[pr0gi]

I just wanted to share my experience from yesterday when I went to buy a hitch bike rack. I decided to go with the Yakima JustClick because it appeared to be well-made and sturdy. However, when we tried to mount it with the guys from the store, we encountered an issue with the 13-pin connector. It sits very close to the ball and doesn't allow the bike rack to fully lower. We took out the connector temporarily and the rack snapped into its place, but this wasn't an ideal solution as it required mounting the connector elsewhere.

Next, we tried the Thule EasyFold, which did work, but it still made contact with the connector. Since, I'm going for the Thule now I plan to trim half a cm of the plastic from the bike rack where it touches the connector. Additionally, connecting the 13-pin first is necessary because the rack obstructs access to twist it. Not a huge deal, but you would have thought that BMW put some thinking into it. This issue might be due to the foldable nature of these racks, which have larger plastic part surrounding the mounting point with wheels for easier portability. I looked at the non-foldable racks in the store, and they do have much more compact mounting points. If the guys at the store want to test the non-foldable ones when I go to get my bike rack, I'll provide you with some feedback. On my boat trailer there is no issue. However, it's still not as convenient as with other cars we have that also have a hitch.

[avi66]

Originally Posted by pr0gi

I just wanted to share my experience from yesterday when I went to buy a hitch bike rack. I decided to go with the Yakima JustClick because it appeared to be well-made and sturdy. However, when we tried to mount it with the guys from the store, we encountered an issue with the 13-pin connector. It sits very close to the ball and doesn't allow the bike rack to fully lower. We took out the connector temporarily and the rack snapped into its place, but this wasn't an ideal solution as it required mounting the connector elsewhere.

Next, we tried the Thule EasyFold, which did work, but it still made contact with the connector. Since, I'm going for the Thule now I plan to trim half a cm of the plastic from the bike rack where it touches the connector. Additionally, connecting the 13-pin first is necessary because the rack obstructs access to twist it. Not a huge deal, but you would have thought that BMW put some thinking into it. This issue might be due to the foldable nature of these racks, which have larger plastic part surrounding the mounting point with wheels for easier portability. I looked at the non-foldable racks in the store, and they do have much more compact mounting points. If the guys at the store want to test the non-foldable ones when I go to get my bike rack, I'll provide you with some feedback. On my boat trailer there is no issue. However, it's still not as convenient as with other cars we have that also have a hitch.

Do you have a US style “Hitch” or a Euro style “Tow Bar”, and is it a factory fit ?

[pr0gi]

Euro style. I'm located in EU and it is factory fitted. The one that folds away automatically

[avi66]

Originally Posted by pr0gi

Euro style. I'm located in EU and it is factory fitted. The one that folds away automatically

Tow bar as I have.

Seems some racks are adapted from the US “hitch” market. I’ve used the Yakima Frontloader for years on roof bars, as it’s great for carbon frames. More recently I mount it on one of these to carry on the tow bar, when I don’t need the the cargo box.

https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rb...~cC4ure7t0%60Z

[pr0gi]

This is where the bike rack and the connector have very little contact, but I plan to remove a small amount of the plastic so they don't touch each other. With the Yakima, however, it was a different story. It needed at least 2-3 cm more space to securely fit on the ball. We tested the other bike racks which are non-foldable and don't have such wheels at the bottom and they were fine. Hope this helps someone for future reference.