When you want to invite your friends to enjoy a bike hiking trip, you need a bike rack on your Subaru Outback to transport the bikes between your favorite places. However, you require some background information before choosing bike racks for your Subaru Outback because of compatibility concerns.
You should focus on the quality of the bike carriers, not the price. You don’t want a flimsy rack that drops your bikes while you are driving on the roads, do you? That is why you want to search on Google to find helpful content to lead the way to find the perfect suitable bike racks for your demands and your Subaru Outback.
We created this article to help people to find a suitable bike rack for their future bike hiking. By the way, you can find some high quality rooftop bike carriers that can haul your bikes on the car roof.
Quick-Pick List Of 5 Bike Racks For Subaru Outback
Detail of 5 Bike Racks For Subaru Outback
Thule T2 Classic Bike Rack Carrier
We believe the Thule T2 classic is the best option for your Subaru Outback. The Thule T2 bike carrier is not only for Subaru Outback but also for other vehicles with 1.25 or 2 inches hitch receivers. The Thule T2 Classic is made of aluminum, and it is ultra-lightweight, durable, waterproof, and ragged. It weighs 56 lbs, and you can lift it along for installation.
After communicating with the manufacturer, we know the Thule T2Classic’s dimensions are 92.5 x 18 x 36 inches. The Thule T2 bike carrier is a foldable and easy-to-use bike rack that can hold up to 120 pounds of items, up to 2 bikes. It is must-have equipment for bike hiking adventures.
If you decide to carry more than 2 bikes at once, the Thule T2 Classic is not your option. You can check other bike racks below. You can put and lock your bikes on the Thule T2 Classic without any frame contact; consequently, it won’t hurt your bikes while you are driving. The Thule T2 Classic bike racks are adjustable, and you can move the bike mounting position horizontally to avoid interference.
When connecting the Thule T2 Classic bike carrier to the Subaru Outback receiver hitch, you can use the SnugTite Lock to securely attach the bike rack to the car without a chance of dropping off. When the bike carrier is not in use, you can fold it up to save space at the rear of your Subaru Outback.
When buying the Thule T2 Classic bike rack, the manufacturer won’t include bike locks in the package; thus, you may need to purchase several bike locks separately.
You don’t need to use any tools to install the Thule T2 Classic bike rack, and you can do it alone without assistance. You can use two hands to lift it and connect it with the car hitch receiver.
Key Information:
When buying a Thule T2 Classic bike carrier, you need to tell the manufacturer the size of your Subaru Outback’s hitch receiver: 1.25 inches or 2 Inches. You can use a ruler to measure the width of the hitch receiver to double-check if your hitch receiver is compatible with the Thule T2 Classic.
The hitch receiver you have at the rear of your Subaru Outback should be class 2-4 (2 inches) or class 1-2 (1 1/4 inches).
Where is the lock hole on the hitch receiver?
You must check this before getting the Thule T2 Receiver for your Subaru Outback. You can use the ruler again to check the distance between the front and the lock hole on the side of the hitch receiver, and the distance must be 1.5 inches if you want to use the Thule T2 Classic bike rack on your Subaru Outback.
What is the receiver Depth?
You take the ruler and put it into the hitch receiver until the ruler makes contact with the backstop of other obstacles (if your hitch receiver doesn’t have a backstop), and you measure the distance between the lock hole and the backstop for getting the receiver depth. For using Thule T2 Classic, the receiver depth should be equal to or larger than 1.4 inches (with backstop) or 2.6 inches (without backstop).
What is the bumper clearance?
You also need to make sure that the distance between the locking hole on the hitch receiver and the end of the bumper must be equal to or less than 3.5 inches. Otherwise, you can not use the Thule T2 Classic bike rack on your Subaru Outback.
If you have a spare tire at the back of your Subaru Outback, you need to ensure the dumper clearance ( distance between the end of the spare tire and the center hole on the receiver) is less than or equal to 20.0 inches.
Before getting a bike rack for your Subaru Outback, you need to consult the manufacturer about concerns about compatibility, features, designs, and more.
Deluxe Trunk Mounted (102DN) Bike Carrier
The Deluxe Bike Rack offers 4 models for people who need external bike racks for their Subaru Outback. You can a Deluxe bike rack that can carry up to 4 bikes at once. It also has 2-bikes and 3-bikes models for different demands on the market.
The Deluxe bike rack (two bike model) is made of alloy steel that is sturdy, long-lasting, waterproof, and lightweight. It weighs 7.5 pounds. You can hold it up with one hand for installation without a tool.
The Deluxe Trunk bike racks are not only for your Subaru Outback but also compatible with most SUVs, sedans, and Vans. You can always consult the manufacturer for questions and answers. When it is not in use, you can store it in the trunk. It is much smaller than the Thule T2 Classic bike carrier.
Allen Sports produces this multi-functional car trunk bike carrier for people who like bike hiking and cycling. It is super simple to use with mounting straps and two strong holding arms. You can install it at the back of your Subaru Outback in minutes.
