Free Beer!! 1Up Bike Rack Owners!

coggbike

Active member
Jul 24, 2019
59
128
California
OK beer drinkers, now that I have your attention :) But really, there is free beer involved.

My friend and I are both looking to buy new bike racks to go with our new Levos that we got recently. I did some preliminary research and narrowed it down to the Thule T2 Pro XT, Thule EasyFold XT, Kuat NV2.0, and 1Up. After many, many hours or research, reviews, videos, etc. on all of those, I'm tending strongly toward the 1Up.

My friend, having done 1/100th of the research I've done is tending toward Thule or Kuat. We went to the local Rack-N-Road dealer and looked at Thule and Kuat, and I think he's resistant to buying the 1Up sight unseen. Though I'm tending strongly toward the 1Up with all the research I've done, I'm also a little hesitant to spend $600+ (really $1200+ with both of us buying a rack) for something I haven't seen or touched.

We wanted to see if there is anyone with a 1Up rack in the San Jose, California area that would be willing to let us come check out the rack. Now to the beer. We'll bring along a six pack of your favorite beer! It would be great to see both natural and black versions, so if there are 2 people near here with those different versions, we'd be happy to go to 2 places with 2 six packs of beer!

If you could help us out, please let me know.

Though the primary purpose of this thread is to find a way to look at a 1Up rack in person, if you have any feedback about any of the top 4 racks in my final list above, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I know there are other bike rack threads, but fresh perspectives and data are always a good thing.

Cheers!
 

Joeyrotundo

Member
Apr 13, 2019
42
42
Canada , Vancouver Island
The fit and finish on the the one up racks are superb .
The clicks as you tighten the rack into your bike's tires ; not the frame are pretty satisfying for sure!
All wear parts are replaceable.

I often admire them at work (car ferry),
You wouldn't regret your choice in 1up.
Made in America old school tough for real.
(Not being sarcastic as Canadians can often be.)
They are made not far from you as well!

Ride
Smile
Recharge
Repeat

Joey
 
Last edited:

Batwing

Member
Oct 14, 2019
21
16
Brisbane Australia
OK beer drinkers, now that I have your attention :) But really, there is free beer involved.

My friend and I are both looking to buy new bike racks to go with our new Levos that we got recently. I did some preliminary research and narrowed it down to the Thule T2 Pro XT, Thule EasyFold XT, Kuat NV2.0, and 1Up. After many, many hours or research, reviews, videos, etc. on all of those, I'm tending strongly toward the 1Up.

My friend, having done 1/100th of the research I've done is tending toward Thule or Kuat. We went to the local Rack-N-Road dealer and looked at Thule and Kuat, and I think he's resistant to buying the 1Up sight unseen. Though I'm tending strongly toward the 1Up with all the research I've done, I'm also a little hesitant to spend $600+ (really $1200+ with both of us buying a rack) for something I haven't seen or touched.

We wanted to see if there is anyone with a 1Up rack in the San Jose, California area that would be willing to let us come check out the rack. Now to the beer. We'll bring along a six pack of your favorite beer! It would be great to see both natural and black versions, so if there are 2 people near here with those different versions, we'd be happy to go to 2 places with 2 six packs of beer!

If you could help us out, please let me know.

Though the primary purpose of this thread is to find a way to look at a 1Up rack in person, if you have any feedback about any of the top 4 racks in my final list above, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I know there are other bike rack threads, but fresh perspectives and data are always a good thing.

Cheers!
I’d love to take you up on your six pack offer..but maybe Brisbane Australia is a little too far for the beer to stay cold.
I have recently purchased a Thule T2 Pro it has regularly transported my Merida 9k & my mates Norco VLT. It’s ease of loading, lockablity and secure transportation suits me just fine. I’d highly recommend one. BTW I did also look at the Thule easyfold, but didn’t trust or like the way the bikes where secured via a frame clamp, not the best or easiest way to transport a duel suspension carbon framed bike.
 

net wurker

E*POWAH Master
Sep 30, 2019
185
237
Huntsville, AL USA
I can vouch for 1UP quality.

I had the original one for 5 years. It was still perfectly functional, but each tray was rated for up to 50 lbs.

Got my new ebike, and got the wifey one, too. I was feeling sketchy about hitting, and slightly exceeding the weight limit. So I got a new super duty. (75lbs per tray)

One thing I would highly recommend if you go with a 1UP, is to spring for the extender handle. It moves the release from having to reach under the rack to having it up top. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but after years of the awkward reach of the original release location, after just a couple uses of the new one with the release up top, I was smacking myself for not having it before.
About 80 extra bucks, but worth it to me.
 

