Hollywood Racks Recumbent

The angled arms that touch the frame are made from a 5/8 inch rod bent at about a 90 degree angle as they contact the bike frame. These arms are covered with a soft neoprene rubber tube. On our first trip out we traveled about 200 miles. The rubber tube had completely rubbed through where it touched the frame of the bikes and the exposed steel rod then rubbed the powder coated paint off of both bikes where it touched. The paint rubbed off was the size of a pencil. I have replaced this neoprene rubber with a heavy vinyl hose on the bike rack matching the ID of 5/8". Also placed the same hose over the bike frame -- slitting it the length and slipping it over the horizontal frame member and securing with wire ties. Not pretty but works and the only way I have found to use this bike rack. This neoprene hose is a design flaw. The rack does have a good bit of slop in it takes some careful alignment to get the various pins to walk into their respective holes. Overall its fine but not great. I have not found something out there equivalent in terms of mounting two long wheel base recumbents. If you find an alternative it may be worth investigating.

Well, first of all, the rack showed up as promised on time. For sure what ever a skilled person with mechanical ability takes to put something together, it will take me at least twice as long.Anyway, we got it assembled (by the way, Hollywood included all the necessary tools) and after both of us setting the bike in the front holder (a Tour Easy, medium, wheelbase 64"), we decided to mount the bike on the rear most rack. Well, it was Waaaaaaay too long, about 88" wheel-wheel. In the back of my mind I remember a poster herein stating that using the Hollywood 915 fork mount and reversing the handlebars/fork the mounted length could be shortened. This has increased the difficulty of getting the bike (around 30 lbs) mounted because the front dropout face forward instead of down.Mounting it in that manner seems to have shortened it enough so that the rear wheel is just visible from the front of the Prius. See the product photos.

We have a Tour Easy- it has an enormously long wheel base. Transporting a bike of that size is a challenge. There are few choices, many involved trying to get this on the roof of an already high car. Roof mount simply wasn't an option for many reasons- the vehicle type, garage clearance for the rack, etc.This solved the entire problem. Being a short, not very strong person, I can load a large recumbent bike without assistance- a huge plus. The design if phenomenal- the bike sits in the open wells, then I use the straps to secure the wheels, then squeeze the lever on the post to secure the frame of the bike. Could not be easier. I can get the bike on and off the car by myself AND I can get the rack on and off the car by myself. Buy the lock so that you can lock this bike rack to your car and the bikes with it- again, could not be easier. Another plus is that the bikes are so secure, no more dings and dents on the back of the car, plus, the design of the rack prevents damage to spokes, dings and dents to the frame. This thing is rock solid and a great alternative to some dealer suggestions that involved mounting the bike vertically. I never would have been able to manage getting my bike on a rack vertically or on the roof of the car. The only caution: A long wheel base bike like the Tour Easy, sticks out about 8" on each side of the car, so caution when parking, narrow roads, etc.

I looked for several weeks to find a rack that would securely hold my long wheelbase recumbent bike from Bacchetta. Looked at the 'Tandem Topper' from ATOC, which is pretty much considered the high-end rack by Bacchetta. Great rack, and one that I would have purchased if I could have afforded it. Since I couldn't, I kept looking. Found this Hollywood rack highly rated on several recumbent websites, and saw two current users at a bike rally in Columbus, OH that had them. They raved about how solid and durable it is, plus how easy it is to load and unload bikes with it. Convinced me. Ordered it from Amazon. Only problem I had was that when I selected the free shipping, it took almost a week for it to leave the warehouse ! When the box arrived, the FedEx guy struggled with it because it was somewhat heavy. Assembly went quickly. The instructions are somewhat 'universal', in that they also seem to cover the model that's not for recumbents, and which has slightly different parts in the box. But, all's well. I've now taken my recumbent plus my grandson's bike to several trails, and it keeps me from having to struggle to stuff the bike inside my SUV, where it barely fits.I love this rack, and highly recommend it to anyone. Please be sure to check that your state or local municipality allows recumbent bikes to stick out past the rear-view mirrors. Fortunately, I don't have that problem at home and where I normally would use the rack, but at least one neighboring state would not allow it....so, I won't be using this rack when I travel there...will still have to stuff the recumbent inside the SUV...ugh.