Hi Folks, I've seen many write about trailer hitch bike racks. I've never used one of these, I've always used the types of racks which are secured to the car by straps. I even used one on '91 civic hatchback, with success. I have two questions... assuming I don't want to carry my bikes (mine/my wife) inside the Fit (my wife's has metal wire paniers which makes it more difficult to fit)... 1. Are the strapped carriers now considered bad? 2. Which is the best and cheapest solution to carry 2 bikes? (I understand these can sometime be mutually exclusive but... I'm optimistic)

 

On my last vehicle, a Toyota minivan, I used a strap-on 4 bike carrier attached to the rear hatch. It left a dent in the lower part of the hatch. I have played around with it's location to find a better place to strap it to not damage the hatch anymore, and I was pretty successful, however, with that said, I would much rather have had a hitch mounted carrier. It won't damage anything and seems to be much sturdier. The strap mount carrier comes into contact with the car in so many places, and with the added weight and movement of 1-4 bikes, some damage seems inevitable. I just didn't want to go to the expense of adding a hitch to the van.

 

I'd recommend the Saris Bones carrier but with the bottom supports rested on the bumper as opposed to on the hatch. You'll have limited hatch accessibility but at least you won't chance denting it.

 

I would go with a trailer hitch carrier for a more stable mounting system.

 

Take a look at this one.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSit-xp5dQ4
the 1up usa rack is on my to buy list. Wheel supported bike racks that dont grab your frame are the most versatile for supporting different styles of bikes. There are a lot of great reviews on youtube the one selected just so happens to be on a fit so I shared.

 

Thanks everyone! This is fantastic information. I've never used the hitch method before (cost) but I think this is the method I'll choose after reading your input. As morrijo stated, I've had some major challenges fitting my wife's bike onto the rack due to the frame design. Her bike is also heavy which adds to the frustration. I hadn't thought that this will be a non-issue with the hitch method. Here's a silly question.... Say you're in a city and park your car somewhere to go riding... you don't have to remove the hitch carrier to prevent theft ... do you?

 

This looks nicely engineered but very cumbersome to mount, not to mention that it's very expensive.

Furthermore (just playing devil's advocate here...), if you go in for transmission work under warranty and the dealer sees a tow hitch on your Fit he may assume that you've been towing something which exceeded the Fit's limits, which may lead him to void the warranty.

Just sayin'...

 

Straps over the rear fairing window cover thing are not a good idea with the 2015 Fit. Most rack manufacturers will catch this and not include cars like our 2015's in their manual of optional cars.

My dealer basically said.. "Fit's are going to be owned by outdoors type people. The bike racks using a hitch is not a big deal. Now if we roll under there and you have trailer wiring for legal trailer towing, that may be a different story in the eyes of Honda."

Enjoy!

 

In my case with my saris rack it uses a threaded bolt that secures the rack to the hitch and prevents the rack from rocking. Someone will need to have a 19mm socket and wrench with them if they want my rack. In addition to this, you can buy the threaded bolt system that a lock slides onto on the other end, then you know for sure someone will really have to work to get your rack.

I've provided a link to the lock I'm talking about.

SportRack Hitch Pin Bolt with Lock, Black - Walmart.com

 

Mine is in post #4 of this thread.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/3rd-...ler-hitch.html

Hearing that you have paniers, you may want to go toward a rack that holds the bikes by the top tubes.

If you are into higher end bikes or plan to ever own anything carbon, you may want to look more in the direction of what I have on my car in the picture. In my case the only thing being held in place is the wheels.

Hope this helps. 5-6 years in bike shops and still cycling... I'm open for questions.

Thanks!

 

Very good to know. Thanks!

 

Yes, this really changed my view of installing the hitch. The service guy really drew a line with the legal versus illegal towing of a trailer. When no wiring is present... You can't possibly be towing a trailer. This was one guys take at the Honda dealership. This was not the words of Honda.

But it makes complete sense to me!

 

I wish they made hitches with 2" receivers. All of my accessories have 2" tubes.

 

they do have 2" hitches for the fit. I installed this one a couple nights ago. It keeps the bottom of the car in its aero form. Paid a little more than I wanted but it is clean. EcoHitch for the fit.

 

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Try that pic again. Sorry im a noob.

 

Thanks again everyone. CyclingFit - I agree... no harness = no trailer. Shouldn't be cause for warranty issues.

If a rack bolts on to the hitch, I'm comfortable with it regarding theft. I would be concerned if it would be attached using some quick-release mechanism.

My wife's paniers are metal and fold/collapse. Our bikes are not high end, mine is a Canondale hybrid but my wife's a city touring bike... heavy as a tank (compared to mine, that is). Would a rack like yours work?

I apologize if this is silly question but am new to the hitch rack concept. Learning.
ref: https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/3rd-g...ler-hitch.html

 

Thanks for the info. Did you have to notch out a section of the bumper?

 

Yes I did. Its 5 inches wide and tapers to a 3 inch, sitting 4 Inches deep and the hitch kit included the trim guard. Used a dremmel after drawing the pattern.

 

I have a 2015 Fit and want to carry 2 bikes outside of the car.

I could not find any (acceptable) roof racks. Due to the spoiler, the strap on rear bike rack is not an option. Not an option to (easily) remove the spoiler due to the brake light being a part of it.

This left me with the option of hitch. I was trying to avoid this because of the cost and my fear that I would void my extended warranty that I'm paying so much for!

After thouroughly researching the topic, I believe that the cost will be worth the time I will not spend with a method that is more difficult to use. In addittion, there are racks available that tilt away so the hatch can be opened with the bikes loaded. I love this! I think that this will be so helpful for camping.

About the warranty - I read through my warranty and couldn't find anything specifically about a hitch. I could find that my warranty could be considered voided if I made any non-approved modifications, or any modifications made by someone other than Honda damaged the car in certain ways. Because of this, I called the Honda dealer to request a hitch be installed (called 6/1/15). I was told that Honda does not make these, but that it would not void my warranty to have one installed for a bike rack only. I voiced my concern about how the car is not to be used for towing - and I was told that since there would be no wiring for towing (brake lights) installed, I would be fine. I was referred by Honda to a different company that will be installing a Class 1 hitch this week.

This is what I plan on getting... have to save up first: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...A2RA9SXXTGVE9R

 

I have a Kuat NV two bike rack in black. I bought it a few months before I decided to get a Fit so It has a 2" receiver. I had to get an adaptor for the draw-tite hitch I bought. Using the adaptor and with the rack down it sticks out 41 inches from the rear bumper to the end of the rack. A little long but it ensures the bikes will never touch the hatch. And makes it easier to get things in and out of the hatch.

I originally got the Kuat NV because I have mountain bikes with frame designs that will not fit my other rack. It is a great bike rack and has a built in work stand. The rack also tightens down in the receiver so it doesn't make a sound while driving.

The only thing I need to keep an eye on is the adaptor as it states that it lowers your weight capacity by half. So the draw-tite hitch has an original tongue weight of 200 pounds. With the adaptor the tongue weight, supposedly, is now only 100 pounds. It's hard to believe because the adaptor is pretty beefy but I am over that limit by roughly ten pounds with the rack and the two bikes I have. So I need to keep an eye on things. I am not anticipating any issues however. I think the manufacturers error on the side of caution.