Are you a proud owner of a Toyota Prius? If you are that means efficiency matters most to you. Being one of the most efficient hybrids on the market, it gives a smooth ride and more cargo space.
Now, let’s set the bar a bit higher. Let’s say, you’re an avid cyclist and you also happen to own a Prius. Naturally, the question will arise: what’s the best possible way to transport your bikes on your Prius?
Let’s say,you’re not a regular cyclist.You just want to spend some quality time with your friends and family on bike tours from time to time.What would you do? Given the fact that you don’t want to waste opportunities like those to bond with your friends while rushing down muddy trails.
In both cases, we got you covered. No matter what type of cycles you own or what kind of cyclist you are, as long as you own a Toyota Prius and have bikes to carry; don’t worry.
In this article, I will try my best to nudge you in the right direction from where you can choose the best bike rack for Toyota Prius that’ll go perfectly with your car.
Toyota Prius Bike Rack – Top Pick
| IMAGE | PRODUCT | KEY FEATURES | price |
|---|---|---|---|
Top Pick | AllenSports Bike Rack |
| |
 | IKURAM Bike Rack |
| |
budget  | Thule Camber Bike Rack |
| |
 | Saris Bones Trunk Rack |
| |
 | MAXXHAUL 50027 Bike Rack |
| |
 | Swagman XC2 Rack |
| |
 | ROCKBROS Suction Cup Rack |
| |
 | MAXXHAUL 50025 Rack |
|
Best Bike Racks for Toyota Prius – My Picks
What we’ll be looking at are 5 awesome bike racks. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a new or an old cookie, it’s always a difficult task to choose a decent bike rack. To lessen that trouble, I’ve picked 5 of my most favorite racks for Toyota Prius that can take care of your transportation issue.
I’ve picked one rack from none other than the famous Allen Sports. It’s a platform rack that’ll carry four bikes without breaking a sweat. The next one is from Thule, a hanging hitch rack. It has all the good qualities that normally you’ll look for.
After that, we’ll take a closer look at the trunk Bike Rack Carrier from Saris Bones. This one is specifically famous for its universal compatibility. It fits perfectly with any car and maintains a safe distance from your car.
The last two bike racks are from Swagman and ROCKBROS. While Swagman is famous for being a robust rack the ROCKBROS Suction Cup Bike Rack is for being reliable and safe.
Anyway, these are the racks that we’ll be discussing here. We’ll put them under an electron microscope and try to find out all of their features as well as the areas where they fall short. So, without further ado, let’s jump straight into the first bike rack, the Allen Sports 4-Bikes Hitch Rack.
1. Allen Sports 4-Bike Hitch Racks for Toyota Prius
- Material: Alloy Steel
- Hitch Receiver: 2″
- Item Weight: 22 lbs
- Bike Capacity: 4
- Load Capacity: 140 lbs
- Brand: Allen Sports
When it comes to producing world-class products, Allen Sports always delivers. Their 4-Bike Hitch Rack is a very capable one in this case.
As long as your Prius has a 2-inch trailer hitch installed you’ll be fine. This hanging rack is particularly well known for its 22-inch long carry arm. These arms do a wonderful job holding the bikes safe.
Capable of carrying 4 bikes (Maximum load capacity 140 LB) at a time as the name suggests, this hanging rack is weirdly light. As a matter of fact, it weighs just about 12.5 pounds. Now, don’t let this fool you. This is as strong as you need a bike rack to be. Made of steel, it can withstand a lot of abuse and carry the weights properly.
Installing it is a piece of cake. Just connect the rack to your hitch and secure your bikes using the tie-down cradle system. To adapt bikes with variable designs and axle types better, Allen Sports incorporated carry arms that are different in sizes and designs as well.
To add flexibility, they made the 22-inch carry arms with a folding mechanism. If you’re not using it, simply fold it down. In that way, you can save storage space and still drive around; you will not even realize that it’s there.
Tilt-down system? Yes. So, whenever you feel like you need to access the back of your vehicle, you can do that. Fold the mainmast down with this cool feature and there you go. It folds the main body totally out of the way. In times of emergency stops, you will always be able to access the rear part of your Prius.
Remember the tie-down feature? It’s one of the features that I like most. Why? Well because the roads may and will not always be smooth asphalt. Sometimes you’ll need to drive on tough terrain to get to your desired destination. The tie-down system comes into play here.
Not only do they keep your bikes safe but also they can rotate on their axis. It gives that extra bit of space for your bikes to wobble (good kind of wobble) in place when the road gets bumpy. If the bikes remain stiff in those kinds of situations, they might be damaged.
