Dr.Tray

The design of this is excellent, including the integrated security features.

I just don’t see $600 of value here. For the price, I would have liked to see this made of aluminum, which would decrease weight, remove the potential for rust, and still allow a healthy profit margin.

The rack is pretty simple to use and easy to secure bikes. Rated for 40lb bikes but we tested without a problem on our 50lb ebikes from Trek and Norco for 700miles. Even took them down a pretty rough road for 5miles with no problems. Plus its light enough you dont really have to heft it around once off the hitch for storage.

I am on my third Dr. Tray. The best thing I can say about Yakima is they have good customer service. Everything time I have called for help, they have sent me out replacement parts or entire new rack. Details: I have three bikes and had the +1 to handle this. I also have a 1-1/4" hitch. However, the racks have very light use. We are not avid bikers, just use it 2-3 times a year for family vacation. As others have mentioned, this is a very expensive rack - especially if you shell out money for the +1 bike accessory. I wanted this rack to be easy to use and not cause damage to the bikes in transit (like bar ones seem to do in my experience). What I found instead was it is made cheaply. Yes, the tooless adjustments are great, but things loosen up over time and are made of plastic. But the biggest two complaints are: The main part that holds bike down is very stiff and difficult to use, and can pop free over time, leaving you not feeling very safe. The other is the main red part that locks onto hitch. I have had to replace it twice now, as it gets stuck and stripped. I was on a road trip for 2 weeks and when I got home, it just would not come off. I don't feel like I overtightened, but there is a fine line as it will rock back-and-forth if not tight enough, so you have to find that sweet spot. Yakima recommended lubricant and tapping it with a mallet before attempting to loosen after a long trip. I will try next time. So far they have sent me two locking pieces, a new arm, and two complete racks. Can't complain about that, but if they cannot make some design improvements, it is just more of the same. For the price, I would go with another brand unless you like constantly fixing things and not having a good feeling about reliability/trust.

I thought the most expensive rack would be the most secure and easiest to use. I have used Yakima products exclusively for 18 years but I am left envious of other brands of tray racks. The sticky hard to operate release lever is not even close to the holdup for ease of use. I am very mechanicaly inclined so if some one has a fix for a redesign of the release button please share it. I will add a front ratchet to secure the bike as others have suggested using velcro straps to prevent the bike from rocking off the rack. If Yakima has improved the release lever is it covered as a free upgrade? The reason for 3 stars is that the 2 stars wouldn't be fair to Yakima as they have had some very good designs.

Easy enough to install but the arms are always getting stuck. The arms don't slide easily and make it very frustrating to get my bike off the rack. For such an expensive rack, the moving parts need to be easier to manage.

Easy to use and very flexible for various bikes and tire sizes. Bike felt secure and built in locks are nice. Tire lever sometimes was difficult to release but not a big deal once you figured it out.

This is a decent rack and I appreciate how lightweight it is. But for the money, some of the components really are crap. The ratchets for the rear wheel are super cheap and flimsy, and are difficult to use with one hand if you are balancing the bike with the other. For the cost of the rack, they certainly could have done better. The swing arms for the front wheel do not slide well at all. The release button doesn’t always depress and the arm is frequently stuck and won’t slide. These are basic parts that really need to work better for such an expensive rack. It is a good tray rack overall but I wouldn’t buy it again. Go with a cheaper rack and you’ll probably get the same quality.

I was about to purchase this rack at my local shop. Luckily they were cool and let me bring my bikes in to mount of the floor model before I purchased. So glad it did. The versatility of this rack with the tool free adjustability of the tray side to side and front to back is awesome! I have yet to come across another rack that is nearly as versatile and easy to configure more loading different bikes while keeping them from toughing each other. BUUUT... the the tray is way too short for modern trail bikes, the wheel cup/cradle is plastic and hangs off the back of the tray rather than being supported on top of the tray. There's a metal pin that holds two plastic pieces together for the wheel cup and mount on the tray. In the store the bikes were secure, but were easy to sway, and with the rear wheel hanging off the back of the tray it was also easy to rock the bike back and almost off the rack. a big bump or sharp turn I could see a bike falling off. Just didn't seem to be smart or robust design like the rest of the rack. This one major flaw is what kept me from buying this rack. May be fine for around town, but long distances on highways rough back roads and such I wouldn't feel comfortable trusting this rack for an expensive bike. If Yakima were to extend the tray to fully support the rear wheel I would buy this rack in a heartbeat!

Long time review (used for 1.5+ years) - If you are strategic with 3M helicopter tape on the front of your fork, this could be a solid, easy to use rack that will work for you.

However, if the cosmetic or even functional condition of your fork is important to you, use this rack with great care. For standard sized and more traditional designed forks, you will need to consider using an adhesive protecting tape to prevent the hook from wearing into the paint on the front of the fork. I have attempted, numerous times, to position the hook almost 1” forward of the fork, but on long trips, the hook nearly always works its way back towards the fork. This is with proper tire inflation on the front tire and with appropriate pressure on the hook when setting the bike on the rack.

I recently purchased a fat bike with a suspension fork. The fork is the Manitou Mastodon. I was weary of fork damage on my first trip with the rack. On the second trip, it happened. The hard plastic at the end of the rubber on the wheel hook dug into the paint and started damaging the fork seal. I engaged the hook on the tire per the instructions: “on the bike tire 1” or less from the brakes or fork. Compress the hook against the wheel by applying firm pressure”. The damage was minor since it was a short trip, less than 30 minutes, but for the 6+ hour trips we have planned for our fat bikes in the future, the damage could far worse, possibly tearing a seal or rubbing into the upper stanchion of the suspension for.

Bottom line: This is a solid rack that is easy to use. But it will cause cosmetic damage to the fork of your bike unless extra steps are taken. Not recommended to be used with suspension forks with rear brake arch design.

I will be purchasing a different hitch rack to transport our fat bikes.

First off, I was a little scared by the price. Lets be honest, this is not the cheapest rack on the market. However...you get what you pay for. And also - let's just assume you are hauling a couple of nice bikes. Do you really want to hit a pothole on the highway doing 75 mph with a junk rack holding your $5,000 (or more) bike? This rack seats into the hitch receiver easily and then the twist knob (which is also how it locks into the receiver) tightens up to remove any slack. It is bombproof when it is on. Bikes are super easy to load and unload. The handle which raises and lowers it works really well (even for my 5'5" girlfriend). The drop down feature is great to open the rear hatch. Lastly - The integrated bike lock is rad. It is long enough to go through the wheels and frame on your beloved stallion. You can not go wrong with a Dr. Tray.