In the past few years, roof-mounted bike racks have become more popular compared to the conventional fork-mount alternative. These upright carriers are particularly great for those who want to transport their bicycle without removing the bike’s front wheel or using extra adapters to fasten it in place. The Yakima Frontloader is one of the best rack options in its category. In this Yakima Frontloader review, we will cover some of the core features of this bike rack and why it is such an impressive option.
Yakima makes premium bike carrier systems and other bike accessories. The company has been around for years and is known for its carefully designed products that are aesthetically impressive and functional. Read on to find out if the Yakima Frontloader is an ideal fit for your bike transportation needs.
The Yakima Frontloader is one of the most versatile bike racks around. It is designed to fit a wide range of bikes, including those that will not fit on a standard rack as well as bikes with delicate carbon frames. In addition to its versatility, this bike also comes preassembled, which makes it very easy to use. Here’s our Yakima Frontloader bike rack review.
The Yakima’s Frontloader design roof-mount designs are one of its major distinguishing features. It does not clamp to the frame of your bike like standard bike racks. Instead, it features a two-piece design that can expand at the front to wrap around the front wheel of your bike. The rear section has a red dial and ratchet strap that clamps the rear wheel, keeping it in place on the moveable tray. This dual lock design also boosts the stability of this rack.
Another major highlight of this bike rack is how compatible it is with bikes of different wheel sizes. It can be used on different types of bikes from 20 to 29 inches. However, the tire width is limited to only 2.5 to 3 inches. Thus, while it works perfectly for regular mountain, cyclocross, and road bikes, it is not compatible with fat bikes Trusted Source Fat Tire Biking Is The Hot New Winter Sport - And Not Just For Winter From the ski towns of the Rockies to the forests of New England to the Midwest with its long winters, fat tire biking is the hot new winter sport from coast to coast. And that’s a good thing. www.forbes.com .
The Yakima Frontloader is quite versatile. The rack will fit anything from skinny road bikes to mountain bikes with wider tires. This means you can use the same rack to transport your kid’s bike to the park or to get your own mountain bike to a trailhead.
This roof bike rack is strong and durable and will stay securely in place while you drive. This makes it particularly great for those who tend to drive on rough trails with the bike secured to the rack. Whether you’re driving over boulders or the bike is being forced to sway from side to side due to heavy wind, you can trust the rack to hold your bikes firmly in place.
As noted, the Frontloader has a pretty secure setup. There’s a cable lock on the front section of the rack that can be looped around your bike’s frame to protect it further. This not only keeps the bikes from wobbling about, but it also does a good job of preventing theft. Trusted Source Staring eyes 'deter' Newcastle University bike thieves Bike thefts have been reduced by putting pictures of staring eyes above cycle racks, researchers have found. www.bbc.com The rack also features a lock that keeps it secure to the roof bars of your vehicle, although this is an additional accessory that must be purchased separately.
Lifting a bike to the top of your car isn’t exactly easy, and you’re likely to encounter this problem with this rack as well, especially if your vehicle is tall. But barring that, once you can get the bike to the roof of your vehicle, everything else is a breeze from there. Locating the front hoop for the front wheel is easy. Once this is secured, you simply need to push the rear hoop against the rear tire. This holds the bike in place for you to tighten it.
When this rack’s not in use, you can easily fold it down on your roof. However, there are complaints of slight knocking noises when you start or stop your vehicle. To prevent this, you can simply remove the wheel tray when you are not using it. Removing it for storage is quite easy as it requires no tool at all. Instead, you simply have to release the retaining clip to get it off.
This bike rack arrives preassembled out of the box. This makes it quite easy to fit onto the roof of your car. You simply slide it on your roof bars and adjust it till it locks in place. You can check the user manual for further instruction, but the process is quite straightforward.
The Yakima FrontLoader rack is premium-priced. But it is worth every dollar. It provides an easy way to carry your bike on the roof of your vehicle. It is also quite secure and does not damage your frame. The fact that it is designed to accommodate different vehicle types means you won’t have to worry about changing it if you change your bike or add a new one to your collection.
| PROS | CONS |
| Easy assembly | Cable lock is an optional accessory |
| Simple clamp mechanism makes it suitable for different crossbars | Bike placement can be a little difficult especially for taller vehicles |
| Holds bikes securely |
As you can see from this Yakima Frontloader review, simplicity, security, and ease-of-use are three of the major highlight of this bike rack. In all, it is a top-performing rack that is well worth its price. The fact that it attaches to any style of roof rails is a major plus too. This means it can be installed easily on your sedan, SUV, and even on bedrail bars on your truck bed.
