The 26 Best Bike Rack Brands (Top Manufacturers)
When you are researching bike racks in order to mount your expensive bicycle onto your vehicle, you want to make sure you are purchasing quality. Biking and racks for transportation are definitely booming. This is reflected in the number of manufacturers in this market. With so many different bike rack types and bike rack brands, it can get overwhelming to filter out the top of the crop.
Bike racks can get complex in their design and build – which is one reason why they’re expensive. They involve many separate, moving parts to both fit all kinds of vehicles as well as all kinds of bike frames. Not all branded products are produced and tested to a level, that is required for road safety, ease of use, longevity, and damage prevention.
For this round-up of bike rack brands, we list only high-quality, established, and trustworthy manufacturers with original designs. These are what we believe to be the best brands that offer features, reliability, high testing standards, safety, and load capacity. This means the racks have a long lifetime and can withstand the abuse from the rough roads you will be driving on.
Here we got the best brands overall combined. For dedicated lists of bike rack brands based on rack type, we got you covered too:
- Hitch Bike Rack Brands
- Roof Bike Rack Brands
- Trunk Bike Rack Brands
- Truck Bed Bike Rack Brands
- Tailgate Pad Brands
- Made in USA Bike Rack Brands
1UP USA
Made in the USA
1UP USA is a relatively small American company owned by Robbie Lange, who founded it in 2001. They are a bike rack manufacturer through and through with cargo carriers and trainers also in their catalog. But bike transporting gear is their absolute strong suit.
As the name suggests, 1UP USA racks are made in the USA. They are known to be hassle-free yet reliable, and rugged. These properties are also reflected in their recognizable industrial look. Yet the racks are still slim, foldable, and as discreet as a bike rack can be.
If you have ever seen a 1UP bike rack you probably noticed the unique look, the how securely the bikes are attached on both ends. A neat little detail easily overlooked is the wide variety of roof racks the bike racks can attach to.
Allen Sports
Made in Taiwan
Allen Sports has been around the block a few times. The company, based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (USA) was founded back in 1967 and has been trusted by outdoor enthusiasts around the world since then. Allen Sports products are known and valued for their ease of use, value, and reliability. It all started when the US Apollo aerospace program was cut back and physicist Dick Allen used the opportunity to turn his passion for cycling into an engineering job.
He was tired of hassling with twine and dinging up his car, so he set out to create a better solution — not only for himself but also for the growing market he foresaw. Now, with facilities across the United States and abroad, they are committed to producing the highest quality, easiest to use racks on the market.
(Update: Allen Sports seems to have discontinued their roof rack lineup)
Official website | amazon store
Alta Racks
Made in the USA
Alta Racks is based in Utah, USA, and puts their experience in military-grade equipment design to good use making some of the sturdiest racks – putting their bike racks thru rigorous testing in the mountains and deserts of Colorado. Alta Racks sources, and builds all their products in the USA.
They design, develop and create custom solution racks for just about any purpose. Even for when you need to store yourself for the night – with their Alta hammock stand. Their clear stated goal is to provide their customers with the last rack they will ever buy by design and build quality that withstands adventure life. They have created one of the lightest six carrier or four carrier on the market.
Using military-grade development requirements, the ALTA ensures long-term reliability over anything else.
Dakine
Made in Taiwan
Dakine is a US-based outdoor brand located in Hood River, Oregon, USA, and founded in 1979. They are known to make a variety of products like backpacks, travel bags, clothing, and a wide variety of gear for snowboarders, skateboarders, mountain bikers, skiers, windsurfers, and kiteboarders.
Dakine started life as a surfing gear company in Hawaii and has continuously expanded into other areas as new sports like snowboarding and mountain bike downhill emerged and brought with them new needs for specialized gear.
Demands like loading three bikes into a pickup, light-weight but safe full-face helmets and pads, carrying trail building tools on an uphill, and many more needed solving. This is how Dakine has been developing hundreds of product firsts for snowboarders, surfers, kiteboarders, skiers, windsurfers, and mountain bikers.
Official website | amazon store | Backcountry.com
EVOC
EVOC was born out of necessity by a couple of outdoor enthusiasts. Through their own trials and errors (one including an avalanche) they experienced the value of protective gear for the rider and the equipment alike. Because what they needed for their freeride adventures did not exist, they decided to help themselves and make their own gear like the first protective backpack.
The company EVOC was founded only in 2008 after a Japanese bike shop owner was impressed with what he saw and ordered 50 bike bags in bulk, that were not even in production – only self-made in order to be able to travel by mountain bike.
