To avoid time sitting at intersections, inhaling exhaust and praying for patience over frustrated drivers, you’ll need a good bike rack to transport your ride to a good forest preserve or some country roads. Yakima’s SwingDaddy hitch-mounted rack is the top-of-the-line when it comes to ease of use, with no tools necessary for installation. You only need a 2-inch hitch receiver on your car and you can attach the rack and have it ready in minutes.
The SwingDaddy carries up to four bikes, which are easy to secure on the rack with provided ZipStrips. An anti-sway cradle keeps them firmly in place. Perhaps the racks most impressive function is its ability to swing away from the car — fully loaded — to allow access to the trunk or hatch of the car. Just turn a couple of knobs and you can swing the bikes away to store those helmets you forget to load up. The arms fold down when not in use, which gives you a good incentive to leave the rack on. Although since it’s easy to take off, it’s no big deal removing it between bike trips. The only drawback is it only fits 2-inch hitches, so those with a smaller-size hitch will need to find another option.
$400, yakima.com
