The Best Car Racks for Electric Bikes

Start with the per-bike rating

Every rack publishes two weight numbers: a total and a per-bike limit. The per-bike number is the one that matters. A rack rated "130 lbs total" for two bikes is usually rated 65 lbs per bike, and you cannot put a 90 lb cargo e-bike on one tray and a 40 lb kids' bike on the other to make the math work.

Weigh your e-bike with everything that rides on it: battery, rack, fenders, lights, lock, basket. A bathroom scale works: weigh yourself holding the e-bike, then subtract your own weight. Then leave some margin. If your e-bike weighs 68 lbs, a 70 lb rack is technically fine, but you are at the limit every time you hit a pothole.

The racks in this guide run from 65 lbs per bike (Thule EasyFold XT 2) to 100 lbs (Kuat Piston ION, Young Electric, and the front tray of the 1UP Super Duty). For most commuter and step-through e-bikes, 70 to 80 lbs is plenty. Fat-tire, moped-style and cargo e-bikes are where the 100 lb racks earn their price.

One detail that catches people out: some racks rate each tray differently. The 1UP Super Duty Double is rated 100 lbs on the front tray and 75 lbs on the second. On racks like that, the heavier e-bike goes closest to the car.

Why trunk, roof and hanging racks do not work for e-bikes

Trunk racks strap to the back of the car and hold the bike by its top tube. The best-selling trunk racks are rated around 35 lbs per bike; Saris lists its Bones EX at 35 lbs. No trunk rack we found has a rating that covers a typical e-bike, and the straps and clips put that load on your car's paint and trunk edges.

Roof racks can carry some e-bikes on paper, but the per-bike ratings we saw for popular models sit around 45 lbs, and even where the rating is higher, lifting a 60 lb e-bike over your head onto a car roof is how people get hurt and cars get dented. Your car's roof also has its own load limit, printed in the owner's manual.

Hanging hitch racks (the kind with two long arms the bike hangs from) have the same problem as trunk racks. They hold the bike by the frame, most e-bike frames do not have a round top tube to hang from, and their per-bike ratings are low. A popular hanging rack like the Yakima HangOver is rated 37.5 lbs per bike, for example.

That leaves the hitch-mounted platform rack: trays that hold the e-bike by its wheels, low to the ground, on a hitch built to take the weight. Every pick in this guide is one.

Hitch class, hitch size and tongue weight

A hitch rack plugs into the receiver on the back of your car. Receivers come in two common sizes: 1.25 inch (usually Class 1 or 2, on smaller cars) and 2 inch (usually Class 3 or higher, on SUVs and trucks). Most heavy-duty e-bike racks are 2 inch only.

The number that actually limits you is tongue weight: how much downward load the hitch is rated to carry. It is on a label on the hitch itself and in your car's manual. Add the rack's own weight to the weight of your e-bikes. A 58 lb Hollywood Sport Rider carrying two 70 lb e-bikes puts 198 lbs on the hitch before you count the leverage of that weight hanging a couple of feet behind the bumper. Class 1 hitches are commonly rated around 200 lbs of tongue weight, so a small car with a 1.25 inch hitch can be at its limit with two e-bikes even when the rack is not.

Two rules from the makers themselves are worth repeating. Hollywood says not to use a 1.25 to 2 inch adapter on its e-bike racks. And some racks are rated lower on a 1.25 inch hitch (Kuat's Piston Pro X drops from 67 to 60 lbs per bike) or come as a separate 1.25 inch model (Hollywood's Sport Rider). If you have a small hitch, check the rating for your hitch size, not the headline number.

If you are buying a hitch for your car anyway, get a 2 inch Class 3. It opens up every rack in this guide.

Ramps and loading height

Lifting a 70 lb e-bike to waist height and setting it into a tray without scratching the car is the part of rack ownership nobody warns you about. A ramp lets you roll the e-bike up instead, and for many owners it is the difference between using the rack every weekend and leaving the e-bike at home.

