Reviews - Yakima

On the 11th day of Christmas the Crankset gave to me:
Bike racks by Yakima
Crumpler Bags
Wilier Triestina’s Cento and BH's Connect
Vanderkitten Clothing
Champion System Apparel
Spoke Punchers bike hats
ELEMENTAL Action,
A guest review of The Warmfront,
The 3rd Edition of the Cyclepassion - Bicycle Calendar,
Stocking stuffers from Three Story Press, and
Shimano and Campagnolo compatible "enhancement" brake HUDZ

Yakima Racks
For more than 25 years, Yakima has been one of the leaders in designing rack systems with "form meeting function" and durability in mind.

A little over a year ago, the Yakima Design Team went back to their collective drawing boards to "Rack it up like Socrates," with the simple philosophy to "Make it functional. Make it durable. And make it beautiful."

What came forth from that R&D process was a sleeker, more durable looking, solid, and stylistic re-design of their bicycle carrying roof racks. The "Viper" [shown below], which I have owned for many years, has since morphed into the "SprocketRocket" [although both are still shown on their website]. More than just an aesthetic re-design of the body [apparent from the images below], the "SprocketRocket" has upgraded features that were at times troubling, but manageable on the "Viper." A new secure skewer with an integrated adjuster knob makes locking down the fork easier, and a new adjustable "sliding wheel tray makes positioning the rear wheel a breeze and enables it to carry a large variety of wheel shapes and sizes."


For 2008, Yakima has redesigned their Hitch series of bicycle carriers. Mike Steck, Yakima's Senior Director of Marketing, gave me a preview during Interbike week.

The most noticeable difference from their previous Hitch series is a "beefier" set of bike arms or hangers. Not as easily noticeable, but fitting into the company's form meeting functional mindset, are bottle openers at the end of those new arms [see red end caps].

Yakima has also made it easier to get to your trunk or rear cargo space. In addition to their standard tilt-down and swing arm designs, renamed for 2008 as the "DoubleDown" (top) and "SwingDaddy," (center) is the aptly named "FlipSide"(bottom), which flips your bikes to the side rather than tilting backwards.


For those of you who prefer a "wheel style" carrier, Yakima has also redesigned their "HookUp" series into the "StickUp" and "HoldUp." The "StickUp" adds an extra measure of security when carrying odd sized bikes [like your children's] as the adjustable center arms work independently from each other.

As testers won't be available until after the new year, we'll revisit Yakima's Hitch series after a hands-on review.

For more information, check out the Yakima website.