One thing I love about e-bikes is that you have to put them on bike racks less often. Since they propel you significantly faster and farther than an acoustic bike, you are more likely to just ride to the bike path rather than carry the bike there on your car.
That being said, there are definitely times when taking an e-bike on a car rack is needed, and the extra weight and different geometries of an e-bike make them impossible or dangerous to mount with traditional bike racks. That’s where a new breed of bike racks that blur the lines between bike carriers and motorcycle carriers come in. Today we are looking at the Hollywood Destination E-Bike Rack which comes in at a solid $699.99 price point.
First off, the Hollywood Destination E-Bike Rack comes almost completely assembled in the box and only requires a few minutes to tighten some screws and attach some belts. It fits into the 2-inch trailer hitch which I installed on my Tesla Model Y. While it doesn’t offer any pass-through lighting (nor is it legally obligated to) it does offer a myriad of safety features that will keep you from pinching off a finger.
The main thing I notice here is the quality, heavy duty parts, but it is also nice to see very eco-friendly packaging with only a few plastic zip-ties and baggies. With only a few parts to assemble, it becomes less daunting to put it together, and my teenage son and I had it attached to the car in 15 minutes.
You’ll really notice the extra heft vs. a traditional bike rack, even a four-slot acoustic bike rack. At 46lbs, it isn’t trivial to insert into the trailer hitch, but probably my favorite part about this hitch and the biggest upgrade vs. my previous bike rack is the patented “no wobble hitch system.” That is a fancy term for bolt tightener, and it made a big difference vs. my old bike rack, which would wobble when we drove.
The kit also includes an easily storable ramp for getting heavy e-bikes off and on the rack. Below, I am putting the Luna X-2 (which weighs about 42 lbs) on the rack.
To be honest, I’m not going to use the telescoping ramp because I’m able to lift most e-bikes the three feet off the ground onto and off of the rack, but I imagine smaller folks could find this useful. It would also be useful to me with something like a Sur Ron, though technically the rack is only rated for two 70lb bikes. I unofficially tried with two 100lb Juiced e-bikes, and everything seemed fine. But I’d stick to the specifications on medium to long trips.
The tie downs are super easy to affix, but it was extremely tight getting them around those 20-inch, 4-inch wide fat tire ebikes. I don’t think the small radius of these tires was considered in the design, and I hope to see a future bike rack with either closer clamps or longer belts.
While the tie downs would easily keep the bikes on the rack, the Hollywood Destination e-bike Rack comes with two pole clamps that really keep the whole thing still. I particularly like these because they really allow just about any shape and size of bike to work. However, if you have a carbon bike, like the Luna X-2, you’ll want to affix the clamps to the seat post or some other non-carbon part of the bike.
Hollywood Rack – 180 mile trip NYC to Vermont
Like I said before, the “no wobble hitch system” came in clutch here. Together with the clamps, it really made the ride smooth, and it was easy to forget we were hauling heavy e-bikes. Knowing we’d lose some mileage, we drove slower than usual and only incurred about a 10-ish% range hit vs. our normal trip up there.
Hollywood also offers keyed-alike locking frame and seat post clamps locks that give extra peace of mind when stopping at a restaurant on a trip. When bikes aren’t being driven, the rack folds flat agains the back of the car and also folds out easily for access to the back of the car.
Of course, the Hollywood Destination Rack also works great with acoustic bikes, even XL 29-inchers like the Trek Session 8 downhill bike we use in Vermont. It only takes a minute to pop this thing on there and you are ready to hit the mountains.
Electrek’s Take
I know there are some sleeker bike racks out there from Thule and Yakima which cost up to $1000. But the Hollywood Destination 2 E-Bike Rack really inspires confidence at $699 and features a very sturdy, foldable system and smooth travel with the “no wobble”. If that’s too rich for your blood, they offer $599 and $499 models as well.
Hollywood Destination 2 E-Bike Rack specs:
- Capacity: Two bikes (Max. 70 lbs. per bike)
- Hitch size: 2” only (Do not use a 1 ¼” – 2” hitch adapter)
- Includes a 46″ long ramp.
- Maximum bike wheelbase: 50”
- Maximum tire width: 4.5”
- Includes keyed-alike locking hitch pin and locking frame clamps
- “No-Wobble Hitch System” eliminates slack between the receiver and the rack without the use of tools.
- Folds flat against car when not in use
- Feature’s “Balanced Tilting” with the pivot point between the 2 bikes, making tilting down for cargo door access as easy as it gets
- The frame grabbers on this rack can hold step through bikes by the seatpost, therefore Bike Adapters are not needed and should not be used.
- Includes optional fixed Frame Grabber to use in place of quick release option
- Space between bikes: 11″
- Rack weight: 46 lbs.
- Limited lifetime warranty
- When using on a seat post requirements: Min. 1″ / Max 2″
- For step-through bikes: Secure the bicycle by using the racks Frame Grabber around the bikes seat post.
- 4″ Strap Extension Kits sold separately: STPEXT
- Not to be used on front hitches
- Not to be used with any 1-1/4″ – 2″ Adapter
- Not to be used with any hitch extension longer than 8″
- Not to be used on any trailer, fifth wheel, or towed vehicle
- CLASS B RV APPROVED ONLY (NOT APPROVED FOR CLASS A OR CLASS C RVS)
Subscribe to Electrek on YouTube for exclusive videos and subscribe to the podcast.
Author: Seth Weintraub
Source: Electrek
