all the necessary adjustments made, it took me one hour and 15 minutes – and I was in no rush.
Once your trays are adjusted, you’re ready to load bikes. The namesake feature of the OnRamp LX is a detachable ramp that allows you to simply roll heavier bikes up and onto the tray. When not in use, the ramp attaches to the rack so it’s always there if needed. The only catch with the ramp is that you need to have the space to use it. I have a single-car driveway, so I’d have to pull my car out to attach and utilize the ramp. In parking lots, the vehicle next to you could be in the way.
Loading Bikes/Ease of Use:
Securing bikes is fairly easy, but there’s one awkward moment when you’re loading a bike onto the inner tray: You have to hold your bike upright with one hand while you raise the rack’s mast, get one of the stabilizers positioned to hold your frame or seatpost, and buckle its strap around your bike. This isn’t terribly tricky to do, but racks that hold the bike’s wheel(s) are easier to load. Loading bikes on the OnRamp LX’s outside tray is slightly easier since the mast will be raised already.
It’s up to you to decide where you want to put the stabilizer, but I had no trouble finding good places on the frames or seatposts to hold all the bikes I hauled. I’d recommend getting as close to the top tube/seat mast junction as possible, but I clamped my lighter commuter bike on the down tube for a short drive, and it was perfectly stable.
One thing I’ll mention is to be sure to tighten the stabilizers snugly on the mast; On my first load, I thought I had one tight, but it suddenly moved. It took a few more turns of the knob to get the stabilizer properly secured.
After this, it’s just a matter of strapping both your bike’s wheels down to the trays. The straps must be positioned at outward 45° angles, but the buckles are fixed in that position so you can’t go wrong. Finally, Yakima does supply a strap to put around your bikes for extra security (and they recommend using it every time). They simply instruct you to strap it around both frames and the rack’s mast. The strap is basically a fail-safe in case something breaks or a bike is loaded incorrectly – It could prevent bikes from falling right off the rack.
Removing bikes is mostly an easy job, but there’s another tricky moment when you’re taking the bike off the inner tray. When that bike comes off, you’ll want to drop the mast out of the way. This involves holding the bike up while unbuckling and loosening the stabilizer, then pulling a pin at the bottom of the mast and pushing the mast sideways. Thankfully, just a nudge on the mast is enough to disengage the clip that holds it upright.
When the mast goes down, you’ll also have to re-position the stabilizers so they don’t interfere with the trays. This means you can’t position a stabilizer to hold your bike and leave it there – It has to be repositioned every time the mast goes up and down.
Aside from loading and unloading bikes, the OnRamp LX isn’t the quickest or easiest rack to use in a few other ways. First off, it does require tools to remove it from your vehicle. If you regularly take your rack on and off, a tool-free mechanism like Thule’s Verse rack offers is a nicer option… however, some people might prefer the security of Yakima’s screw-in hitch pin. The Thule Verse also has the OnRamp LX beat in terms of adjusting to different wheelbases. Its simple sliding wheel chocks are quicker and easier than adjusting tray lengths.
Bike Compatibility:
Throughout the summer, I carried at least five different bikes on the OnRamp LX, including a commuter bike, an e-commuter, multiple MTBs, and two eMTBs. The rack’s ‘Stadium Seating’ trays sit at staggered heights, so I had no problems loading any of these bikes securely, and only one minor interference between two of them. With my commuter bike and MTB on the rack, I had to move the seat on my commuter so it didn’t touch my MTB’s handlebars. Aside from that, all the bikes I hauled were safely separated on the OnRamp LX.
When I loaded up my Priority ebike, I did have to shorten the tray length for its wheelbase. Thankfully, the end of the tray you can adjust by hand-spinning a knob afforded enough adjustment, so it was a quick job with no tools required. Being able to carry bikes with fenders was great – Those stabilizers are a bit finicky to operate versus wheel holders, but their compatibility with bikes is excellent.
Driving:
Something I liked right away about the OnRamp LX is how little it sticks out when it’s folded up. The folded rack only protrudes about 8” from my car’s bumper, which is great when you’re parking in tighter spots. With my car, I can’t even see the top of the rack over my trunk, so it doesn’t impede visibility at all when folded up. The trunk of my car will easily open with the rack upright, and in most cases I could still open it with bikes on the rack. Folding the rack up and down is easy: There’s a spring-loaded pin on one side and a backup pin that pops in and out on the other.
The only potential issue with leaving the rack up depends on your vehicle…, but in my case the tray blocks my license plate! Thankfully, even when left down, the rack doesn’t stick out too far, so it’s totally reasonable to drive with it down and keep your plate visible. I was able to leave my car in several parking spots with the rack down, without going outside the lines.
As for rear visibility with bikes on the rack, the OnRamp LX holds bikes high enough that they do take up most of my rearward view. However, it’s not difficult to see what’s happening behind you even when you’re looking through two bikes.
I found another potential concern, but everything was OK in my case: The front wheel of the bike on the OnRamp LX’s inside tray sits close to my exhaust pipes. After one early drive, the rack felt a bit warm, so I kept an eye on this. Fortunately, after several longer drives, I never had a tire get warm, let alone hot.
Stability/Reliability:
I found the OnRamp LX to be a stable and very trustworthy rack. Immediately, I liked the square-framed design, which looks very sturdy. The threaded hitch pin holds the rack tightly to the receiver, and even if it loosens up, the pin lock should keep it from falling out.
Your bikes will do some side-to-side wiggling when driving bumpy roads, but the OnRamp LX resisted movement slightly better than the Thule rack I tested last year. I had no concerning wobbles travelling a few miles on a washboarded gravel road with my 53 lbs. ebike on the rack, or anytime I had two bikes loaded up.
I did notice the front wheel of my MTB was wiggling back and forth slightly while I drove – The wheel straps are not very flexible, and they don’t sit perfectly flat against my rim. The straps never loosened up, but they do allow some wheel wiggle in high winds.
After a whole summer on my car with regular use, I have no concerns about durability or reliability with the OnRamp LX. I’ve had no functional issues with the rack; there’s no excessive wear and tear to report, nothing has loosened up, and I trust it to carry my bikes safely.
The Yakima OnRamp LX hitch rack retails for $999.00.
