Hollywood Racks’ Updated CrossTrack Gets Even Better with Add-on Capability: Review

Hollywood Racks has been round for years and is understood for its vary of comparatively inexpensive hitch bike racks, together with a number of made to be used with RVs and electrical bikes. Typically talking, nonetheless, Hollywood hasn’t been one of many first manufacturers that involves thoughts when contemplating a rack for high-performance bicycles.

Which is why it was noteworthy when the model launched the CrossTrack in late 2024. This tray-style mannequin makes use of twin wheel arms to carry bikes, making contact with the tires solely. Actually, I imagine the CrossTrack is the one rack within the Hollywood lineup that doesn’t make any contact together with your bike body — and even your rims.

With the CrossTrack, Hollywood Racks lastly made it on my radar, and I examined the unique model when it got here out. I used to be pleasantly stunned by its efficiency and felt it made the model a viable choice for performance-minded customers who had beforehand prevented their frame-contact racks. Now, the up to date CrossTrack addresses one in every of my foremost complaints in regards to the unique. A brand new tilt-release deal with place opens the door for add-ons to increase capability, whereas sustaining the identical user-friendliness, stability, and versatile bike match.

Hollywood Racks CrossTrack Particulars

The CrossTrack is a tray-style or platform hitch bike rack. The bikes relaxation on horizontal trays and are secured with opposing arms that sandwich the bike between the entrance and rear wheels. This fashion of rack has been round for years and was popularized by 1Up-USA and has since been employed by different manufacturers, together with Kuat, Saris, Rocky Mounts, and others.

The wheel arms solely make contact with the bike’s tires, so there may be nothing to scuff your body’s paint and even your rims. The arms use a launch button that must be held down when opening, and so they ratchet closed when securing a motorbike or folding them down all the way in which.

Hollywood Racks states that the CrossTrack is appropriate with 20” to 29” wheels and tires as much as 4” vast.  A 5-position adjustable spindle on the wheel arms accounts for adjustments in wheel dimension. Transferring the wheel dimension spindle requires instruments, however it’s a pretty fast and simple course of. If it’s essential to change wheel sizes continuously, Hollywood Racks sells a knob model for $15, which makes it a tool-free affair. It’s price noting right here that the wheel arm design isn’t appropriate with bikes with fenders.

Every tray additionally features a wheel chock that’s meant so as to add stability to the entrance wheel. These could be shifted on the tray (with instruments and some minutes), with two pre-drilled positions.

The CrossTrack is available in 1-bike and 2-bike variations and in 1.25” and a pair of” receiver sizes. It has a per-bike weight restrict of 66 kilos, which ought to work for almost all of bikes on the market, together with full-power eMTBs. The 1-bike rack retails for $400, and the 2-bike model sells for $750, which could be very aggressive for racks of this fashion.

The two” model has an anti-wobble cam, which eliminates play and stabilizes the rack within the hitch receiver. It’s simple to tighten with a threaded deal with on the finish of the receiver arm. The 1.25” model doesn’t embrace the anti-wobble cam. The CrossTrack is permitted to be used on Class B motorhomes.

CrossTrack Specs

1-bike or 2-bike variations

Rack weight: 1-bike: 37.5 lbs., 2-bike: 58 lbs.

Hitch sizes: 1.25” and a pair of”

Per bike weight restrict: 66 lbs.

Match tires as much as 4” vast

Works with wheel sizes 20” to 29”

Max wheelbase: 52” (1,320mm)

”No wobble” hitch system (2” solely)

Safety

The CrossTrack comes with a locking hitch pin with a reasonably beefy metallic lock pod in addition to an 8-foot-long cable lock that’s keyed alike. In the midst of the rack, a welded lock loop makes a simple spot to lock by, whether or not you’re utilizing the included lock or an aftermarket choice. Hollywood additionally sells units of wheel locks ($40), which could be keyed alike if ordered with the rack.

Different Equipment

Extra aftermarket equipment embrace a CrossTrack Loading ramp ($100) to roll heavy bikes into place on the trays. In addition they supply an LED mild bar ($150) that capabilities as a brake mild, flip indicators, and emergency flashers. It connects on to a 4-pin flat plug, however comes with an adapter to 7-pin spherical, too.