CatButt

Member
Jul 20, 2019
85
39
Redondo Beach, Ca
Having owned a 1up for several years and used on several bikes I can say the quality is OK...the stability is just OK as well.

On a long road/ride trip the mechanism that tightens the rack into the hitch broke. There is a little "pill" in there between the ball on the end and the bolt you physically turn. It really sucked because I had to mail the bikes back home as there was NO way to fix the rack on the roadside and 1up did not have any in stock. It cost me $250 and lost some riding as well.

As far as stability goes...the way the rack grabs the bike, by the tires, it allows the bike to bounce forward and backward especially on freeway segmented roads. My fix for this was to put a bungee cord on the seat and hook it to the car somewhere so it is barely tight. It is just enough to take the bounce out.

Saying all that I would likely purchase one again. I love the way it folds on the car when there is no bike on it...it clears my rear hatch and does not stick out very far. I like the fit and finish of all the parts. I like the fact that all the parts are replaceable.
 

Weeds

Member
Mar 5, 2019
31
25
Leavenworth, WA
You might look at the Rocky Mounts Backstage if you need to access the back of a vehicle. It tilts and swings to the side of a vehicle. I use it on my van, Grand Cherokee and Wrangle. It vibrates very little and will carry too e-bikes.
 

Swan

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2019
87
121
North Idaho, US
I work in the bike industry.. So I get deals on most everything... Except 1up.. They don't do industry pricing.

I have had 2 Thule T2 racks for the last 10 years and they live on my car 24/7 through the winter.. I ended up killing a T2 with the salt and road grim and all the plastic pieces started to get brittle and fail. Great racks functionally, but they are what I would consider 10-20 year lifespan racks, or maybe a lifetime if you are taking it off the car most of the time..


After 10 years of lusting over the 1up but not wanting to spend 2x what I can bro deal other racks for, I finally spent $600 and bought a black 1up and can see why people are so stoked on them.. I really do think it will be a lifetime rack setup for me and I am overall pretty stoked on it.

20191021_124333.jpg
 

coggbike

Active member
Jul 24, 2019
59
128
California
The fit and finish on the the one up racks are superb .
The clicks as you tighten the rack into your bike's tires ; not the frame are pretty satisfying for sure!
All wear parts are replaceable.

I often admire them at work (car ferry),
You wouldn't regret your choice in 1up.
Made in America old school tough for real.
(Not being sarcastic as Canadians can often be.)
They are made not far from you as well!

Ride
Smile
Recharge
Repeat

Joey
I’d love to take you up on your six pack offer..but maybe Brisbane Australia is a little too far for the beer to stay cold.
I have recently purchased a Thule T2 Pro it has regularly transported my Merida 9k & my mates Norco VLT. It’s ease of loading, lockablity and secure transportation suits me just fine. I’d highly recommend one. BTW I did also look at the Thule easyfold, but didn’t trust or like the way the bikes where secured via a frame clamp, not the best or easiest way to transport a duel suspension carbon framed bike.
I can vouch for 1UP quality.

I had the original one for 5 years. It was still perfectly functional, but each tray was rated for up to 50 lbs.

Got my new ebike, and got the wifey one, too. I was feeling sketchy about hitting, and slightly exceeding the weight limit. So I got a new super duty. (75lbs per tray)

One thing I would highly recommend if you go with a 1UP, is to spring for the extender handle. It moves the release from having to reach under the rack to having it up top. It doesn't seem like a big deal, but after years of the awkward reach of the original release location, after just a couple uses of the new one with the release up top, I was smacking myself for not having it before.
About 80 extra bucks, but worth it to me.
Having owned a 1up for several years and used on several bikes I can say the quality is OK...the stability is just OK as well.

On a long road/ride trip the mechanism that tightens the rack into the hitch broke. There is a little "pill" in there between the ball on the end and the bolt you physically turn. It really sucked because I had to mail the bikes back home as there was NO way to fix the rack on the roadside and 1up did not have any in stock. It cost me $250 and lost some riding as well.

As far as stability goes...the way the rack grabs the bike, by the tires, it allows the bike to bounce forward and backward especially on freeway segmented roads. My fix for this was to put a bungee cord on the seat and hook it to the car somewhere so it is barely tight. It is just enough to take the bounce out.

Saying all that I would likely purchase one again. I love the way it folds on the car when there is no bike on it...it clears my rear hatch and does not stick out very far. I like the fit and finish of all the parts. I like the fact that all the parts are replaceable.
You might look at the Rocky Mounts Backstage if you need to access the back of a vehicle. It tilts and swings to the side of a vehicle. I use it on my van, Grand Cherokee and Wrangle. It vibrates very little and will carry too e-bikes.
I work in the bike industry.. So I get deals on most everything... Except 1up.. They don't do industry pricing.

