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If you’re looking for a bike rack for your 2019 Equinox, then I feel your pain.
Choosing a cycle carrier for your car can be one of the most confusing things that you can do. Start researching it and you’ll soon be going down one rabbit hole after another. You’ll read through the details of tens or hundreds of different racks. On paper (or screen) they look okay, but are they really any good? Will they fit your Equinox? Will your bikes fit on the rack? Lots of questions, but not many answers.
So, I decided to do some research on your behalf and track down the best racks for your Chevy.
I’ve got a shortlist for you to choose from below. These are split by (1) where you want to put the rack on your car, and (2) how many bikes you have to carry. All these racks get great feedback from actual users.
Shall we take a look?
Chevy Equinox 2019 Bike Rack Recommendations: | ||
 4 bikes? Get this SMART CHOICE |  |   BUDGET PICK |
Where can you fit a rack onto your Equinox?
In your research, you might have found four locations where you can put bicycles into or onto an Equinox. In my (humble) opinion, two of these are non-starters and two are excellent. The full list is:
- Inside the trunk
- On top of the roof
- On the trunk lid
- Fitted to the hitch receiver
I believe that the non-starters are in the trunk and on the roof. Why?
Inside the car trunk:
I’m not a fan of this route because it can often result in damage being caused to your bikes and/or your car. Those are bad enough by themselves. If you’re taking your bikes away on vacation then you may also end up taking all the luggage space. This inevitably leads to luggage being piled onto whoever’s in the rear seats and is never great for family relations…
On top of the car roof:
Bike roof racks always seem like a great idea when you first hear about them but, in practice, they don’t really live up to the hype. Why is this?
The 2019 Equinox measures a little over 65 inches in height. If you have a rack on the roof, it means that you have to lift bikes of 30 pounds or more up over that height. You then need to hold them rock steady whilst you try and fix them to the mounting straps. Plus you need to do that with one hand (the other is doing the fixing straps), and not drop the bike on your car, or on your head.
Not easy.
A roof rack with bikes is also really bad for your fuel economy.
According to the EPA, the combined gas mileage of the 2019 Equinox is 28mpg. That’s fine when you just have the sleek bodywork on your car. Trouble is, if you bolt a few bikes on a rack on top, you’re likely to find that the mileage you actually get will fall far short of that figure.
So, I don’t like these two options. However, I really like the other two options (on the trunk lid and on the hitch) and we’ll look at the best bike racks for these now.
Recommended hitch mount bike racks for your 2019 Equinox
If you have a hitch receiver on your Equinox, then a hitch-mounted rack is a fantastic option for your car. There are a few different options available for you, depending on personal choice, budget, and the number of bikes that you need to haul.
This one from Allen Sports is an excellent rack and very highly rated by purchasers. And it’s not hard to see why.
Allen Sports have been designing and manufacturing bike racks for over 50 years, so they know and thing or two about carrying bikes on cars. As a result, all of their products get consistently great feedback.
They have racks for various quantities of bikes from 2 to 5. Take a look at them here:
2-bike hitch rack
On the Amazon listings, you’ll see that there are a number of different models of each rack (with varying prices). My recommendation is to go for the one above the base model – the Deluxe Locking. Why? Well, it’s got all the features you need, without adding extra features that you don’t need. Plus it’s got a locking mechanism to secure it to the hitch, with two keys (in case you’re like me and keeping putting one in a ‘safe place’ and can’t remember where that is. Ahem…)
Each of the racks is designed to take bikes weighing 35 lbs each, so the 2-bike rack can carry 70 lbs of bikes and the 5-bike rack a massive 175 lbs.
It’s worth knowing that many bikes don’t have a horizontal crossbar (such as full-suspension MTBs, ladies’ bikes, step-through, low-step, BMX, and kids’ bikes). People often ask if these can be fitted to hanging bike racks like this. Well, the answer’s YES! All you need is a special crossbar adaptor. This takes the place of that ‘missing’ crossbar for car carrying. They’re really easy to fit and use, just clamp them to your bikes and hook them up on the carrier. Allen Sports make a great crossbar adaptor.