Add-Ons

When Hollywood up to date the CrossTrack, they modified the tilt-release deal with design and placement, making it attainable so as to add on to the rack. They now promote a 1-bike add-on package that’s appropriate with the 1-bike and 2-bike variations of the rack. The 1-bike add-on sells for $350.

When used so as to add a 2nd bike tray to the 1-bike rack, the add-on has a weight restrict of 66 kilos. When including a third tray to the 2-bike rack, the add-on’s weight restrict goes right down to 50 lbs — the first and 2nd positions keep at 66 kilos.

Meeting

The CrossTrack is available in a pretty big field that weighs round 70 kilos. Inside, the rack is in a complete of 5 items: the primary hitch meeting/help arm, and every of the trays in two items. You’ll be able to scan a QR code to observe an meeting video, and it comes with detailed printed directions and the entire instruments it’s essential to full the meeting. I discovered it to be comparatively simple, and it took me simply over half-hour to place the CrossTrack collectively.

Assembling the rack is best wth the hitch meeting in your car’s receiver. Then, you merely be part of the 2 halves of the trays with the junction brackets and bolt them on. The equipped instruments work simply positive, however I used my very own socket wrench to expedite the method. The directions are thorough, and I believe most individuals ought to be capable of put the rack collectively themselves with little issue.

Proper out the gate, I seen the help arm had just a little side-to-side play on the foremost pivot. This wasn’t actually a difficulty in use, however I nonetheless took a couple of minutes and tightened the massive bolt on the pivot till the play was gone. Now it doesn’t wobble in any respect, and the pivot nonetheless strikes easily.

I used the Cross Observe in its 2-bike configuration for a couple of days, then put in the 1-bike add-on. This course of took all of quarter-hour. All it’s essential to do is take away the rack’s finish cap, then bolt the rack extension as an alternative. After that, you be part of the halves of the add-on tray and bolt it onto the rack.

I additionally obtained the LED Mild Bar accent, which I put in only recently. Once more, this was tremendous simple. It required eradicating the rack’s finish cap, then bolting the LED bar as an alternative. The toughest half was routing the cable from the sunshine to the 4-pin plug on my truck. Fortunately, Hollywood offers a number of stick-on clips for routing, plus a strap to comprise any extra wire. I appreciated the inclusion of a 4-pin to 7-pin spherical adapter, which was wanted for my setup.

Set up

Like most hitch racks, the toughest a part of putting in the CrossTrack is selecting it up and carrying it to your car. It weighs simply 58 kilos in is 2-bike configuration, so it isn’t tremendous heavy, however it may be a bit awkward to hold given its form. I haven’t weighed it with the add-on put in, however I’m guessing it added ~15 kilos to the entire.

Regardless, all it’s essential to do is insert the receiver arm into the receiver till the pin holes line up. Then, insert the hitch pin, and lock the rack onto the receiver. Flip the threaded knob on the tip of the receiver arm to tighten the anti-wobble cam, and provides a couple of shakes to make sure that all of the play has been faraway from the system.

Utilizing the CrossTrack

The CrossTrack folds flat up towards the rear of the car when it’s not in use, and it has a reasonably slim profile and customarily tidy look. Pulling up on the lean launch deal with permits it to pivot to 3 different positions: 45 levels for entry to the rear of the car, flat to be used, or tilted down for car entry with bikes loaded. This deal with is simple to succeed in, making it a one-handed operation to lift and decrease the rack when it’s empty.

Opening the wheel arms requires the usage of each arms, which is my greatest grievance in regards to the CrossTrack. You should press and maintain the pink launch button with one hand and use the opposite to open the arm. I shortly realized that this will get just a little awkward if balancing a motorbike in a single hand, and tailored my loading strategy accordingly. I simply began opening the arms earlier than even wheeling the bike(s) out of the storage, or leaning the bike on the truck as a substitute of making an attempt to tug off some balancing act.

