That’s how I ended up here. I thought, let’s share some of my experience on purchasing a Rola vertical bike rack
We spent 12 months on the road with 4 mountain bikes on the back of our Colorado 7 similar to a Trailblazer or Isuzu MUX, so we know what has worked for us and what hasn’t.
Firstly, you can spend as little or as much as you want to. We managed the 12 months with a rack from Anaconda you will see a photo below:
It cost all of $150 we cut pieces off it, bent it, modified it, and just made it work.
But did it do the job? Yes.
Was it perfect? Far from.
Did it scratch the bikes? Yes, if not careful.
The best part, it is small and light to store in a garage or just put in the back of the car.
Cheap to buy so you don’t expect too much, and are happy to modify.
Strong, well, yes, it had 4 dual suspension bikes on it for 23,000 km.
The rack mounted low so it didn’t impact overall vehicle height for shopping centres and car parks.
The not-so-good of a cheap bike rack,
It takes time to get the bikes on, and yes you have to add a lot of packers.
We had pads with Velcro straps that we put on all the rub points and they did rub.
This would be the biggest negative, unless you took the time there could be damage done to your bike in a short trip.
I was less fussy so my bike got a lot of scratches where my boys all paid for their bikes so they took the time to put the packers on, plus their bikes are worth more than mine.
After a few years of service, the rack arms are starting to fatigue and bend a bit more than they should, we also replaced the straps as they split.
So, the old one has seen better days we needed a new one, I wanted to share our journey and what we discovered.
After many hours of research, and reading reviews on bike racks I will list some of the good ones below so you can have a read.
https://www.ambmag.com.au/feature/first-look-9-vertical-bike-racks-on-test-581023
We looked at all the big brands Shingleback, Rola, Dirty Possum, Single Trail, and the list goes on and on.
We settled for the Rola Vertical 5 bike rack (VBR5) this was after a conversation with another rider at the Tewantin MTB trail up on Sunrise Road who owned one.
What we liked about the Rola Vertical Bike Rack,
It is strong, and very well built.
The straps that hold your bike are great, a thick webbing instead of a couple of elastic straps
The hinge-down mechanism looks great, it suits us for the access to the back of the Colorado SUV.
Can carry 5 full-size bikes, even electrics with a max of 27kg each, you will need to check your tow bar rating. Ours was good for 3000kg which then allows you to load the rack to the max combined weight of 135kg. Our bikes at 15 – 16kg (16kg x 5 = 80kg) will get nowhere near this maximum.
Please have a look at the chart below to confirm which configuration suits your vehicle.
Load time is next to nothing, load from left to right, smallest to biggest bike. There is no rubbing or clashes. Very happy.
Comes standard with an anti-rattle clamp for the hitch, ours was not the correct size but Rola is working on a replacement for us.
A couple of points to be aware of.
When the rack is fully loaded with bikes you can’t tilt the rack down to access the back of the car easily. The pivot pin has some movement in it, so the pin that needs to be removed misaligns and is hard to get in and out. Unloaded it is fine.
Once loaded the total height is very high. We have a Colorado7, and the total height is 2.4m so on a Landcruiser it would be even higher.
The rack weighs 38kg empty, which is not light and can be a little awkward when aligning it with the 50mm hitch receiver on the car. While it is possible to do it alone, it’s best to enlist the help of a friend or family member.
If you’re on the shorter side, loading bikes onto the rack can present a significant challenge. My sons, who are 174cm tall, manage to load their bikes onto the rack, but if you’re any shorter, I’d recommend opting for a different rack with a lower tow bar height on the car or one that pivots down or mounts much lower.
As advised in the manual, if you go on dirt roads that are a bit rough use tie-down straps back to a rear roof rack point to reduce sway.
This works very well and I would advise you to fit on long road trips. We often go down the Newell highway to Thredbo and Victoria and even on the asphalt you get whoops in the road which load the rack up. The straps prevent this very well.
Whats a Rola vertical bike rack cost?
We purchased ours from Roof Racks Galore, they were easy to deal with and have a very proactive chat function on their website which is easy to use. It cost us $1250, I would say this is in the lower-end price bracket for 5 bike vertical racks.
There is a company in South Australia doing one for around $950 but as yet the reviews don’t say it’s great, but keep checking back as they could improve.
There is also the well-known Shingleback Lite which was priced around $1650 at the same time. The advantage of that rack is it’s 28kg, a little easier to fit onto the car.
If freight is free just buy it online. Get it delivered then you don’t need to get it into the car or onto the roof racks or trailer as it is a sizable box and not light.
How hard is the Rola vertical bike rack to assemble a vertical bike rack?
You will also need a spanner set with allen keys to assemble; no tools are included.
My teenage sons spent the afternoon putting it together, the instructions are great and explain everything.
If you’re not handy you might need to bribe your mate to give you a hand.
It took about 1.5 hrs for my sons to assemble and was an enjoyable exercise.
Link to Rola VBR5 assembly PDF
Below are a few photos of the assembly.
The verdict on the Rola 5 bike vertical rack
Do I like the rack? Yes, it’s great.
Would I like to have used it before buying it? Yes, I would have.
So, with that as a thought, I will be offering to hire our rack, so others can try it before they buy it, to make their own decision.
Then you can experience if it misses the rear door on your car.
How high does it sit above the car?
Do all your bikes fit easily and safely with no clashes?
So, if you would like to hire our rack in the Sunshine Coast area for those MTB trips with friends and family. Or, just to know you are purchasing one that suits all your needs. Please visit Local Trailer Hire webpage or click MTB rack for Hire
All the best with your selection of a Vertical Bike Rack, it doesn’t matter which one you choose, so long as it gets you out there and enjoy the trails with the least amount of fuss.
Enjoy the ride and safe commuting.