It also has a good application. That is when you’re mounting your bikes on the rack, simply rotate the arm and attach them. As it happens with some bike racks people need to put up a good fight to mount their bikes. But not in this case.
Will it affect your driving experience? Fortunately, it won’t. Allen Sports have been experimenting on this issue for years and they’ve developed a very cool No-Wobble Bolt system. Because of this, your rack stays in one place and doesn’t sway when you’re on the road.
Allen Sports Deluxe Hitch Rack doesn’t only look classy with the black powder-coated finish but is also blessed with a lot of features. They come incredibly handy and make the job of transporting the bikes a whole lot easier.
2. Thule Camber Hitch Bike Rack For Toyota Prius
- Material: Metal
- Hitch Receiver: 1.25″ & 2″
- Item Weight: 28 lbs
- Bike Capacity: 2
- Load Capacity: 75 lbs
- Brand: Thule
This one is also a hanging hitch rack your Toyota Prius that is capable of carrying two bikes at a time. Thule has been in the business of producing good-quality bike racks for a long time. By being on the front line for over 60 years, they’ve gathered unmatched experiences that are implicated carefully in their products.
Thule Camber Hitch Bike Rack has a decent weight capacity of 75 pounds. You should be able to extend a little bit further but if I were you I would rather not put the extra weight on it.
Part of the reason is that when you’re on the road, the margin of error becomes very thin. Even if it’s more than capable of doing so still, it would be a good idea to stay within the weight limit.
Now, the hitch. To attach it to your Prius you’ll at least need a 1.25 or 2-inch hitch receiver. Installing it, however, might annoy you a bit. Even if it does, it will only be for one time. The reason is that the installation guide is consists of only diagrams. There’s no commentary whatsoever.
Although the installation process is relatively easy and intuitive, if the steps were described in words it would be very helpful. But again, you only need to figure it out once…and trust me, it’s super easy. Just attach the rack and secure your bikes with the sturdy ratcheting straps.
Design-wise, this bike rack is awesome. It’s very compact and strong as well. Since it’s a hanging hitch rack you don’t need to worry about the compatibility issue. Thanks to its good design it can fit a wide range of bike sizes/frame styles.
Thule cares for the bike’s safety. This is why they left 7-inches of spacing between each bike. Even if the road gets tough and bumpy, your bikes won’t come close to each other. They’ll maintain a safe distance and by doing so they’ll remain safe and secure all the time.
The modest spacing, however, isn’t the only feature that keeps the bikes stable. Thule Camber Hitch Bike Rack has a superior anti-sway cradle that doesn’t let the bike make any contact…not with the other bike or the car.
There’s one slight issue. When you mount your bikes on this thule bike rack for prius, large part of your rear-view will be blocked. That’s something that bums me out. If you’re thinking of choosing this rack, no problem.
This has all the features that you will need but you have to be very alert and conscious of your surrounding while you’re driving.
Moving on, Thule Camber has a clever HitchSwitch lever that tilts the mainmast away from the car. Just like the rack from Allen Sports. So, whenever you want you can always access the trunk or tailgate of your Prius.
On the other hand, if you’re not using the rack to carry your bikes and you don’t want to detach it right away, you can simply fold down the entire structure using the fold-down feature.
Thule Camber Hitch Bike Rack is a great hanging rack for all Toyota Prius model car. It has a fairly good build, the body is made of metal, the plastic parts do their jobs well and if taken proper care it’ll last a long time.
It keeps the bike safe and the wobble is nearly unnoticeable. With this rack, you can easily transport your bikes without facing any problems.
3. Saris Bones EX Trunk Bike Rack Carrier For Toyota Prius
- Material: Composite, Plastic
- Item Dimensions: 22″x9″x20″
- Item Weight: 12.23 lbs
- Bike Capacity: 3
- Load Capacity: 105 lbs
- Brand: Saris
If you own a Prius Prime model, then you can skip this rack. This is prius trunk bike rack carrier that only goes with Prius C and V models. Since Prius Prime Model has a curved trunk this bike rack cannot be installed on it. Don’t worry, it supports all types of hitch and other roof racks.
For the time being, let’s pause that matter now. We’ll talk about it in the latter part of this article. So, Saris Bones EX…the first thing that will impress you about this rack is that it makes no contact with your vehicle. The structure is solid and the features are very pragmatic and useful as well.
This rack is fairly lightweight, a feature loved by people who like to move things around quite often. Although it weighs 12.3 pounds, the body is strong and made of composite. In terms of durability, the injection-molded arms and legs will keep the rack functional for years to come.
