Kuat NV 2.0 Bike Hitch Rack - 2 Inch

My daughter is a pro/1/2 cyclocross racer (humble brag) (and whatever the fast classes are in gravel bikes and MTBs) who grew tired of a roof rack, and changed to a trailer-receiver rack. She's going to travel this year and do the Belgium Gravel Race/Ride (whatever it is) series, with the longest trip to Arizona. My wife is going to support her in Arizona, and my younger daughter is going to go to Arizona with her dirt bike. (I am going to stay in Boise and watch the dogs.)

Anyway, i bought two of these racks - one for my daughter, and one for my wife. This was based on my daughter's market research - her racing buddies LOVE this rack.

This rack is crazy good - cast aluminum parts, integrated locks and work stand, and quality fasteners and integrated tool. That's the good part.

The bad part is that Kuat includes an inadequate set of printed instructions with the rack. The lack of instructions relates both to the assembly instructions and the use instructions. In particular, shortcomings are with the integrated work stand and the plastic plug to protect the rack when the work stand isn't installed, and the use of the steel ball to take up slack in the rack-receiver interface.

My daughter ended up tightening the slack-absorbing ball OUTSIDE the receiver, and it jammed in the rack. When I went to visit her, I had to take a ball peen hammer, appropriately size socket and extension to hammer the ball out of the rack. Once i explained how this worked, we reinstalled the rack, put a piece of red tape to indicate the depth to which the rack should be installed. Once we made these changes, installation on the vehicle was easy.

The printed included instructions really didn't cover the work stand very well, and not much detail on the steel ball which takes the slack out of the receiver/rack interface.

The other disappointment is the really cheap receiver/rack lock. Tiny, soft steel. I bought a Master lock which is of much higher quality. Given the cost of this rack, i don't want to someone walking off with it. That problem was solved for $15.

WIth just a bit of extra effort on the part of Kuat, this would be 5 stars.

It's a well thought-out product which works flawlessly. Unfortunately, it almost completely blocks the rear license plate on my car (Tesla Y), and I scored a traffic warning the first week I had it on. Not sure where to go from here. My advice it to think whether it'll block your license plate and whether that rule is enforced where you are.

Overall, this rack does a great job for me. I like having the ability to have a work stand with me when I travel, plus the locking mechanisms are really nicely integrated. There is no wobble to the rack when everything is secured, though I don't have any e-bikes or anything similarly heavy. I usually just transport a gravel and a road bike. The finish quality appears to be quite nice. Overall, I've been very pleased with the Kuat.

Item was exactly what I ordered. I bot a Trex FX1s and needed the capability to carry a heavier bike. I was able to put it together and load easily. The response time from CS was fabulous.

We love this rack! It is a nice height for loading and unloading, even with our wagon which is lower than most vehicles. It fits all of our different bikes: road, commuter, mountain (with 2.8+ tires), and the kids' bikes. Adjustments for handlebar clearance are easy with the wrench stored inside the rack. The tilt lever is easy to reach and the pivot is smooth, light, and quiet. The locks are sleekly integrated with the rack and stow away magnetically when not in use. The Trail Doc is a sweet feature that I haven't used yet. I have owned several racks and I frequently use many other bike hitch racks at my work. This is one is superior.

Absolutely happy with my order.. great value and experience

I love this rack. I was worried about the weight based on reviews but it's navigable by myself. Also building it was (mostly) a breeze by utilizing the box it came in to help hold things in place. I did get the rack on a reallllly good sale (hence my value rating), but I would have still gotten it even without the deeper discount. The ability to fit pretty much any bike, add capability for 2x more later if needed, plus repair stand are tip top for me.

If you are looking for a hitch mount tray bike rack, look no further then the Kuat NV 2.0. This is by far the most innovative feature rich rack out there. You can save some money and get the NV, you then lose the stand but otherwise the same rack. Also if you won't have a need to add +1/2 you can go with the Sherpa. I bought this one as I needed to get the +2.

