Yakima Hitch Bike Rack Extension, Extension ONLY (Bike Rack Not Included), HoldUp+2

I bought my Hold Up rack specifically because I usually only carry 1 or 2 bikes, but wanted the ability to carry more bikes if I was car pooling. With this on, I can carry up to 4 bikes, and it works great.When it is attached, it sticks out a long way, but as a tray mounted rack, I would expect that. It folds up well, and then it is pretty tall, but not obstructive.In removing it, after I was done with the greater need, it was pretty easy... although I am a large guy, so someone smaller may want to have an additional person the first time, just in case it is too heavy for you on your own.The rack holds bikes securely, and is easy to operate. The instructions are fairly clear, but in a couple of cases, the easiest way to determine the orientation for the specific component is to figure out which way it needs to be installed for the Yakima logo to be most readable by someone following your car. :)The negatives are minor (obviously, since I gave this 5 stars), but for completeness.1) The flag that comes with it is a nice safety feature, but it doesn't last. My first time using it, I drove 20 miles, we did our ride, and then I drove 20 miles home... the little flag pole is still there, but the flag is gone. I would hope that a safety flag would hold up to more than an hour of freeway driving.2) The additional pin needed for the extra weight attaches to the Hold UP with a cheap plastic plug instead of a screw. I will be looking at the local hardware store for a self-tapping screw to hold the leash for the pin.3) It comes with 2 bicycle lights to light up the end of the rack at night, but they are very cheap lights, and the holder doesn't hold the lights very securely. I haven't used them yet, but would expect the lights to suffer the same fate as the flag. For a rack extension at this price point, I would have thought that they wouldn't get cheap on the safety items. I'm sure they could work a deal with Cateye and get some good lights without adding much to the overall cost of the unit.

Yakima has done a phenomenal job at engineering this back rack! I love the fact the bikes have more space between them and are not rubbing on each other; Its a bad feeling when you have two $1000 bikes bumping uglies together (especially when you know they're not going to produce another bicycle, haha). The bikes are very secure from movement once latched appropriately and further secured from easy theft via the built-in steel cable.Lots of very positive aspects of this rack! The only blatant con would be the weight. You have to have a lot of strength to even lift this bad boy in the vertical position even when it's empty, PLUS what makes it more tough is have to lift while awkwardly pulling out on the latch that keeps it in the horizontal or vertical position.Love it none the less.

I purchased this as an add on to my 2" Holdup 2. The rack is typical of Yakima's excellent build quality and when mounted on the Holdup 2 it looks like it was there originally rather than added on. It comes with an extra stabilizer pin for the Holdup 2's rear hinge. This is an excellent addition that improves the stability of the rack system quite a bit over the Holdup 2 alone without the pin. Assembly of the rack took about 20 minutes and everything went together well without incident. Loading bikes into this rack couldn't be any easier and takes less than sixty seconds per bike. No other rack system I've owned provides this convenient of loading, securing and unloading method.I have two issues with this rack that caused me to reduce the overall rating by a star:First, the included warning flag mounts to a bolt hole that is directly in line with the outer bike rack meaning that the flag is precisely where the bottom bracket, pedals, and front gears are. It interferes with proper loading of the bike and invariably ends up between the first and second bikes rather than at the back of the rack where it should be. It also interferes with the folding of the rack for storage. The design is very poor and in my opinion, the flag should have been mounted in the "bottle opener" with a hinge and detent so that it can be folded horizontally when not in use and swiveled into a vertical position once the bikes are loaded.Second, the two flashing LED lights included for mounting on the vertical wheel brackets are absolute crap. Neither of them work and they're so cheaply made that I will just replace them with a higher quality light system, or maybe even trailer lights that can be plugged in to my van's lighting harness.Other than the two above issues, this rack is fantastic, albeit expense, but with Yakima, you really get what you pay for. I have too large of an investment in my families bikes to risk damage because I went cheap on my carrier.

I purchased this +2 simultaneously with the HoldUp. They function as expected. Not as light as the Yakima Dr. Tray they are replacing, but more functional. However, I have a few issues.The HoldUp has three locks, one for the hitchlock and one for each of the two trays. The +2 comes with two locks, one for each tray. You would think that when they are ordered together they would come with the same key for all the locks. Nope. You have to buy two more lock cores from Yakima for the +2 to match its locks to the three on the HoldUp.And since Yakima is so concerned about rack owners being able to lock everything up, you would expect they would provide a hitchlock with the +2. It comes with a connecting bolt configured for one. Nope. You have to buy a second hitchlock and a third lock core to be able to lock your +2 to the HoldUp.And, of course, to install the three lock cores you need to buy a control key.My cost for these from Yakima (including shipping) is $76.45. I could not see a way to order them from Amazon with matching cores.Anyone need two Yakima #131 lock cores (with keys), which I might as well toss?