Blog

Based out of Wisconsin, 1UP USA is a bike and e-bike rack manufacturer that we had the opportunity to meet up with at the 2021 Sea Otter Classic, in Montery California. We spoke with Robbie Lange, the owner of 1UP USA to learn about their fully aluminum bike racks and what makes them so unique.

Lange walked us through 1UP’s Super Duty Double bike rack, which, in the two bike variation, has one of the highest carrying capacities of any rack on the market. Each tray is rated for e-bikes up to 75 lbs with a total carrying capacity of up to 225 lbs. You can choose between a silver finish or black, and the rack’s carrying capacity can be expanded to three bikes or four — though adding additional trays will reduce the bike weight it can handle. The black model is $675 and the silver rack is $625.

The 1UP USA Super Duty Double has a very low profile design with the arms folded down. The rack also pivots up when unloaded to sit more flush against the back of your vehicle.

The full aluminum design and 1UP USA’s ratcheting clamp mechanism makes for a stable and secure design that protects your bike’s paint by holding onto the wheels instead of the frame. The Super Duty Double also has a 15-degree incline, so each additional bike has higher ground clearance than the prior. The standard Super Duty Double can fit tires up to 3.1 inches in width, but 1UP also has a well-engineered solution for those with electric fat bikes.

“Anything beyond 3.1 inches would require a fat tire spacer kit, which is just an additional accessory.” Lange said.

[Read more…] about 1UP USA Super Duty Double Bike Rack Review

A rack purpose-built for carrying heavy electric bikes, the Saris Door County e-bike hitch rack has one feature that makes it stand out from the rest: It does the lifting for you.

The Saris Door County bike rack uses an electric lift to drop the rack 12 inches to 16 inches to ground level, allowing you to simply roll your e-bike onto the tray. After securing the bike, all you need to do is push a button for the rack to lift itself back to the transport position. It’s a rather neat solution to an issue that plagues nearly every e-bike owner who’s ever tried to transport their bike. It’s an often asked for feature that people hope to see on the best car racks for electric bikes.

Matt Hamond, a sales administrator for Saris, walked us through the Door County rack at this year’s Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California and showed us how the lift system works. If you’ve ever struggled to lift an e-bike onto a rack, keep reading: the Saris Door County may be the solution for you.

The Door County’s control pad allows you to raise the rack up and down, no lifting required.

[Read more…] about Saris Door County Electric Assist E-bike Rack: First Look

In a year that’s seemingly been all about premium bike racks built with electric bikes in mind, the all-new Kuat Piston Pro X might be setting a new standard for how we define “premium.”

The Kuat Piston Pro X is a tray-style bicycle rack that mounts to your vehicle’s receiver hitch. It’s not yet available — Kuat says they expect the rack to start heading to consumers sometime in spring 2022 — but it’s development has been touted by the Missouri-based bicycle rack company for months. Not only does it have a 67 lb per-tray weight capacity, an accessory ramp for loading heavy bikes and integrated tail lights, the Piston Pro X has features we never expected to see on a bike rack — features like Kashima coated hydraulic pistons.

Janette Sherman, media relations for Kuat, walked us through the new Piston Pro X bike rack at this year’s Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California. While its release date is still relatively far off (March of 2022), the rack certainly looked ready. If you’re after a high-tech e-bike rack with a high weight capacity, cool features and unparalleled user experience, the new Kuat Piston Pro X just might be worth the price.

The Kuat Piston Pro X uses two arms to clamp down on the tires instead of the frame, protecting your paint job.

[Read more…] about Kuat Piston Pro X bike rack: First look