Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)The Access Versa Softride rack is by far and away one of the sturdiest racks I have ever owned (and it shows in it's weight). The construction is rock solid and when driving, whether there are 1, 2, or 0 bikes on the rack, there is no wobble, bouncing, or rattling. The rack also comes with a locking hitch-pin and a cable lock for locking your bikes to the rack to prevent theft.
Loading bikes is easy; just set them on the rack and secure the tires using the rubber straps. The rack also has an incredibly easy-to-use folding mechanism that allows you to put the rack up in 2 seconds. However, setting the rack up for loading your bike the first time (or for a different bike) is not so easy. Adjusting the bike cradle section involves significant strength to extend or compress it, though once it is in place it is very secure. Also, I would not recommend this rack to road cyclists; the wheel chocks are far to big (wide) to secure a thin road bike tire securely and as I will explain below, even my Gary Fisher mountain big with it's wide, nobby tires does not feel entirely secure while driving at interstate highway speeds.
The bikes sit in the cradle with only the wheels touching the rack, which is good to protect the paint on the frame but is also the source of my biggest concern about the rack. When driving above 50mph, which I do frequently, I have found that my bike leans back significantly and in a heavy wind it actually look like it will fall off the back of the rack (imagine loading your bike then pushing on the upper part of the frame until it slowly falls over). To counteract this, I have been using the provided cable lock and the extra rubber strap to secure the frame of my bike to my car (I wrap the rubber strap around the upper part of my frame and then use a padlock to connect the strap to the cable which I thread through my hitch). This keeps the bike more upright and secure when driving, but I do wish that Softride could provide a solution to this issue.
That being said, this rack is still one of the best made, highest quality racks on the market and I am satisfied with my purchase. Loading bikes for a quick drive on city streets to a trail shouldn't give anyone an issue and if you have an SUV the vehicle should actually block a lot of the wind that causes this issue for me (I have a Subaru Legacy sedan).
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