Since then EVOC has become synonymous with reliable, easy-to-use products used to protect and transport all kinds of equipment. So, if your bike needs transporting on a plane or on a truck bed, EVOC has got you covered.
Official website | amazon store | Backcountry.com
Fiamma
Fiamma (Italian for flame) is a well-known pioneer in manufacturing accessories for the recreational vehicle (RV) and camping enthusiast markets. Fiamma is an Italian company founded in 1945 and has more than 100 patents registered in Europe, the USA, and Asia.
Whether you need accessories for an RV caravan, a motorhome, a campervan, or an SUV, Fiamma probably got what you need. The most logical and practical place to put bike racks on big RVs or vans is the rear. This is exactly where the expertise of Fiamma lies: trunk bike racks.
Something that is especially hard to find are bike racks for vans with a double rear door. Fiamma is one of the few manufacturers offering exactly that.
Fox Racing
… also known as FOX Head is a US-based company founded back in 1974 and is known for their high-quality (and arguably stylish) motocross and mountain biking gear and apparel. To this day it is founder-owned and operated as a family business. The suspension producer Fox Racing Shox was an initial division of Fox Racing but split into a separate company that has become the leading off-road suspension manufacturer Fox Factory Inc.
Deeply rooted in motocross, FOX has been taking over gravity mountain biking with the same vigor. FOX products are now sold worldwide in over 50 countries and include apparel, protective gear, accessories, and – you guessed it – tailgate pads.
Official website | amazon store | Backcountry.com
Front Runner
For any serious outdoor adventures, Front Runner got you covered with truck bed (bike) racks, roof racks, water tanks, tents, awnings, drawer systems, and camping accessories. Founded in Botswana, South Africa, by a couple of engineers, designers, and off-road racers, they built a deserved reputation for quality, intelligent design, and durability.
Designed and produced in Johannesburg, and tested in the grueling African bush there is little sentiment for mediocre products. Instead, the people behind Front Runner drive innovation by using new materials, and superior manufacturing practices.
If you are somewhat familiar with the offroading or Overlanding community, there is a high chance you heard of this brand before. Their accessories have found their way to many high-end custom offroad vehicles out there.
Official website | amazon store | Backcountry.com
Hollywood Racks
Made in Taiwan
Hitch Racks / Roof Racks / Trunk Racks
Hollywood Racks has its roots back in the 1970s in Hollywood, California, USA. The first Hollywood racks were foldable and designed to fit sports cars with spoilers.
The 1990s modern hitch rack features were born, like sturdy 4-bike racks, no-wobble systems, rubber bike separators, and the tilt-down feature we now can’t live without.
In the 2000s they were again right on the front of innovation with the first racks that could handle heavy e-bikes. They even built trike racks in order to get your three-wheeler out to adventures. Until now they have not stopped innovating and improving their trunk and hitch bike racks.
Hollywood racks website | amazon store
Küat
Made in China & Taiwan
Kuat are more well-known for their hitch racks, but also have a limited roof bike rack presence. With those the fork axle mount is the only option, so front wheel removal is a must.
Küat Racks began in 2008 with the goal to create better ways to transport bikes. This goal leads them to create high-end, well-engineered hitch racks, roof racks, and bike rack accessories. Their designs are lightweight, stylish, and (mostly) easy to use. At least I would not call the front wheel removing on a roof rack particularly hassle-free.
They also partnered with the US National Forest Foundation as well as other tree planting organizations like One Tree Planted, Trees For The Future, and Trees.org to plant over 600,00 trees in fire-damaged national forests within the US.
Küat website | Küat on amazon | Backcountry.com
Kupper Mounts
Made in China
Kupper Mounts is the new kid on the block of suction technology mounts. It was founded in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA after a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2018.
They have been successfully focusing on one product only: their vacuum-powered “KupperMount”.
With their brainpower behind their design, they managed to stomp out some unique selling points. It is regarded as one of the easiest to mount, even for a suction mount. Also, because of the small size, it is also easy to handle and stow away when not in use – for example right in your trunk.
LOLO Racks
Made in the USA
LOLO Racks was established in Portland, Oregon, USA in 2016 by a small team of engineers and riders. Their passion for spending long weekends in the mountains with their friends and family lead them to create the accompanying mount to carry their rides in bulk. This is how their well-received vertical 6 bike racks came to be.
LOLO Racks are the designers and creators of American-made bike racks and accessory products. By the way, “lolo” originates from the Chinook tribe and means “to carry”.