This trunk rack excels in carrying a good amount of weight too. To be precise, you can carry three bikes up to 35 pounds each. If you’re a family guy with either a Prius V or C model you can of course consider this.
However, that’s not just it. The Saris Bones EX also has impressive anti-sway cradles. No more sway. Also, just like Thule Camber Hitch Bike Rack, this one has plenty of space between each bike. As a result, your bikes won’t make any contact with each other. They will remain safe and intact all the time you spend on the road.
To further ensure the safety of your bikes, the manufacturers have come up with a new kind of hold-downs. Thanks to them, your bikes’ frame and paint job will remain scratch-free. If you want more security, you can always resort to the ratchet clasp.
Comparing with other bike racks, this one has made the job of mounting your bikes easier. You don’t have to give that much of an effort. All you have to do is, remove the pedals first and then place a bit of pipe lagging around your bikes’ frames at possible contact points. That’s pretty much it!
As for drawbacks, it won’t let you access the back of your Prius. Honestly, I don’t like to call it a downside since its nature is to hold on to the trunks. If you’re buying it that means you’re already aware of it.
Saris Bones EX will, however, block your visibility on the backside though. Even without the bikes mounted, your visibility will be reduced by a great deal. So, just be more careful when you’re driving and you’ll be okay.
Apart from those drawbacks, this trunk bike rack rocks. It does what it’s supposed to. This rack keeps the bikes safe, it’s super-easy to assemble, and moving it around is child’s play. You can easily mount your bikes on it and even fold it to save storage space of Prius.
4. Swagman XC2 Hitch Mount Bike Rack For Toyota Prius
- Material: Alloy Steel
- Hitch Receiver: 1.25″ & 2″
- Item Weight: 28 lbs
- Bike Capacity: 2
- Load Capacity: 70 lbs
- Brand: Swagman
If you’re not a frequent user, then Swagman XC2 can become just the bike rack that you’re looking for. It’s not a great rack but still, it has lots of great qualities that easily overshadow its shortcomings. This is a platform-style rack that can carry two bikes at a time and it’s highly adjustable too.
The build is okay. The XC2’s main body is made of metal. The plastic knobs on the wheel trays and the rubber coating on the clamp hooks are made from quality plastic. If you don’t abuse it too much, there’s a very strong odd that it’ll last longer.
The Swagman XC2 is incredibly lightweight too. Remember, it’s a platform-style rack and still, it manages to weigh only about 28 pounds. This makes it fairly easy to move around and more importantly, assemble.
While we’re on the matter of weight, let’s talk about its weight capacity. Well, it can carry up to 70 pounds in total and it’s a decent number if you ask me.
This rack excels in terms of ease of use. Being a platform rack, it has a low loading height. Mounting your bikes on it shouldn’t be a problem anymore. But if your bike’s wheelbase doesn’t match with the wheel trays, just simply adjust them by hand and you’ll be good to go.
What I like most about this XC2 model from Swagman is that it’s very versatile. It can easily house a wide range of bike sizes/frames. The wheelbase can accommodate wheels having 15-52-inches. The oblong wire loop wheel trays are also compatible with wheel sizes from 20-29 inches in diameter and tire widths up to 3.5-inches.
Here comes the bummer, even if it’s compatible with most bikes, the size of the wheel trays just seems to fall short of accommodating fat-tire bikes. To solve this problem, you’ll have to buy additional fat tire wheel trays.
Is this compatible with a Prius Prime? Yes, absolutely. By all means it’s a prius prime bike rack, and even suits Prius C and Prius V models. Just make sure your car has 1.25” or 2” hitch receivers. Swagman XC2’s adapter system works just fine.
Although the hitch pin that comes with the package doesn’t seem to work smoothly with the 2” receiver.
Another downside of this product is that there’s no security. I was kind of surprised actually that there’s no way to lock the bikes to the rack or the rack to the vehicles. If you live in a close-knit community or normally you don’t stray far off from your car, then it’s okay I guess.
Use it at your own risk. But then again, nobody’s going to perform a Mission Impossible Stunt to steal your bikes while you’re on the road. Just be careful to always keep an eye on your vehicle when you park it.
I know this is not the perfect bike rack but this is perfect for seasonal cyclists who just don’t want to miss an opportunity to hit the trails. Besides those downsides, this rack still has a lot to offer. It’s fairly durable, versatile to a point, and surprisingly flexible too.
This is not something that you would call a great bike rack for your prius but still, you can’t write it off completely. Because to be honest, this rack has a lot more fights in it than you can imagine.
