The last thing you want to see in your rearview mirror as you hurtle down the road is thousands of dollars worth of bikes rattling behind your bumper. But thanks to an expanding-wedge design that secures the rack in your vehicle’s receiver hitch and locks in place with a theft-preventing thru-bolt, the NV 2.0 stayed wobble-free throughout our testing.
The standout feature of this rack especially is its built-in repair stand, which extends from the top of the rack when it’s folded up to hang any bike by the seatpost with considerable ground clearance. It’s not the sturdiest repair stand we’ve ever used, but it’s a superior option for parking lot repairs than leaning your bike against your vehicle.
A stout pivot lets you flip the rack up when you’re not hauling bikes, deploy it flat for when you are, or drop it to a 45-degree angle for easy access to trunks and pickup beds. Other nice features include integrated cable locks and adjustable cradles offering better clearance for stacked bikes when loaded. It’s rated for up to 60 pounds per tray, making it a good option for many e-bikes.
The only hiccup we noticed is that the ratcheting system can get gunked up, making it hard to remove bikes. We also found that, as long as we paid attention to cleaning dirt and grime off the ratcheting system after driving on dirty or dusty roads, the problem disappeared.
The NV 2.0 is available for 1.25- and 2-inch receivers. Extras include a 20- and 24-inch wheel adaptor for $15the $98 bike rampthe $359 one-bikeor $598 two-bike add-ons (compatible with the 2-inch version only).