MaxxHaul
Made in China
MaxxHaul is specialized in towing solutions for professional and recreational use. While the corporate office is based in Shanghai, China, the US office and warehouse is located in Oxnard, California to guarantee customer service and fast delivery.
MaxxHaul manufactures their products in-house at their own facilities in Shanghai and Qingdao, China, since 1999. This allows them to influence the entire development process of their products from design, raw material sourcing, tooling, production, packing and final delivery.
Official website | amazon store
North Shore Racks
Made in Canada
North Shore Racks are as grass-roots as mountain bike racks get. These guys and girls designing the racks are pure mountain bikers making some of the fastest loading, most lightweight vertical bike racks.
North Shore Racks are manufactured in small batches locally in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This is why as of now this is a direct-to-consumer company, only selling directly through their website.
Their patented design carries 2 or up to 6 bikes quickly, easily, and contact-free, in the least amount of space possible. Doing all that while keeping the vehicle tail lights free – which is seldom the case.
While mountain biking is their focus, NSR got you covered with a road bike adapter, security accessories to keep your bikes safe on the rack, and of course replacement parts.
Pipeline Racks
These guys and girls live and breathe truck accessories. Pipeline Racks is a small family-owned and operated company, founded in a garage in the USA. When demand for a self-built pickup truck bed bike rack picked up (pun intended), the brand was born.
The name reflects the practical design of the racks, which are built from pipes. The bike racks have their focus on ease of use and adjustability. In saying that, their racks are certainly not designed to go off-roading.
QuikR Stuff
Made in the USA
These guys definitely bring the start-up mentality! QuikrStuff was founded in 2020 by two devoted cyclists, hikers, skiers, rafters, and campers. Their mission: Deliver high-quality, innovative, outdoor products that are 100% invented and manufactured in the US. At QuikrStuff’s HQ in Grand Junction, Colorado to be exact. All those qualities are easily reflected in their distinct design.
As a startup business, they acquired a whole host of local business partners and inventors to patent new gear. They consider themselves a part of their rural ecosystem to support America’s most innovative equipment designers. As of 2022, they got 14 patents. You can check their progress right there on their site.
Race Face
Race Face is a mountain bike brand through and through. It was created in 1993 in Vancouver, Canada, to develop parts that are strong, lightweight, and durable for the changing needs of the sport. It operates under the Fox Factory Holding Corp. umbrella, yet is not affiliated with Fox Racing Inc.
Vancouver is known to be one of the best riding areas in the world and is the proving grounds for Race Face’s cranks, handlebars, stems, seat posts, chainrings, bearings, and many more parts used from cross country bikes to full-on downhill bikes. Besides parts, they also have a growing catalog of protective gear and clothing.
To complete their mountain biking gear line-up, they also developed their own tailgate pad for trucks among other bike travel equipment.
Official website | amazon | Backcountry.com
Reverse Components
Reverse Components was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Freudenstadt, Germany – still owned and operated by passionate riders.
Since then they have become one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of durable MTB components. Alongside RaceFace, Renthal, and Answer they stand for well-designed and -engineered products with a solid reputation for reliability and a good dose of style.
On top of that, they successfully entered the tailgate pad market with a competitively priced pad, that sees regular updates and improvements.
RockyMounts
Made in Taiwan & China
RockyMounts operates under one principle since 1993: When you absolutely cannot ride your bike to your destination yourself, they’ve got you covered. They are known for manufacturing solid, well-designed, and dependable racks to get you to the next ride, or big adventure. To this day RockyMounts has been owned and operated by founder Bobby Noyes.
As you would assume, RockyMounts is based in the USA – Colorado to be exact. The first RockyMounts racks were made with material sourced entirely from within the US: plastic from Boulder, trays from Indiana, paint from Lyons, and packaging from Denver. Now, much of RockyMounts’ manufacturing is done in China and Taiwan since 2005.
Official website | amazon | Backcountry.com
Saris
Made in the USA
Hitch Racks / Roof Racks / Trunk Racks
Saris is on the path of making the world more “bike-able”. This is why you might find a quite interesting combination of biking products in their line-up like indoor bike trainers and bike racks for outdoor adventures.
Saris bike racks are built by hand in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. In fact, the entire process from product design to engineering to manufacturing is owned by Saris. Materials are sourced locally through long-standing partnerships. Their durable plastic materials is what puts them apart from other brands – in a good way as they can offer affordably priced bike racks.
Creating the best possible user experience is what Saris is all about. And they do it by making their racks as easy to use as possible. This starts with finding the correct bike rack for you with their Bike rack fit guide.
