1up - Not all they're cracked up to be?

[slcdawg]

After 10-12 years I thought it would be good to replace my Thule Sidearm roof racks. One of the rachets was starting to release on drives and didn't want to have a catastrophic issue. I didn't like Thule's newer design and went with a couple of 1up roof racks to try them out. I also picked up a 1up hitch rack for my wife's car (more on that below). Everyone seems to love 1up and they appear more durable than Yakima or Thule with no plastic parts. However, I'm not impressed. 29er mtn bikes wobble like crazy in the racks. I have them as tight as you can get them and they wobble on smooth highway. We do a lot of bumpy dirt roads and not confident a bike won't fall out.

I called 1up to see if I was missing something and they told me the racks were designed for 26" bikes and they haven't gotten around to updating them yet. Thats crazy - who rides a 26" anymore? They suggested buying a velcro strap for extra security, but said the wobble was normal for 29" wheels and they hadn't heard of a bike falling out.

Anyone have a bike fall out of a 1up rack? I'm thinking about selling these and getting a Rocky Mount Brass Knuckle. The Thule Sidearm was awesome - you can shake the bike and the whole car/truck moves. It's very secure, I would buy more if they still made them. Any other suggestions for roof racks?

I have the rack over the bed of my truck and can watch them wobble in the side mirror:



I've also been disappointed in the hitch rack. As discussed in the 1Up EZer Pull mod thread, you need 2 hands to pull the lever and move the position of the bike. I also have a very loud creak in one of the trays. I've confirmed the bolts are tight. Really annoying for a brand new, expensive rack. also get the wobble when shaking the bike on the rack. Not a secure as the old Thules.

Is it just me or are these racks over hyped?

[Name Redacted]

I use mine on a hitch with 29” and 27.5” bikes. Works fine. Just gotta push it in to clamp hard against the tire. Use them on the roof for a little while but it is a pain in the ass to get them in the rack even on a lower roof car like my wifes rav4.

Otherwise they have been great for me so far. Much burlier than Thule and Kuat racks i have had.

[jm2e]

Definitely not the right rack for some people. That's the beautiful thing about choices. I wouldn't use a 1up for roof top because I think it'd be clumsy. That said, I'm not into rooftop racks. The good news is, you can use them as long as you want in every possible condition and then finally decide to sell them for pretty close to what you paid.
As far as losing a bike from a 1up, I've forgotten to tighten the arms and had zero issues other than a bit more wobble. Never heard of a bike coming off a 1up.
The thing about 26ers is nuts. You can adjust the "Spool" height to get it right for different wheel sizes. When I ran 26ers I brought it down a couple spots. For 27.5 and 29er I leave it at the top spot with zero issue. If the arm is too high, it starts to contact the rotors, which is the only real reason to change it for a 26er. YMMV

[slcdawg]

Definitely not the right rack for some people. That's the beautiful thing about choices. I wouldn't use a 1up for roof top because I think it'd be clumsy. That said, I'm not into rooftop racks. The good news is, you can use them as long as you want in every possible condition and then finally decide to sell them for pretty close to what you paid.
As far as losing a bike from a 1up, I've forgotten to tighten the arms and had zero issues other than a bit more wobble. Never heard of a bike coming off a 1up.
The thing about 26ers is nuts. You can adjust the "Spool" height to get it right for different wheel sizes. When I ran 26ers I brought it down a couple spots. For 27.5 and 29er I leave it at the top spot with zero issue. If the arm is too high, it starts to contact the rotors, which is the only real reason to change it for a 26er. YMMV

Ah...I didn't know you could adjust the spool height. I wonder why 1up didn't mention that. I'll give it a try.

[funkendrenchman]

I've had no issues with my rack carrying 3 bikes on the back of my truck. I see them all over the place and have never heard of a bike falling off them.

[singlesline]

That 26er thing honestly seems...wrong?

As jm2e said, the spool is adjustable, and plenty tall. I'm not sure the QuikrStuff racks have arms that are any longer, and aren't they supposed to be the original 1up designer's new and improved version?

Never had an issue with the actual arms holding bikes. Sure the bikes can wobble a bit because the grab point is in front of the hub which allows the bike to sway at the headset, but they're certainly not going anywhere. The arms still grab 29x2.6 tires on an XL bike close to the max wheelbase well inside of the widest point--no way to extract them without moving the arms. The wobbling is certainly less than anything that happens when you're actually riding the bike. A Kuat-style single-arm that grabs the wheel near the fork might reduce the movement, but I like the dual arm design for a hitch rack.