I have had 2 Thule T2 racks for the last 10 years and they live on my car 24/7 through the winter.. I ended up killing a T2 with the salt and road grim and all the plastic pieces started to get brittle and fail. Great racks functionally, but they are what I would consider 10-20 year lifespan racks, or maybe a lifetime if you are taking it off the car most of the time..


After 10 years of lusting over the 1up but not wanting to spend 2x what I can bro deal other racks for, I finally spent $600 and bought a black 1up and can see why people are so stoked on them.. I really do think it will be a lifetime rack setup for me and I am overall pretty stoked on it.

View attachment 23074

Hi All. Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it.

@CatButt Sorry to hear about the issue on your trip. But it does say something that you would still likely purchase a 1Up again. As far as the bouncing forwards and backwards, do you mean in the direction of travel of the vehicle, perpendicular to the bikes? So they would sway backwards when you accelerate, and sway forwards when you brake?
 

Swan

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2019
87
121
North Idaho, US
Hi All. Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it.

@CatButt Sorry to hear about the issue on your trip. But it does say something that you would still likely purchase a 1Up again. As far as the bouncing forwards and backwards, do you mean in the direction of travel of the vehicle, perpendicular to the bikes? So they would sway backwards when you accelerate, and sway forwards when you brake?


I will say I have had my car at 100+mph with 2 bikes on the 1up and have driven lots of dirt roads.. If you have the wheel holders pushed tight, you shouldn't have any bike contact assuming to space seat posts and handlebars appropriately. There can be a little bit of bike movement, but I don't consider it any worse than any other racks I have used.
 

dpdsurf

Member
Jun 22, 2019
10
9
US
I'm in the Bay area and see the 1up racks all the time. Go to any trailhead parking area and you will see one. They are awesome by the way.
IMG_20190625_174600.jpg
 

mtbchris

Member
Dec 2, 2019
40
39
San Diego, CA
I've had my 1UP rack for a couple years now. I bought it with the 1-1/4" receiver on it and just used the 2" adapter when I needed it. Until I bought a ebike and the rated load for one tray was pushing it. Instead of buying a new rack, I just ordered the 2" receiver and side plates for a little over 100 bucks to accommodate the weight of my new ebike. Not too many company's out there have the parts support and modularity for their racks like 1UP has.
 

njn

Active member
Founding Member
Mar 14, 2018
340
178
USA
I have an old Thule T2 and the tray is slightly too short. In addition, the front wheel mount interferes with most mud guards. 1UP would be my choice today.
 

333psi

Member
Apr 4, 2022
16
0
Atlanta
OK beer drinkers, now that I have your attention :) But really, there is free beer involved.

My friend and I are both looking to buy new bike racks to go with our new Levos that we got recently. I did some preliminary research and narrowed it down to the Thule T2 Pro XT, Thule EasyFold XT, Kuat NV2.0, and 1Up. After many, many hours or research, reviews, videos, etc. on all of those, I'm tending strongly toward the 1Up.

My friend, having done 1/100th of the research I've done is tending toward Thule or Kuat. We went to the local Rack-N-Road dealer and looked at Thule and Kuat, and I think he's resistant to buying the 1Up sight unseen. Though I'm tending strongly toward the 1Up with all the research I've done, I'm also a little hesitant to spend $600+ (really $1200+ with both of us buying a rack) for something I haven't seen or touched.

We wanted to see if there is anyone with a 1Up rack in the San Jose, California area that would be willing to let us come check out the rack. Now to the beer. We'll bring along a six pack of your favorite beer! It would be great to see both natural and black versions, so if there are 2 people near here with those different versions, we'd be happy to go to 2 places with 2 six packs of beer!

If you could help us out, please let me know.

Though the primary purpose of this thread is to find a way to look at a 1Up rack in person, if you have any feedback about any of the top 4 racks in my final list above, I'd love to hear your thoughts. I know there are other bike rack threads, but fresh perspectives and data are always a good thing.

Cheers!

I just bought a 1up because the Kuat Sherpa 2.0 (which I’ve sold) was not long enough for my Bullit’s wheelbase.
 

F4Flyer

Member
Sep 30, 2020
113
54
Denver
I have owned several...Kuat Sherpa, NV 2, the Saris tray rack, and others. I find the 1UP to be the most durable and heavy duty in general. It is also easy to adjust the bikes when they hit each other. My oldest one is over 10 years old and works perfectly. My newest if the heavy duty version that can hold 75 lbs and is 1 year old. Kurt is nice as is the Thule, but for easy adjustability, the 1UP is great. It also can get really close to the vehicle unlike the others...this helps with small garages like I have.
 

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