Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I opted for this rack over others because I kept hearing about things like recalls on the Yakima "Joe" series racks and that those and other similar racks had a nasty habit of dropping bikes. This was often because these racks had plastic hinges that failed. A button release mechanism might be really cool and convenient but if it drops your $1000+ bike...it tends to lose its coolness.
The Allen Premium 3 Bike Rack is hell for stout. The pipe is thick and because it is bent rather than joined with bolts or rivets, it does not flex. Also, the hinges are metal. They are two metal plates that swivel together and are secured in the locked position by a 3/8" steel pin. This is not going to fail unless you do something stupid like haul lumber on it.
The rack only has 4 straps and I thought that would be a problem...but because of the inherent side-to-side rigidity of the design, it does not need any side supports. When it is strapped down and tightened you can grab the thing and shake the whole car. The only movement in the rack is a result of compressing the squishy foam pads that rest on your car.
Speaking of straps...the buckles on the trunk straps are high quality cam-lock style. They are all metal and are a smaller version of the buckles used in my motorcycle tiedowns...they are bulletproof and will never release. The harder you pull on the strap, the tighter they bind. If they seem to be stuck, give the loose end of the strap a little pull and the button will push right in.
The lower straps have a rubber section in them that holds tension on the rack even if it shifts a bit. Pretty cool idea but I wonder a bit about the durability of that rubber.
Other nice things: The pipes where you slide your bike on are fully covered with vinyl so if you bang your bike up against them, it's no problem. The vertical tubes are also covered in this manner.
Negatives:
This is a very basic rack. There's no mechanism to keep your bike from swinging so you'll need an additional strap and buckle or a bungee to put around the frame and wheel. The buckles that hold the bike on - while extremely secure - are not super convenient. After a few uses, you get the hang of it though.
The bottom line: If you are not hung up on getting a trendy brand. Consider this rack. If you want a rack that is so strong that your trunk will probably buckle before the rack folds up, this may be the one.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Allen 103S Premium 3-Bike Trunk Mount Rack
The Allen 103S Premium trunk-mounted, 3-bike carrier snaps easily into place right out of the box and can be folded away with one hand. Featuring 15-inch long carry arms, it also offers added internal clearance to fit most sedans, hatchbacks, minivans, SUVs, and vehicles with rear-mounted deck spoilers. A patented dual compound tie-down cradle system individually secures and protects your bicycles. It comes fully assembled, and it's backed by a lifetime warranty on workmanship and material defects.
About Allen Bike Racks In 1967, after a few years of working on the aerospace technology for the Apollo missions, Dick Allen was out of a job. Government cutbacks led Allen, a Harvard-trained physicist, to transform his garage hobby into a new industry. A cycling enthusiast, inventor, and family man, Allen had a personal need for a bike-carrying device. On weekends, he would take his sons and wife to Cape Cod or the White Mountains of New Hampshire. What proved difficult time and again was the transport of his family's bicycles. Rather than fight through inconvenience with twine and a dinged car, Allen sought an answer for himself as well as a market in which he foresaw major growth possibilities.
Always a pathfinder, Allen took to work in his Lincoln, Massachusetts garage in search of a more efficient way to transport bikes. Drafting designs during the day and constructing them throughout the night, he put together a model made of electrical conduit, metal strapping, and fire hose casings (for padding). At first, the Allens tested the prototype on weekend excursions. Finding the first trunk-mounted rack to be a success, Dick started Allen Bike Racks. Dealer acceptance came quickly, and by 1971 Allen Bike Racks were sold nationally through a number of major bicycle distributors. Today, the company owns over three dozen patents and offers a versatile product line of bike racks while Dick's son Alex now owns and operates the business. What started out as a small garage run operation now operates three warehouses nationally, two factories abroad, and has products sold in more than a dozen countries around the world.
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