Safety and style - Yakima StageTwo Hitch Tray Bike Rack Review - feat. SpeedKnob + SKS Locks + Tilt

Hitch tray bike racks offer a secure and simple way to transport bikes without any contact points between the rack and your bike frame. The Yakima StageTwo is marketed as a premium tray hitch bike rack and offers a variety of convenient safety and usability features. Yakima offers the rack in both a 1.25” and 2” hitch receiver in either a dark anthracite finish or the white vapor finish shown in this review. The StageTwo has a premium $849 retail price and can be extended to a four bike configuration with a $549 add-on. Constructed from a steel main spine portion and aluminum trays, the StageTwo offers a number of safety features to ensure your bikes and entire rack are not stolen. This includes Yakima’s clever locking SpeedKnob which controls an expanding plug in the hitch receiver which prevents the rack from being removed and eliminates any play.

Putting the Yakima StageTwo rack together involves about 5-20 minutes of installation depending on how quickly you can unpack the box. It’s also a fairly heavy rack at almost 66lbs which is why we’d recommend doing the assembly with the main hitch rack inserted onto your vehicle with the hitch lock pin inserted. Each of the trays come in three pieces, the left/right pieces and the wheel hook. After sliding each of the tray pieces together they need to be placed on the corresponding slot on the rack. Yakima recommends installing the trays offset from each other for improved clearance between bikes, but they can be installed centered if desired. Four bolts secure the trays on the mount, and you should only finger tighten them until all the bolts are installed. Some wiggling may be required to get the bolts slots to all line up which is why you should only hand tighten them initially.

Where the StageTwo really shines are the builtin security features. Yakima has incorporated their SpeedKnob which is a knurled dial at the hitch insertion location. Rotating the knob expands or contracts a rubber wedge inside the hitch receiver to eliminate any play and prevent the rack from being removed. The SpeedKnob can be locked using the provided key and acts as a secondary security feature. There are also cable locks integrated into the front wheel holders that use the same keys. This is part of the SKS system (same key system) which is easy to confuse with SKS Germany the brand. The cable locks are not particularly thick but are well integrated into the rack. There is a welded pass through between the two trays which can be used to secure your own chain or cable locks. Finally, the tray bolts use theft-resistant hex bolts, note these are readily available though, to prevent people from removing the trays.

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00:00 Intro
00:10 Unboxing + Specs
02:32 Fit + Finish
08:56 The Final Score
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