5. ROCKBROS Suction Cup Bike Rack For Toyota Prius
- Material: Aluminum, Rubber
- Item Dimensions: 37″x8″x6″
- Item Weight: 5 lbs
- Bike Capacity: 2
- Load Capacity: 88 lbs
- Brand: ROCK BROS
So far we’ve talked about hanging hitch racks, platform-style racks, and trunk racks. Let’s go for a suction cup bike rack next. ROCKBROS has been in the game for a long time. Over the years they’ve excelled in making durable and highly functional suction cup bike racks.
If you’re having second thoughts just by looking at the name, well I’m pretty sure by the end of this part you’ll have none. ROCKBROS Suction Cup Bike Rack has two bikes’ capacity with quite an astonishing build.
Yes, it’s compatible with Prius Prime, Prius C, and Prius V model and fits a wide range of mountain and road bikes too. So, no problem there.
Made from extremely durable aluminum alloy, the material body is very tough. It firmly holds the bikes and keeps them in place. There’re rubber suction cups that keep the vehicle safe from scratches. These rubber cups also have a premium feel to them.
But no matter how careful you are, these scratches may appear if you try to fix the trunk. Don’t worry, ROKCBROS thought of that too. To prevent your car from having these scratches they’ve added a strap. It comes with the body. Use it properly and you won’t have to worry about those annoying scratches anymore.
This little devil literally weighs just 5 pounds! But don’t let that number fool you. It can still carry two mountain bikes with ease. So, yes…it’s a capable bike rack.
Moreover, it’s so easy to use. There’s a quick-release clamp mechanism for the front fork installation. The instruction manual is very graphic and everything’s been described there to the tiniest details. Simply follow the manual and you’ll be able to set it up within a few minutes.
A gentle reminder: always make sure the roof of your Prius and the sucker are squeaky clean. Because if there’s any debris or dust in there, the sucker won’t work properly. Once that’s taken care of, install the sucker on the roof and press down hard. Don’t go easy on it, you need to press it down hard.
If you don’t, the pressure will be released and won’t hold the rack and the bikes in place. If you’re worried about breaking the rack, you can go ahead and try. It won’t break that easy. So, don’t hold yourself back and press real hard.
To take the guessing game out of the equation, ROCKBROS has implanted a clever feature in it. When you’re pressing it down, you’ll have to press the cylinder rod. You should stop pressing as long as the white line disappears. It, generally, takes 30 to 45 seconds.
After that, fix the fork with quick-release placed at the front sucker step. Then place the rear wheel and pedal carefully until you’re satisfied with the setting.
As I said earlier, this is a capable roof bike rack for prius. It has a great build, decent design and can carry a good amount of weight (maximum load capacity 88 LB) at the same time. Since you’ll be mounting 2 bikes on the roof of your Prius, it might take a bit of time to get used to. Apart from that, there’s really nothing wrong with it.
Just keep your car speed in check, and you’ll be absolutely fine. Yes, this is weather resistant. So, don’t worry about rain or snow. It’s built to withstand harsh weather so that you can drive on to your destination with your precious bikes without any worries.
So, What Will be the Best Rack for Your Prius?
Before getting into that you’ll just need to know one thing. That is, if you own a Prius Prime, then any trunk rack is off-limits. Other than this, you can use any type of hitch bike racks let that be hanging or platform-style, roof rack, or even a trunk rack.
Since your options are diverse, I’ll try to highlight the key points that’ll help you to choose the best possible bike rack for your Prius.
First Things First: Compatibility
Normally, I would start by looking at the build and design first. But since this is only about a particular type of car: Prius, I highly recommend you to check some important things regarding the compatibility issue. It goes both for your car and bike.
I may sound like a broken record, but I have to say this again for the sake of this article: don’t buy a trunk rack if you own a Prius Prime. Stick to hanging, platform, and roof bike rack only. Since Prime’s back is more curved than other cars, the trunk rack will not work on it.
Another thing is that all of the products that I’ve mentioned here besides ROCKBROS Suction Cup Bike Rack and Saris Bones EX are compatible with either a 1.25 or 2-inch hitch.
Allen Sports 4- Bike Rack, however, needs a 2-inch hitch. So, make sure your car has the correct hitch receivers before purchasing a rack.
Next, you need to consider is that will your bikes fit perfectly on the rack. This issue mainly depends on the style of your bike’s frame. If you’re insisting on buying a hanging rack, say Allen Sports 4-Bike Hitch Rack or Thule Camber Hitch Bike Rack, carefully inspect the top tube of your bike’s frame.