Some racks include a ramp in the box: the Hollywood Destination E (a 46 inch ramp), the Thule EasyFold XT 2 (stored inside the rack), the Kuat Piston ION and the Young Electric. Others sell one as an accessory: the Thule Epos 2 and the 1UP Super Duty. Some cannot take a ramp at all because of how their wheel holders are built; both Hollywood's Sport Rider and RV Rider are in that group.

If you can comfortably lift your e-bike onto a workbench, a rack without a ramp is fine, and it saves money and weight. If you cannot, or if someone else in the house will be loading it, buy a rack with a ramp included. It is cheaper than adding one later.

Fat tires and wheelbase

Many e-bikes ride on 4 to 5 inch fat tires, and plenty of racks will not hold them without an add-on. The Thule EasyFold XT 2 takes 3 inch tires as standard (4.7 inch with Thule's XXL straps). The Epos 2 takes 3.2 inch as standard. The Hollywood, Kuat, 1UP and Young Electric racks in this guide all take 4.5 to 5 inch tires with no kit.

Wheelbase, the distance between the two axles, is the other fit check. Longtail cargo e-bikes and some moped-style e-bikes are long enough to overhang a standard tray. Measure your e-bike and compare it to the rack's maximum:

• Hollywood Sport Rider and RV Rider: up to 60 inches
• 1UP Super Duty: 54 inches, 58 with the trays in the outer position
• Kuat Piston ION: 57 inches
• Thule Epos 2: 1350 mm (about 53 inches)
• Thule EasyFold XT 2: 1300 mm (about 51 inches)
• Hollywood Destination E and Young Electric: 50 inches

Step-through frames are a fit question too. Racks that clamp the frame need something to clamp. Racks that hold only the wheels (Kuat, 1UP) or that clamp with telescoping arms (Thule Epos 2) are the easiest match for low step-through frames.

Off-road and RV ratings

A rack's headline rating assumes paved roads. Washboard gravel and potholes bounce the load, and a few makers publish a separate, lower number for that. Kuat rates the Piston ION at 100 lbs per bike on the road and 50 lbs off-road. 1UP rates the Super Duty all the way to "extreme off-road". Thule says the EasyFold XT 2 and Epos 2 are approved for off-road use. If you drive to trailheads on dirt, look for that line on the spec page.

RVs are a separate problem. A rack on the back of a motorhome sits far behind the rear axle, where every bump is magnified, and most racks are not approved there at all. The ones in this guide that are:

• Hollywood RV Rider: Class A, B and C motorhomes, fifth wheels and flat-towed cars. Not travel trailers, and not bumper-mounted receivers.
• 1UP Super Duty: RV and travel trailer rated, two bikes maximum.
• Kuat Piston ION: chassis-mounted RV hitches at 80 lbs per bike.
• Thule Epos 2: RV use at a 40 percent reduced load.
• Hollywood Destination E and Sport Rider: Class B motorhomes only, and Hollywood lists conditions for the Destination E (a chassis-mounted receiver, no more than 64 inches behind the rear axle, and a vehicle under 10,000 lbs).

If a rack's spec page does not mention RVs, assume it is not approved.

Take the battery off before you drive

Removing the battery before you load the e-bike is the easiest win in this whole guide. It takes several pounds off the per-bike load, makes lifting easier, and keeps the most expensive part of the e-bike out of highway-speed rain, road grit and the hands of anyone who walks past a parked car. Many e-bike makers say the same in their manuals. Put the battery in the car, and cover the exposed contacts on the e-bike if your model has a cover.

Also take off anything loose: phone mounts, bags, baskets and child seats. They can fly off at speed, and they add weight you are carrying for no reason.

Locking the rack and the e-bikes

Most of the racks here include two locks: one that locks the rack to the hitch, and a cable that runs through the e-bike frames. Hollywood includes locking frame hooks, a security cable and a locking hitch pin. Kuat includes a 12 mm cable lock and a hitch lock on the Piston ION.

Treat the included cable as a deterrent for a quick stop, not as real security. If you are leaving the car for more than a few minutes, add a proper lock through the frame and the rack, and take the battery and display with you. An e-bike on a rack in a trailhead parking lot is an easy target.