As far as assembly, installation and use, its a breeze. I went from a hanging frame mount rack and this one just blows it away as far getting the bike on and secure, no matter frame dimensions.

In today's world I am rarely impressed with quality of anything I buy but this is truly a high quality piece of equipment. Fit and finish were very nice and it was very simple to assemble and use. It is a bit pricey but you get what you pay for and I see this lasting for a very very very long time.

One of the special features of this bike rack is the mechanisms that helps lock the rack into the receiver. Not for theft, but to help it from wobbling as you are driving. Very cool and cleaver design.

Very easy to use. Doesn't risk damage to the bike. The built in bike stand comes in handy. Highly recommended.

Pros: Bomb-proof; extremely easy to use; built-in locks for hitch, and both bike racks; built-in bike stand; holds bikes extremely well; once assembled that's it.

Cons: heavy; some assembly required and the install guide is not great (so pull up a youtube video to assist and have a helper ready)

The best hitch mount bike rack i have ever know. I transport my road bike, my triathlon bike and my mountain bike with ease. Rack is very secure with zero wobble while driving. The extendable bike repair stand is an absolute bonus as well.

The only con is the weight. On the flip side of that it just goes to show you how well it's made. The rack locks into the hitch so there is no movement what so ever. Built in lock cables for each bike a plus.

I've always been a Yakima fan for their quality. This rack is far superior even to the highest quality Yak Racks. It's so well mad I wonder if it's over engineered which has driven up the cost. Sure it is very sturdy but I love that my bike goes on ready to drive in 5 seconds. The cable locks are fairly beefy at 9mm, but I'd never leave a high priced rig out of sight. Still, much thicker than many racks out there. They also have clever details you might miss such as stops to hold the cable locks tucked into place to prevent them from just falling out when setting the rack up for storage. These kinds of things can be a pain if left out at design time.

The double carrier is quite heavy. It seems strange to need a 55lbs rack to hold a 17lb bike, but okay. I really like the hitch securing mechanism designed to remove rack wobble. Most hitch racks have a single bolt to pull the rack to one side of the hitch receiver. That stops side-side wobble but up and down is completely uncontrolled. Kuat designers most cleverly use a steel ball that engages the corner of the square hitch receiver on the inside. This contacts 2 sides of the receiver hole so it does not flop up and down or side to side. And you don't need a wrench to secure it. Brilliant. The finish is also top notch and looks great.

The Kuat NV 2.0 built quality is sturdy and and strong with a great design. The extendable option with one or two bike rack add-ons gives the flexibility to carry three to four bikes. Recommend for bike enthusiasts.

I have owned the original Kuat NV and that has served me a great deal in transporting my bike for years. You can mount any bike on this rack from road to fat bikes. Unfortunately another motorist rear ended me and damaged it. I had to get another rack and it was a no-brainer for me to choose the Kuat brand and it did not disappoint with the NV 2.0. This rack is far better overall than the NV. Stable, easier to lock and unlock to the hitch. This thing is solid and has no play up or down, side to side when mounted. My old NV rocks up and down quite a bit. For the price it is well worth it. And by the way, their customer service is top notch. Kudos to the guys at Kuat.

This is the perfect bike rack for our needs. We pop it on for occasionally trips, and can lock the rack to the car and the bikes to the rack for security. Its sturdy with the ability to make bike adjustments. And pivots down to allow us to open the trunk. Worth the money!!

I had been looking at this bike rack for a while, and Bike Tires Direct had the best price out there. This really is the best quality, stability, and easy to use bike rack out there. I plan on getting the add-on kit eventually, but I also love that Kuat makes it this way with a 2-bike rack and an add-on, so you can adjust depending on how many bikes you need to take.

Did some research and came to the conclusion that the Kuat NV 2.0 Bike Hitch Rack would be the best solution for us. We transport road and fat tire bikes. It's easy to put on the car, easy to fasten the bikes. It's a very solid good looking hitch rack. Very happy with our purchase.