Comparatively, the piston-actuated arms on the Kuat Piston Professional X are very user-friendly, however that rack sells for over $1,500. Likewise, the newest racks from 1Up-USA have a one-hand-operable tab on the wheel arms that’s simple to make use of and helps you keep away from awkward steadiness video games. 1Up’s racks (with the one-handed tabs) are a bit costlier than the CrossTrack, however they’re additionally recognized for his or her legendary sturdiness.

With the wheel arms open, elevate the bike into place on the rack with the entrance wheel towards the wheel chock. Push the entrance and rear wheel arms tight towards the wheels, and also you’re good to go. Racks like this could be a little vulnerable to entrance wheel wobble, and the wheel chock reduces this considerably.

The 66-pound per-bike weight restrict is greater than sufficient for my wants. I’ve been utilizing it to move a Levo 4 Alloy (54 kilos) and a Levo 4 Evo (52 kilos) on the similar time, and that hasn’t been a difficulty in any respect. Even with that a lot weight, it has been tremendous secure always, and the bikes have remained tremendous safe. Likewise, it handles my 30-pound path bike and 25-pound Mach 4 SL cross-country bikes with absolute ease.

Bike-on-bike battle hasn’t actually been a difficulty for me whereas carrying the identical sorts of bikes on a regular basis. With three mountain bikes loaded without delay, I used to be capable of simply mitigate any attainable handlebar interference by barely offsetting the outermost bike (see picture beneath) so the tire wasn’t resting on the wheel chock. For those who had been to run into any vital handlebar battle, probably a higher situation with drop bars, you’ll be able to shift the place of the wheel chocks, though this requires the usage of instruments.

With the add-on, I’ve appreciated having the choice to hold a 3rd bike when wanted. It provides a little bit of heft to the rack, so tilting up and down is just a little bit extra cumbersome, plus the discharge lever isn’t fairly as handy. Nonetheless, I haven’t discovered it to be problematic. The add-on is bolted on, so I’m inclined to depart it on on a regular basis. That stated, I believe it could most likely solely take about quarter-hour to put in and take away it as soon as it’s assembled.

The LED mild bar appears to work fairly nicely. It’s pretty vivid and seems to be of first rate high quality. It additionally has a spring-loaded pivoting design, so you’ll be able to shift its angle together with the orientation of the rack. All you must do is pull just a little deal with, and you may rotate it 90 levels in order that it’s all the time going through straight again.

By way of safety, the metallic lock pod on the hitch pin appears fairly stable. The included cable lock is lengthy sufficient to suit by 3 bike frames and the welded lock loop. I believe it’s a pleasant inclusion and nice to have as a theft deterrent for low-risk conditions, nevertheless it may simply be reduce by even easy instruments — like most cable locks.

The wheel locks aren’t infallible both, however they add one other couple of layers of safety for those who lock up each wheels. Looks as if a bolt cutter may make fast work of them, however they’ll undoubtedly deter an opportunistic thief. Lengthy story quick, don’t depart your bikes unattended on any rack for those who may also help it.

Remaining Ideas

The up to date Hollywood Racks CrossTrack builds on the stable basis of the unique model, which, for my part, already elevated the model into a brand new efficiency class. Whereas it is probably not essentially the most refined instance of this fashion of rack, it’s moderately priced, and it doesn’t have any compromises that might maintain me from utilizing it each day.

My greatest grievance — needing two arms to open the wheel arms — is pretty minor and one thing that’s really fairly simple to get used to. In any other case, the CrossTrack carries any bike in my storage with ease, it’s secure and safe in transit, and it doesn’t look half unhealthy, both. It’s additionally the least costly rack of this kind that I’m conscious of. The two-bike model is half the worth of the Kuat Piston Professional X, and barely lower than the comparable 1Up-USA Heavy Obligation, too.

In my expertise, the CrossTrack is a simple rack to dwell with and will get the job achieved whereas leaving little to complain about. Now, up to date with add-on functionality, you’ll be able to construct a 3-bike, no-frame-contact (or rim) rack for $1,100, which could be very aggressive. For those who’re looking for a brand new bike rack, I believe the CrossTrack is one other stable choice that’s worthy of consideration.

hollywoodracks.com