Yakima HitchFork Rack and King Cobra Mounts

Cost: $300 for HitchFork; $125 for Cobra
Contact: 888-925-0703; www.yakima.com

Shuttle riders and road-trippers can appreciate a good bike rack, and Yakima's new HitchFork hitch rack is worthy enough to satisfy them-and anyone else who has to transport bikes to the trailhead.

The HitchFork mounts to 2-inch receiver hitches easily and comes with locking hardware for security, (1.25-inch receiver adapters are also available). It also conveniently folds out of the way without tools when not in use so you don't accidentally take out your neighbor's mailbox.

Best of all, Yakima designed the HitchFork's bike mounting system to incorporate their existing bike mount trays to secure your rig. This offers the versatility of using any Yakima bike mount, whether it is a fork mount or an upright, depending on your needs. Our test HitchFork came with a trio of Yakima's superb King Cobra Bike trays, upright mounts with three attachment points that secure wheels from 20 to 29 inches. The use of bike trays means no more awkward mounting for bikes without top tubes, and the low-riding height of the hitch mount prevents back sprains incurred by hefting monster rigs atop the roof of vehicles with monster heights.