The Deluxe bike carrier supports a broad range of bicycles in different styles and sizes. Allen Sports utilize alloy steel to construct the bike carrier for holding up to 70 pounds of weight. The Deluxe trunk-mounted bike carrier has two 12 inches of arms for supporting weight at the back of your Subaru Outback. You can use five straps to mount the bike carrier to the hatchback.
When installing the Deluxe bike rack to your Subaru Outback, you can follow these steps to get the installation done without mistakes. First, you hook the upper straps at the edges of the top of your Subaru Outback hatchback. You don’t attach the straps to the rain gutters because the rain gutters are not strong enough to take the job. After mounting the upper straps, you can adjust their length to make bikes stay in position without getting too close to the road and the car exhaust.
When adjusting the length of the upper straps, you don’t set those bottom supporters on the glass because the bottom feet hold the most weight of your bikes. Next, you can use the bottom straps to make the bike carrier fully attached to the hatchback. There are rubber pads on top and bottom supporters, and these pads can protect your car printing while you are transporting bikes with the Deluxe Trunk Bike Carrier.
Last, after successfully setting upper and bottom straps in position, you can use side straps to further immobilize the bike rack. These side straps have labels on them as “SIDE STRAPS”. During the process of installing the Deluxe Trunk Bike Rack, you cannot bind the hooks because a bonding hook can damage your Subaru Outback.
You should always communicate with the manufacturer for compatibility concerns. If you want to know more about other models (3-bike model and 4-bike model), you can use the button below to find relevant information.
Hollywood Racks Hitch Mounted Bike Rack
It has two models for people who would like to carry 3 or 4 bikes at the rear of their Subaru Outback. It is made of alloy steel and aluminum, so it is also a high-quality bike carrier that you can rely on. The 5-bike model is available on the official site.
The Hollywood hitch-mounted bike rack (3-bike model) weighs 26 pounds, and it is foldable. The 3-bike model can hold up to 105 pounds of total weight on its arms, and overloading can damage the rack and your bikes. It works with 2 inches hitch receiver only. You have to make sure that your Subaru Outback has one (2-inch hitch receiver) before getting it for carrying bikes.
What do we like about it?
It has well-designed construction that makes it good-looking after installation on Subaru Outback. It is affordable with enjoyable results. It is not only for Subaru Outback but also for other vehicles that have 2 inches hitch receivers (don’t try it on 1-1/4 inches receivers).
Swagman XTC2 Hitch-Mounted Bike Rack
Swagman XTC2 bike carrier can hold 2 bikes at the back of your Subaru Outback. It is also a combination of alloy steel which makes it super sturdy and lightweight. It works with Classes 2 – 5 hitch receivers with dimensions from 1-1/4 to 2 inches.
When connecting the bike rack to the hitch receiver on your Subaru Outback, you must insert the security pins fully inside the lock holes. Then you just follow the installation manual to assemble the carrier and mount it at the rear of your Subaru Outback. It is a good idea to invite someone else for the installation, and two people can make the job more accurate and safe.
The Swagman XTC2 bike rack comes in a package box with 16 separated components, so you need to assemble these parts together to get a ready-to-use bike carrier.
The Swagman XTC2 bike rack fits most bike sizes because it has adjustable wheel hoops. You can use rubber straps to lock the bike wheels on the platform and then utilize two hooks to hold the bike in position and prevent swaying on the roads. You can use a push button to adjust the height of the hooks up and down when you need to take the bike off the rack.
When you don’t need the Swagman XTC2 bike rack, you can fold it up to save space at the rear of your Subaru Outback.
OEM Subaru Bike Rack For Forester Ascent Crosstrek and Outback
If you are looking for an OEM bike rack produced by Subaru, this option is for you. It is hitch-mounted, and it requires OEM 2 inches adapter to work on your Subaru Outback and other Subaru models.
Thule made this Subaru genuine part with aluminum materials to ensure its quality and loading capacity. The Subaru genuine bike rack holds up to 2 bikes, and its arms are foldable to save space when it is not in use.
When you use it, the backlights can be blocked. As a result, you have to check the law for allowance. If your local law is against blocking taillights, you should choose roof-mounted bike racks instead.
Conclusion
This article helps you to find some most popular and high-quality hitch-mounted bike racks for your Subaru Outback. You can use one of these bike racks to carry bikes at the back of your Outback to enjoy cycling time somewhere far from home.
If you want to carry more luggage and bring more friends on the roads, you can think about using rooftop cargo boxes for transporting stuff on top of your vehicle and leave the interior space for people and road needed items.
About cargo management systems, there are many possibilities for you; thus, you can go back to the homepage for more attractive ideas.
Related Topics:
Our team is creating outdoor-gear relevant articles with passion. If our articles can help you to find the correct solutions for your questions, we will be happy about that. In the content creation process, we usually collect accurate and useful information online or offline to compile our content in an organized way. Consequently, we can guarantee that you can discover some expected answers to your questions. We appreciate your time on our site.
