Yakima 8002401 Kingpin 4

Manufacturer: Yakima Availability: Usually ships in 1 to 2 weeks List Price:$181.82 Our Price:$181.82 Features: Dual-arm design fits most bikes Switchblade anti-sway cradles eliminate bike-to-bike contact. Arms fold down with removable pin cam Fits 2� receiver hitch with optional 1 1/4 Optional Deadlock available Maximum load 4 Bikes, 120 LBS Description:

Reviews:

Great fit!
I was looking for a bike rack (for the 2 in. receiver)for my Toyota FJ Cruiser. I needed to clear the spare tire in the rear. The Kingpin did this with room to spare (maybe pun intended!) It holds my bike firmly without any problems. It even holds my wife's "girlie bike" easily without adding the additional "male" crossbar for another $30! For the money - a great buy!


Sweet bike hitch
This legamento is fantastic -- it does not waver on the automobile, measure all our bici (I have a woman-specific one that not to adapt on ours other cremagliera of the bici), it is sturdy, constant and sure. We have used many and this is the better thing that we have still tried.


Great Bike Carrier!



Best hitch bike rack available
Hour I am using this cremagliera of the bici for approximately a month and I do not have sorrow with my purchase. I have searched cremagliere of the bici for approximately six months before the purchase and have thought that this cremagliera of Yakima has offered the quality better than there is some on the market. When the cremagliera is folded down it tidily stores a lot via in the garage. It is reasonably light, so as to to transport it outside in order to mount on my SUV it is much easy one. The straps of the assembly are sturdiest I have found and the greater part of the bici is much easy to raise itself on the bar. Small to the bici of kidskin of medium dimensions seems to introduce the greater challenge - the bars are too much small affinchè to adapt themselves between the tubes of the bici.


Great rack but wobbles a bit
Used the bike rack on a weekend trip and it was great. The anti-swing cradles definitely work well. As others indicate, the rack can hold 3 bikes for sure, but the 4th one is a bit tight. I had 4 adult bikes on the rack and there was not much room between the bikes; the bikes were touching each other. Thus cause the bikes to scratch.
The other concern that I have is that the rack is a bit loose in the 2" hitch receiver. It wobbles a bit especially w/o the bikes on the rack. I'm not sure whether it's intended to be that way or not. It also causes the bottom (male) piece of the rack to get scratched up rubbing against the hitch receiver.
The tilt down feature works well also. It's useful when you need to get something from the cargo area w/o taking off the rack. Although you still have to take the bikes off first, otherwise, you'll need a second person to hold the bike up to prevent them being pinned from each other due to gravity.
The other issue I had was that the rack doesn't allow you to use different locks other than their own proprietary lock; at least without hacking it by removing the piece that keeps the bolt in place. Once it's removed, I was able to use a regular hitch pin lock.


Great Bike Rack
I like the flexibility of this rack. I bought to carry bikes with my SUV. I had the option of putting them on a roof rack (too much work), inside the cabin (goodbye camping gear) or out back off of the hitch. I was worried about a hitch-mount because I thought it would be too much hassle to get the rear door opened when the rack was mounted to the hitch. This hitch easily (removing a pin) leans back about 45 degrees and hits a solid stop, allowing the rear door to be opened. Depending on how many bikes you're toting, it can be a bit of a struggle to tilt back up to lock, but all in all I'll take that disadvantage given the ability to get in the back if I absolutely need to. Also, the arms drop down and lock when you're not carrying a bike. Great flexibility and I couldn't be happier.


Great carrier for the money
For last the several years we have fought in order to insert the bici in the posterior part of our miniums van in order to take they the places. This year we have decided to obtain one cremagliera of the bici. After much search I have decided of the hinge of sterzaggio 4 of Yakima. It has been a real pleasure to load the high bici and to take they the places. It turns over - outside the characteristic it allows that the cremagliera is on the vehicle and has the oscillation of the posterior hatch in on without a problem. When not there are bici on the cremagliera we do not have problem to leave the cremagliera over. Not ago noise and mounts solidly to receiving of the legamento. The bici mount solidly with the sense that the supports have the connection from 90 degrees to the tube of the center. The only thing that additional I have added is a cable of the auxiliary shock-absorber around to the structure and the front hem in order maintaining the small wheel from the hinge while in the transport. We have only used the cremagliera with 3 bici of the adult end here. The 3 bici measure easy but I think that 4 bici are a little a trick. If measure four bici of the adult is to I must probably I would go with the hinge of sterzaggio 5 to make little to space additional.


Great for three bikes, but may be a challenge for four
We needed a way to haul three adult-sized bicycles from our home base to various cycling paths. So I visited a number of local stores to see what my options were. I settled on the Yakima BigHorn 4 as the best option for my budget, then discovered through some online searching that I could purchase the next model up, the Yakima KingPin 4 bike rack for a bit less than the BigHorn 4 would run me in a traditional retailer.

The KingPin 4 folds features a fold-down mast, a must convenience to allow access to a vehicle's rear hatch or door. Although I would not consider a bike rack without this feature, be forewarned: once you lower the rack while it's loaded with three bikes (more about the fourth bike claim follows), you will be hard pressed to single-handedly reposition it and slide in the lock or bolt. There is too much weight on that pivot point.

I soon learned, therefore, that it was easier to have the mast folded up, not down, when loading the bikes.

The dual bike arms are a must, allowing for more stability and easier loading and unloading. The bike arms fold down as well, though this option, while useful, is not essential in many cases. (These folding bike arms are the main difference between the KingPin and BigHorn racks.)

A series of bike cradles and rubber "chainstraps" stabilize and anchor the bikes. You can slide theses cradles along the tubular arms to allow sufficient room to avoid any rubbing or scraping if you are carrying three bikes. (I looked as some less expensive racks that required hand-tightening one or more big bolts to tighten clamps that held the bikes. That system seemed like a royal pain and huge annoyance.)

Despite the name and billing, I'm less confident in recommending the KingPin4 for transporting four bikes. I think it's possible, but would require great care to avoid scraping paint or entangling pedals and spokes. Plus, I prefer using four "chainstraps" per bike for a bit of insurance, so if you want to carry four bikes, I would recommend springing for another set of these.

The unloaded contraption weights about 32 pounds, so it's not too heavy as you carry it from the basement or garage to install it. But be careful of the arms or you might shatter the glass in a door or an outside light. Also, you need to do a bit of assembly out of the box, so allow a good 30 minutes to set up and test the rig before using it the first time. The drawings in the instructions did not seem to match what I was actually looking at when I had everything before me on the floor, so I spent an extra few minutes considering the options. This assembly is not difficult---it's just that adage "never do anything for the first time" may stump one for a bit.

I am using this rack with a two-inch hitch, and I purchased a locking pin to replace the bolt that is shipped for attaching the rack to the hitch. I also run one of the cable bike locks through the bike frames and around the spanner between the arms to add a measure of security.

During our first foray, a 100-mile trip each way, the bikes and rack swayed just a bit from time to time, but overall, the sway was not a problem. Having a hundred extra pounds jutting up behind the rear window will change any vehicle's handling and hamper visibility through the rearview mirror, so be prepared to change your driving style as needed.

To conclude, the KingPin 4 has performed well. We could load and unload three bikes in about five minutes, and neither the Durango or bikes were scratched during transport. But, again, I would suggest that this rack is great for three bikes, but may be a challenge for carrying four.







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