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If you’re trying to track down a good quality bicycle carrier for your Chevy Suburban, then you have my sympathy.
Picking a bike rack for a car should be a simple process, shouldn’t it? My car is a [insert make and model here], I’ve got X number of bikes, which is the best rack for me?
Unfortunately, it’s never as easy as that. If you start hunting around online you’ll find that there are 3,000,000 pages of information about bike racks for Suburbans. That’s a heck of a lot to wade through.
And are the bike racks you see any good? Will they fit your Suburban? Will your bikes fit on the rack? Loads and loads of questions but, sadly, not all that many answers.
What I thought I’d do then is to do the research for you. So, I’ve waded through all the online info and hunted out the best bike racks for your Suburban. I’ve shortlisted these below.
They’re split by how many bicycles you need to carry on your Chevy and all of them get awesome feedback from real buyers.
If you’re ready for some answers…let’s dive in and have a look through them now.
Chevy Suburban Bike Rack Recommendations: | ||
 SMART CHOICE |  |   BUDGET PICK add crossbar adaptor |
What are my options for carrying bikes on Suburbans?
You’ll have heard that there are three areas where you can apparently carry bikes on your Chevy. I say ‘apparently’ because I think two are non-starters and one is by far the best.
The options are:
- Throw them in the trunk
- Hoist way up high on the roof
- Stow them safely on the hitch
Now, reading through that list you might be able to guess which are the two I dislike and which is the one I love. I am nothing if not subtle. 😉
Let’s have a look at why I hate the first two and then we’ll take an in-depth look at the one I prefer.
Throw them in the trunk
For me, this is just not an ideal option. I know that there’s plenty of space in the trunk of a Suburban but do you really want to fill it up with muddy bikes? If you do fill it with muddy bikes, will there still be sufficient space for all the luggage?
Taking up all the trunk space and running the risk of damaging car or bikes makes this an unattractive option in my mind.
Hoist way up high on the roof
The Suburban is tall all by itself (at around 75 in.) and so carrying bikes on a roof-mounted rack can be tricky.
Lifting a 30+ pound bicycle up over your head, and doing that with one hand because you need the other to operate the straps, is not a simple task. Chances of you dropping a bike onto your car roof? High. Chances of you dropping it on your head? Yup, also pretty high.
Auto repair bills and major head trauma are not necessarily the best of starts to a bike expedition…
I’ve also got other reasons for hating on roof racks, but I’ll leave it for the time being. Hopefully you get my point?
So, my favorite place to carry bikes on a Suburban is a hitch-mounted rack. I’ve got a shortlist below of my recommendations, depending on how many bikes you need to carry.
2-Bike Hitch carrier for a Chevy Suburban
Kuat NV Base 2.0 2-Bike Hitch Rack
I’ll be giving you suggestions for bike racks that range in capacity from two to four bikes. This rack is the first and it’s my favorite. It takes one or two bikes and is stuffed with helpful features. If you need to carry more than two bikes, grab a Kuat rack add-on that enables you to transport up to four bikes at the same time. Check out the details of the Kuat NV Base 2.0 2-Bike Hitch Rack Add-On here. Made by Kuat, manufacturers of a huge array of great racks that consistently get awesome feedback from buyers, this rack attaches to 1.25-inch or 2-inch hitches (choose the size at checkout that’s the same as your Chevy hitch).
It will take up to two bikes (maximum of 60 lbs each), with the bikes standing on the rack rather than hanging down. The bikes are secured to the rack with the cam arms and these lock into place for security. The rack also locks to your hitch for additional peace-of-mind.
The Kuat rack’s low height from the ground is a huge advantage. Lifting bikes over your head and trying to lash them to the roof of your Explorer is frankly fraught with danger. Both to you, your car, and your bikes. Much easier to hoist them just up to knee height and fit them to a hitch rack like the Kuat…Read more+
3-Bike Hitch carrier for a Chevy Suburban
A longer pair of arms allows this Allen Sports rack to take a third bike. Other than that, it’s the same as the 2-bike rack above with the same great features.
It will carry 3 x 35-pound bikes, with a total payload of 105 pounds. Like the 2-bike rack, this will mount to hitch receivers of either 1.25in. or 2in.
There are a few models available on the Amazon page. Again, my strong recommendation is the Deluxe Locking one as this secures your rack to the hitch with a sturdy lock (and 2 keys for when you put one in a ‘safe place’ and then can’t remember where that is…)
Many people ask how to fit bikes to racks when they don’t have a traditional horizontal crossbar. This is a common issue as there are many bike designs that don’t have this – full-suspension mountain bikes, ladies’ bikes, kids’ bikes, BMXs, and low-step or step-through bikes.
So, what’s the answer? Well, actually, there’s a simple and genius solution to this and it’s called a crossbar adaptor. They’re real easy to use and take the place of the horizontal bar. Can’t recommend them highly enough.
Users have rated this carrier really positively (take a look at the feedback on Amazon at the link below). There are plenty of reviews talking about how easy it is to fit on the car.
On that point, have a look at this YouTube video from the manufacturer. This shows just how simple the carrier is to fit and how to rack up the bikes…Read more+
4-Bike Hitch carrier for a Chevy Suburban
This carrier fits to the hitch receiver (2in. receivers only) and will carry up to 4 bikes securely on the mounting arms. It can carry bike weight of up to 140 pounds, which is up to 35 pounds per bike average.
Choose the Deluxe Locking model as this has a useful feature of an integrated lock which secures it on to the receiver and stops opportunistic thieves in their tracks. It also has two keys which stops idiots (like me) who forget where they’ve put one of them…
Two features of all the Allen Sports hitch racks which it’s worth highlighting: the pivoting arms and pivoting main mast.
The horizontal arms which hold the bikes can be folded down when they’re not being used. That’s great for keeping them stored out of harm’s way. Plus, the main mast can swing down in order for you to access the trunk area – handy for when you suddenly realize that you need to get something out or an extra something in, and you’ve already fitted the bikes onto the rack…Read more+
5-Bike Hitch carrier for a Chevy Suburban
The Mother Of All Racks. This carrier will take up to 5 bikes securely strapped to the rear of your Suburban.
5 bikes at an average weight of 35 pounds, gives a total carrying capacity of 175 pounds for this rack from Allen Sports. There’s a choice of three different styles to pick from – my suggestion is that you go with the middle one – this is the Deluxe+ Locking and has a lock and two keys to keep it firmly fitted to your hitch. Put your mind at ease whenever you have to leave your bikes racked up on your Chevy.
This bike carrier will fit on hitches with a 2in. receiver and the bikes are hung over the horizontal arms and then secured with the rubber straps. These arms will pivot to fold them out of the way when they’re not needed. Plus, the main upright post of the rack can be folded down and away from the car in order to access the trunk area.
This is handy, but the aspect that I like most of all about Allen Sports’ hitch racks is their low height from the floor. In comparison to a roof rack, it makes lifting the bikes up really easy and so much safer. It also helps with fuel economy as the bikes are tucked behind the car rather than up on the roof (where they’ll mess up the aerodynamics of your vehicle)…Read more+
Chevy Suburban Bike Rack Recommendations: | ||
| SMART CHOICE | | BUDGET PICK add crossbar adaptor |