Only issue I've had is occasionally finding that the bolt that holds it into the receiver has loosened on bumpy roads. Then the rack itself starts to wobble more, but the hitch pin means it can't actually go anywhere. That may also be due to simply not tightening it sufficiently...just something to keep an eye on on long bumpy drives.

Agree that I'm not sure I would choose the 1up roof rack though...seems like it would be awkward to operate from below while holding the bike. Also agree that the whole situation with the pivot point latch (and the stupid official EZ Pull option) is an annoyance. I'm not calling it a "weak point" because it is maybe the most burly pivot of any rack out there, but its sure not easy to use without either strength+practice or some sort of modification.

[carlh]

I have a 1up hitch rack and a brass knuckles on my popup camper roof rack. The 1up is definitely more stable then the brass knuckles or my previous yakima holdup but the bikes move a bit in all of them.
It is a bit fussy loading bikes but provides a lot of flexibility. Mine creaked a bit but I hit the pivots with some plastic safe dry lube and that fixed the problem.

I am also working on a 3 bike easy fold option that should be money and I plan to make available to other mags at cost when done.

[slcdawg]

That 26er thing honestly seems...wrong?

Yeah, I was really surprised the person I talked to was this candid. He went so far to say he himself was disappointed they hadn't made an update yet. He also said they used to sell a separate extender for 29" wheels but they stopped selling it because it kept breaking.

Sounds like the wobble is just a thing with 1ups. I'll prob keep the hitch rack but replace the roof racks. It's unnerving seeing them move around so much and kind of a pain to take off.

[supermodel159]

I have 1Up roof racks for my trailer, I only ever load 29'ers or 29"/27.5" mullet bikes, the racks are rock solid with no wobble. I am not sure what could be causing your wobble, are you loading road bikes?

Also, their hitch rack IMO is the best on the market. I have been hanging-on to my Kuat NV, but when that goes, or I devote it to my wife's car...I'm ordering a 1UP with zero hesitation.

[Dromond]

I had a 1up roof rack briefly and found it super hard to load. I didn't notice any wobble problems. My hitch 1up seems really stable. Unfortunately they are starting to get stolen off of hitches very regularly here in Seattle, leading to a lot of theft risk if you leave them on your car and park on the street.

[bthomson22]

For what it's worth, I've had up to 3 bikes (all 29") on mine and been down some pretty rough trails and never had a bike even think about coming off. I agree there is a little bit of "wobble" - but personally I think that takes some pressure off the bikes if anything. A little bit of movement means all of the movement isn't going into the bike directly. At least that's how I've justified it... I just make sure levers & seats aren't hitting each other too hard and just let it be. Going on 6 years now.

[slcdawg]

Good info - thanks all. I decided to get some Rocky Mounts for the roof rack but will keep the hitch rack. I'll be selling the roof racks if any Denver/Boulder mags are interested.

[jackstraw]

For what it's worth, I've had up to 3 bikes (all 29") on mine and been down some pretty rough trails and never had a bike even think about coming off. I agree there is a little bit of "wobble" - but personally I think that takes some pressure off the bikes if anything. A little bit of movement means all of the movement isn't going into the bike directly. At least that's how I've justified it... I just make sure levers & seats aren't hitting each other too hard and just let it be. Going on 6 years now.

Yeah, seems like a little give is a good thing. And you are clamping to two tires that have give and wheelsets obviously factor into that as well.

1up sold, so whoever you corresponded with may be a bit of a kook with the 26er comment.

I've carried 26, 650b, 29, mullet, 26 fatty and 650b fatty on my hitch rack with no issues at all.

[El Chupacabra]

I'm in Reno, but I have 3 Thule Sidearms that I need to get around to posting on Craigslist. All in good shape, ratchets are good.

[ZomblibulaX]

I just bought a 1up for my subie and have similar issues with my bike (XL w/1280mm wheelbase). I know it's not going anywhere, but it's still not great looking in the mirror on the highway. We run 29, 27.5 and a 20" on the rack, and the shorter the wheelbase, the more stable the bike. Even my wife's M 29er is noticeably more stable than mine, same wheel size, shorter wheelbase.