There are two features that I particularly love about hitch racks:
– The pivoting main mast, and
– The low height from the ground
Pivoting main mast
I didn’t realize at first how useful this feature is. Let’s imagine for a second that you’ve stowed all the luggage in the trunk. You’ve fitted the hitch rack and loaded on the bikes. Then, at that exact moment, your spouse or kids decide that they absolutely have to get an additional item into the trunk, or take something out…
With a hitch rack like this, you’d need to take all the bikes off and remove the rack. Not good. However, with the Allen Sports rack you can just undo a single bolt, pivot the mast and bikes down away from the trunk, and then you can open the lid for whatever is needed.
Having been forced to do this many, many times, I can say that this feature is worth its weight in gold.
Low height from the ground
In comparison to a roof rack (which I’ve already dismissed!), the benefit of being able to rack your bikes up a short distance off the ground is hard to quantify. Unless you add up the medical bills and auto repair bills of roof rack disasters.
Lastly, because Allen Sports are so confident in their products, they back them all with a lifetime warranty. Which is awesome…Read more+
The Allen Sports hitch rack is, unashamedly, the budget level rack. It does the job you need it to and at a great price. If you’re wanting to step it up a gear though and take it to the next level then the Saris SuperClamp could be the perfect rack for you and your Equinox. The SuperClamp takes everything that’s great about the Allen Sports rack and takes it to a whole new level of awesomeness with a ton of additional features that you’ll love.
First up, the SuperClamp is good for 2 bikes of 60 lbs or less. That easily covers off most standard bikes, such as hybrids, road bikes, cruiser bikes, hardtail and full-suspension mountain bikes. It will also work for many electric bikes – check your bike weights first before you hit Buy Now on this rack just to make sure. If you need to carry 3 or 4 bikes, then go with the Saris SuperClamp EX 4-Bike Hitch Rack.
Unlike the Allen Sports racks, which hang bikes from their crossbars, the SuperClamp sits bikes on their wheels on the integrated trays. This is by far the safest way to carry bikes (especially those with delicate frames like carbon fiber, or easy-boarding low-step bikes). The rack also has a special tilting feature, allowing you to pivot the rack away from the car in order to access the rear door. This works whether you’ve got bikes on the rack or not and is an incredibly useful feature…Read more+
Recommended trunk mount bike racks for your 2019 Equinox
When you think about bike racks, style and aesthetics may not be the features you most closely associate with them. Saris bucks the trend though with it’s uber-stylish Saris Bones trunk rack.
Looking like an extra-terrestrial killer bug climbing up your trunk lid, this rack is a work of art.
Saris is a US company (based in Madison, WI) who produce a wide range of bike products. The Saris Bones is my recommendation for your Equinox when you don’t have a hitch receiver and there’s a few key reasons for this.
Yes, it looks gorgeous, but it’s also very practical. It’s easy to fit to your trunk lid (and take off) and is installed with a number of sturdy webbing straps and hooks. These hold the rack absolutely solidly on your car, without any of the swaying or wobbling that you can sometimes experience with more basic racks.
It can carry up to three bikes, each weighing 35 lbs. And it holds them to the rack firmly with a 3-point ratcheting strap system. If you only ever need to carry two bikes on the trunk, then go with the Saris Bones 2-Bike Trunk Rack.
Spoiler? No problem there either as it features a special dogleg design allowing it to fit underneath that.
Interestingly, the arc shape that you see on this rack isn’t just there for show (although it looks great). It also means that the bikes are all held at slightly different heights. That may not seem like an obvious benefit until you try a different rack and find that pedals or handlebars are butting up against each other and stopping the bikes from slotting together.
But don’t just take my word for it. As verified purchaser, JMAD says, “Excellent Product”…Read more+
Conclusion
Whether you have a hitch receiver or not, there are some great bike racks available for your Equinox.
Pick the one that suits you and your bikes best, then grab one, load it onto your car, and away you go on your next big bike adventure.
Have fun. Stay safe.
Chevy Equinox 2019 Bike Rack Recommendations: | ||
| 4 bikes? Get this SMART CHOICE | | BUDGET PICK |
