Now that you’ve chosen your bike rack, it’s time to add accessories--they can help you enjoy your new rack’s full potential, but how will you know which ones you’ll rely on most?
After a brief description of each accessory we offer, we’ve listed the ones that we most often recommend to our customers for each type of bike rack.
Types of Accessories
To protect your bike and rack investments, we highly recommend locking your rack to your vehicle or hitch, and your bike to your rack. (Locks are included as a gift with some racks.)
For every type of lock you could need, from cables and hitch pins to lock core and cylinder sets, visit our
Locks department to select the specific ones that are compatible with your rack brand and type.
Frame Adapter Bar
You can use a
Frame Adapter Bar with any style of rack. It acts as a straight horizontal tube for secure and level carrying of these bicycle types:
- bikes with sloping top tubes
- ladies’
- BMX
- bikes with non-standard frames
NOTE: An adapter bar also provides secure mounting of a child’s bike.
All of our frame adapter bars attach to your bike frame quickly and easily, and their telescopic design makes them fully adjustable as well as compact and portable.
A simple wrap of one of these straps gently but securely tethers your bike’s front wheel to the frame to keep the wheel from swinging around as you drive.
If your hitch receiver size (measured in inches) does not match the size receiver for which the bike rack is designed, select a hitch adapter that will fit into your hitch receiver, then convert it to the size needed for your bike rack.
Example: To connect a rack that fits a 2" receiver to a 1.25" receiver, you would simply secure the adapter’s 1.25" end in your 1.25" receiver, then connect the rack to the opposite 2" end of the adapter.
As its name suggests, this accessory extends your vehicle’s hitch to provide extra clearance behind a rear-mounted spare tire.
A hitch extender can also be used to lengthen a recessed hitch such as that found on some SUVs.
Fairing
This accessory reduces wind-generated noise during travel by deflecting the wind as it passes over your car’s roof rack. A fairing quickly and easily attaches to your rack’s front Crossbar (
Yakima) or Load Bar (
Thule) and stays securely in place.
Roof Rack Wheel Holder
For use in conjunction with a fork-mounted roof rack, our
Yakima Wheel Fork and
THULE Wheel On Roof Rack securely hold your detached front bike wheel in an upright position on your roof rack (specific to maker—Yakima or THULE).
Compact and portable, these stepstool-type platforms mount over a vehicle wheel in seconds to give you sure footing and a "step up" to reach your roof rack with ease.
Use these versatile foam blocks wherever you need a protective cushion, such as in between bikes on your rack and between your vehicle and bikes.
These sturdy bags protect your bike from the elements when mounting on an RV or Camper only.
Recommended Accessories by Rack Type
Strongly Recommended:
Recommended if necessary/desired (see usage in descriptions above):
Strongly Recommended:
Recommended if necessary/desired (see usage in descriptions above):
Strongly Recommended:
Recommended if necessary/desired (see usage in descriptions above):
Strongly Recommended:
Recommended if necessary/desired (see usage in descriptions above):