Transporting mountain bikes never seems to be as easy as it should be. Various frame shapes and wheel sizes have caused many headaches and scratched paint throughout design iterations, but mounting the bike vertically eliminates a few of those concerns.
Rad Racks adds a twist to the growing popularity of basket-style racks that only contact the bike’s tires. Two hinges fold the mast in half and also rotate the basket to tuck well out of the way. Building a rack that folded out of the way to access truck beds and hatchbacks prompted the design. When fully lowered, the rack also doubles as a workstation too. Replaceable strap systems lock bikes with 20-29” wheels (up to 3.5” tires) into place to ensure no components are damaged.
Rad 4 Details
• Articulating basket and mast pivot points
• Frame-contactless loading
• Carries 20-29″ x 3″ tires
• 2″ hitch insert
• Anti-rattle hitch pin
• Max bike weight: 23 kg (50 lb) per basket
• Weight: 33 kg (73 lb)
• Price: $1,149.00 CAD
• radracks.ca
The Canadian-built Rad 4 retails for $1,149 CAD and comes with a 30-day satisfaction guarantee, plus a 1-year warranty. The price includes all the necessary straps and an anti-rattle hitch pin. Shipping is available within North America for just under $100 or you can pick it up yourself from their office.
ASSEMBLY & INSTALLATION
Our test rack was handed off pre-assembled, but bolting it together doesn’t seem over-complicated. All of the bolts use Teflon-coated nuts for added security and the metal is finished with a 3-stage powder coat. A ratchet set, or better yet, an impact wrench would save you time and straining your wrist, though. Rad Racks will assemble the product for $25 if you wish to pick it up locally.
The Rad4 offers three setback angles; vertical, reclined, and one that is slightly forward to give the most ground clearance. There is only one height option for the main mast but there are multiple bolt holes to set the length away from the vehicle hitch mount.
LOADING & UNLOADING
Watching riders try to figure out how to load their bikes on a foreign rack for the first time is always entertaining. The same rings true for the strap system of the Rad4. Luckily, placing the front wheel in the basket is an obvious first move on the Rad4.
First, you’ll want to load the bikes from left to right, starting with the shorter bikes to reduce any handlebar interference. I never experience any issues, even with road and BMX bikes in combination with MTBs.
If you only have one or two bikes, keeping the weight centered will reduce the strain on the rack and the movement of the bikes. Likewise, e-bikes should be placed in the center positions, remembering that each basket has a load limit of 23 kg (50lb).
I found the fastest method always started with leaving the straps in their dummy position. Next, I’d release the ski strap in the basket, add some slack to the tie-down, unhook the fabric eyelet and let it hang. This way, you have two hands free to feed the strap through the spokes. Then, load the bike in the basket, loop the straps through each wheel, rotate the cranks to the two o’clock position, and finish by tightening down the hook on the pedals.
Cinching down a bike without pedals or a chain (make sure to clock the cranks in the six o’clock position) isn’t an issue.
All of the rules and loading instructions can be found in their online user guide.
BIKE RETENTION
Wheel baskets are an excellent solution for carrying a bike without damaging any precious surfaces. The ones on the Rad Rack are angled, which I believe adds some stability to the handlebars rocking back and forth in the basket versus some homemade versions I’ve seen that keep the wheel vertical.
However, the bikes still wiggle side to side through huge potholes and water bars. Thankfully, the straps and spacing on the Rad4 lock the bikes in without ever contacting each other.
SECURITY
No bike is ever totally safe, even with heavy-duty locks and the same goes for a bike rack itself. Even though you can get a locking hitch pin, the Rad4 could be removed from the square receiver bar if you removed two bolts. Although it’s not a common occurrence, I have heard of this happening before (on another similar style rack).
As far as locking the bike to the rack itself, there is an eyelet cut into the steel frame near the middle of the mast (next to the bottle opener).
DURABILITY
During the review, none of the straps showed any signs of wear and all of the bolts stayed tight. Despite all of the pivot points and plenty of rough roads, none of the pivot points produced any play or creaks.
The paint has also held up to a decent amount of wet weather, cringeworthy salted roads, and lots of bushwhacking.
COMPARISON
We’d be foolish not to compare the Rad Racks Rad4 to another locally made product, the classic North Shore Racks 4-bike carrier. The two racks go about transporting bikes in a similar orientation, but use different capturing points. Both racks fold in half when not in use and lower to allow access to the trunk/bed space.
As quick and convenient as the NSR-4 is, there are a few downsides I’ve experienced versus the Rad4. First, is the wear that the fork cradle can induce over time, or unexpectedly. Secondly, depending on the fork lengths and head tube widths, sometimes a brake caliper can contact the adjacent fork lower. The NSR-4 also requires a separate adaptor to carry a road bike due to the fork cradle design.
The most detrimental downside to the NSR-4 is that the bike can be pushed out of the cradle if the rear wheel contacts the ground (yes, I know it’s not advised to drive off-road with either rack, but we are talking about “mountain” biking). Adding a ski strap to the cradle can reduce this, but the Rad4 does offer two points to capture the bike, the front wheel and the pedal. No bikes were lost or ever damaged with the Rad4.
I won’t get into ground clearance because that totally depends on the geometry of each individual bike and where you have the rack positioned in the hitch.
The Rad4 is heavier than the NSR-4 (23 kg) and bulkier, even when folded twice. The tie-down straps are also specifically made for Rad Racks, and although you can purchase replacements, you won’t find one in a hardware store.
It’s also a few hundred bucks more than the NSR-4. For the price of the Rad2 two-bike carrier, you could purchase an NSR-4.
If you compare apples to apples, the VelociRAX 412 is over $100 CAD more costly though. The only added benefit to that non-folding rack is the hydraulic strut to ease the lowering process.
Pros
+ Bike cannot be pushed out of rack if rear wheel contacts the ground
+ Rack does not contact frame or fork (no bike-on-bike contact either)
+ Folds out of the way when not in use
+ Fits 20-29” wheels, including road bikes
Cons
– Straps to secure rear wheel are not intuitive
– Bulky and heavy to install and remove
– Custom straps might leave you in a pinch if lost
Pinkbike’s Take
| There are plenty of options out there for bike racks these days, but having one more that brings versatility and security at no detriment to your bike’s paint is welcomed. The Rad4 is a bit more complicated due to the abundance of straps, but when the loading process is learned they add peace of mind, even through the bumpiest of roads. |