Official website | amazon store | Backcountry.com
SeaSucker
Made in the USA
SeaSucker is the clear juggernaut of the suction cup bike rack manufacturers. They have been making suction mounts since 2005 – based in Florida, USA.
SeaSuckers is a family-owned and operated designer and manufacturer of vacuum-powered car racks, marine accessories, and mounts for small electronics. SeaSucker products are made in the USA. All products are made in-house, under one roof.
The first designs of the bike rack began in 2009 and soon were sold worldwide. Somewhere in between, there was rigorous testing going on for such a pioneer product. “Vacuuming” expensive bikes to the roof of a moving car are not exactly inspiring trust, so they took safety extra seriously and went racing them around the track at 140 mph.
You may have seen the SeaSucker branding on 9-Bike Team Racks on TV before. They have been the official rack supplier for the UCI, cycling’s largest governing body.
Official website | amazon store | Backcountry.com
Sensus
Sensus is the brand behind freeride legend Cam Zink, who founded Sensus himself in 2009 in Reno (NV), USA. He wanted to create American-made products that suit riders’ needs best.
The product palette started out with MTB grips and has quickly expanded into seats, accessories, streetwear, and tailgate pads. All of which are designed, tested and approved by MTB riders. Sensus has been working with world-class riders from the beginning and has a big roster of supported riders in various disciplines.
Their tailgate offering was received well and has since been updated and expanded upon.
Swagman
Made in Taiwan
Hitch Racks / Roof Racks / Truck Bed Racks
What in the world even is a “swagman”? It sure sounds fancy and stylish. Far from it. It is actually an Australian term describing someone who travels from farm to farm on foot seeking work – and carrying all of their belongings in a swag.
While the bike rack manufacturer Swagman is in search of adventure, not work, packing up and going is in their vision. They consider themselves the enablers of fun.
Whether your swag of fun outdoor toys includes bikes, kayaks, or anything else they could use to explore the beautiful nature, Swagman can help you mount it to your car.
They are based in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada, and were one of the first companies worldwide to design and market a hitch-style bike rack. Since then they have branched out to RV-approved bike racks, hitch-mounts, roof racks for cars and trucks.
Official website | amazon store | Backcountry.com
Thule
Made in the USA and Sweden
Hitch Racks / Roof Racks / Trunk Racks / Truck Bed Racks / Tailgate Pads
Thule was actually my own first brand of bike rack. They are the juggernaut of the car rack industry. Thule (pronounced “too-lee”) was founded back in 1942 in Småland, Sweden, and has acquired the reputation of producing high-quality, well-designed, safe, and durable car racks.
Still, not all Thule products are made in Sweden. Thule Group is a large public company with subsidiaries on various continents. The US-based Thule Inc. manufactures car racks for the North-American markets in Chicago and Seymour, USA.
The first product designed to carry sports gear by car was a ski rack. Followed by many other roof-mounted carriers. Finally, in 1992 the first hitch-mounted bike rack was introduced. All the major car rack products are still sold and improved upon by Thule. Relatively new addictions are roof tents and truck tailgate pads, among other types of truck bed bike racks.
No matter the product, you can be sure it has been thoroughly shock- and crash-tested at the in-house testing facility in Hillerstorp, Sweden. Thule is known for its high test standards that far exceed regulatory requirements.
Check out our Thule bike rack comparisons, where we calculated the per-bike-cost.
Thule US website | amazon store | Backcountry.com
VelociRAX
Made in China
VelociRAX is a family business through and through, established in 2018 when two brothers solved their bike storage and transportation problems – by designing a vertical bike rack that can do both: garage bike storage and bike travel.
VelociRAX is located in Alpine, Utah, USA right in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Their mission is to engineer, build and test the strongest, most functional bike racks out there. And there truly are not many other 7-bike racks available besides VelociRAX.
Need help with rack sizing? They got you covered.
Yakima
Made in the USA, Taiwan & China
Hitch Racks / Roof Racks / Trunk Racks / Truck Bed Racks / Tailgate Pads
Yakima started as a small machine shop in Yakima, Washington State, USA. In 1979 it was acquired by two kayakers and cyclists who saw the need to create a better way to transport their outdoor gear.
Now, Yakima stands for high-quality and reliable specialized car racks to carry all kinds of equipment like bikes, kayaks and canoes, fishing rods, skis and snowboards, surfboards, cargo boxes, and roof tents.
Of all those products only Yakima’s cargo boxes are made in the USA. Their other manufacturing occurs in Taiwan and China. With that catalog of carriers, they have something for every season and every outdoor adventure.
Yakima website | amazon store | Backcountry.com