Luckily enough, these two hanging hitch racks are very versatile on that matter. They can fit almost all the traditional road bikes and mountain bikes. So, want to give them a try? Go ahead…you won’t be disappointed.
As for platform-style rack, you can go easy on this matter. Since they only come in contact with your bikes’ tires, there’s nothing much to worry about.
How Many Bikes Do You Intend to Carry?
This is the easy part. If you love to take your whole family with you, you should go for a rack that can at least carry 4 bikes at a time. In this case, the first rack from Allen Sports can be a good choice.
Being a hanging rack, it’s compatible with Prius Prime. This can be the best bike rack for Prius V and C as well.
For three bikes, you can resort to Saris Bones EX Trunk Bike Rack Carrier. But you can’t use it if you own a prime model of Prius. Others can use this without any problem.
Carrying two bikes simultaneously? There are a lot of good options to pick from. Just make sure your bikes are compatible with the rack that you’re choosing.
Check the Weight Capacity
Each bike rack has a maximum limit of weight capacity. Normally, they are built to carry more than the brochure says but you don’t want to take your chances on this matter. Because if you do, the consequences can be severe both for your bikes and your car.
So, before hitting the market carefully check the weight capacity of your bikes. If you own standard bikes, then it shouldn’t be a problem. A standard bike in general tends to weigh 30 to 35 pounds. All the racks that I’ve mentioned here can easily carry two or three, even four (Allen Sports) bikes weighing around that margin.
On the other hand, if you’re planning on carrying heavier downhill mountain bikes, e-bikes, fat bikes, or cruiser models, do calculate the weight. For example, ROCKBROS Suction Cup Bike Rack is known for its carrying a great deal of weight. It can carry two mountain bikes easily.
That also goes the same for Allen Sports 4-Bike Hitch Rack, Thule Camber Hitch Bike Rack, Saris Bones EX Trunk Bike Rack Carrier, and Swagman XC2. They have incredible records of carrying massive weights. Just look out for e-bikes, okay? Their weight can easily exceed over 50 pounds.
Look for Really Helpful Features
What happens when you’re buying a product? Normally, we tend to go for the one which has more features than others, right? Even if we won’t be using some of them ever. But when you’re opting for buying a bike rack, kindly leave this strategy at home.
Only look for features that have integral parts to play in transporting your vehicles. For example, your bike rack should have a tilt and fold-down feature. The first one lets you access the rear part of the vehicle and the second one makes the whole rack more compact when you’re not using it.
Is it Easy to Use?
Your bike should give you a minimum amount of headache. But if it feels like too much maneuvering it, then certainly it’s not the best choice for you. So, how can you decide this, or what are the areas that indicate a rack is easy to use?
It’s fairly simple. First of all, a bike rack shouldn’t be hard to assemble. It doesn’t matter what type of rack is it. It should be easy to install and detaching it. You don’t want to spend hours figuring out how to make it work.
Both of those tasks should be intuitive and easy. The installing manual should be clear and easy to follow. All the racks in this list are very easy to install. You can get the job done within minutes.
Consider how difficult it is to mount your bikes on the rack. Now, this issue is slightly relative and will differ from person to person. But generally speaking, platform racks have a very low loading comparing with rooftop racks, and some hitch-hanging racks.
How Long Will the Rack Last?
Never compromise when it comes to the durability of a bike rack. Check what kind of material is used in it. Check the design. Make sure it’ll perform under hard conditions.
Now, it’s important to understand that not every single part of your bike rack will be made of steel. There’ll be parts that are made of plastics. Check them carefully.
If it’s a hanging rack, check the quality of the ratcheting arms. Check the straps and the wheel trays of the platform rack. As for the suction cup rack, carefully examine the rubber. Make sure it’s weather-resistant.
If you really want to use a bike rack for a long time, you should take care of it properly. Otherwise, even if it’s made from sturdy materials, you can shorten its lifespan by leaving it out in the open for longer than necessary.
Wrap Up
The Best Bike Rack for Prius is an essential part for every single avid cyclist out there. It’s even more important for people who love to ride occasionally since they’re not well-versed in this area. It so happens that a wrong bike rack can change how you approach this magnificent sport.
If you end up with a bike rack that’s not suited for you, your bikes, and most importantly, your car, you can lose interest in this. So, you must make the right choice.
To keep it simple, make sure you have the right hitch receiver and your chosen bike rack is compatible with your bikes. Just do a bit of research by yourself, take notes, and communicate with your people who have hands-on experience in this matter. Hopefully, you will find a great bike rack that’ll go perfectly with your Prius.
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