Bike Racks for Pickup Trucks
A lot of people might think that just because you have a pickup truck, you don't need to get yourself a bike rack for it. After all, can't you just throw your bicycle in the back and hit the road? Well, sure, I guess you could if you have zero respect for your bike, your truck and other drivers on the road. Seriously, I've seen it happen; a bike just casually tossed in the bed of a truck can do some serious damage to both the truck bed and to itself if you're doing anything more than driving down the street to the park to take your kid for a ride.
But if you're a serious cyclist, whether you're into road riding or mountain biking, you've probably spent some pretty good money on your bike (or bikes). For mountain bikers, you might even be loading your bike to go hit some back country trails that don't exactly have a golf cart path leading to the trail head. I've been on some approach roads that are so rough (which is part of the reason I, and probably you too, have a truck in the first place), that a non-secured bike could easily go flying out of the truck bed. And as a matter of fact, that has happened to a friend of mine. Fortunately for him, the bike landed in some bushes rather than on some rocks or even worse, going over a ravine. The point being, having a bike rack for your truck makes all the sense in the world. If you're in the market for one, you have a number of good options available to you.
Of course you have the big gun bike rack companies such as Yakima and Thule racks who will always give you some quality choices. Going with these name brands, especially if you're buying through a reputable bike shop or a reputable on line vendor like Amazon.com, you can buy with 100% confidence. In the very rare occasion that there might be something wrong with your bike rack, you know you'll be able to easily return and/or exchange it for whatever you need. Among the most popular truck bike racks made by Thule is the Insta-Gator.
In addition to having a name that I just think is really cool, the Insta-Gator tends to get almost unanimously excellent reviews from consumers who purchase it. Part of its popularity comes from the fact that it installs very quickly and easily in almost any pick up truck in just a matter of minutes with no drilling or bolting needed whatsoever. It holds your bicycle extremely securely by the front wheel, so you don't even need to remove it to rack your bike (even with quick release front wheels, this is a nice little feature to make things even easier on you). Another nice benefit is that the Insta-Gator can be locked down so you know your bike is safe from theft while it's in the bed of your truck. It will handle bikes with wheels from 20 to 20 inches and with tires up to 3 inches wide.
There are also other bike rack companies that you might want to take a look at too. Not that there is anything wrong with going with the recognized names mentioned above, but it's good to know you have other options. Some of the other names you might want to look at when it comes to bike racks for trucks include the following: Topline bike racks, Hollywood Racks, MotoGroup Bike Rack, Saris Bike Racks, Swagman and Advantage Bike Racks.
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Nice little intro to bike racks for trucks. Do you know what the price range for these guys are?
Cool gizmo. I thought I should throw in one more company Love 2 Surf. Their L2S Sport Rack System adapts Thule & Yakima accessories to the truck bed for a variety of sports equipment i.e. surfboards, bikes, kayaks, etc. It's different & highly functional.
This article is nothing short of amazing, and I enjoyed reading it.
Nice review of bike racks..Popular bike racks for any commercial trucks is Insta-gator made by Thule.Second one is pipeline Racks specially made for pickup trucks. The company produces two-bike and three-bike models efficient bike racks, which simply cradle the front tire to hold the bike in place in a pickup truck bed. Just load up the bikes and go.Don 19t worry about hitches, or locks.http://www.uscommercialtrucks.com
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