I own three of these racks and they currently sit on top of an '09 Subaru Impreza. These racks are simple to assemble and simple to use. I regularly haul around three downhill bikes or a couple of fixed gear bikes with 700c wheels and it is easy to adjust the rack to fit either size. The trays accomodate a pretty large wheel base, my Kona Stinky about maxes it out but it's one of the longer bikes that I've encountered. There is a bit of sway with these racks when they have heavier bikes and the road is windy or bumpy, but I've never had one let loose. The only issue I've had is that the fifth door on my Subaru would hit the back of the middle tray every time I opened it. I cut it down a half an inch and now it's great!

i bought this style of rack because i find it a pain to remove the front wheel and then have to find somewhere to store it inside. this rack allows for you to quickly adjust for different sized wheels so it should work for just about anything you have. they are strong too. we drove down to burning man with two of these holding our very heavy cruisers fully outfitted with fenders, baskets, and pannier racks. they were rock steady during the entire drive and stood up to the wind gusts with no problem. my only complaint is that i wish the lock cable was a couple inches longer because i really have to work to get it to reach and lock around the rack bar when i'm not transporting a bike. also, the lock and cable seems slightly less than beefy and i don't trust it entirely with an expensive bike. i supplement it with my own heavier duty cables and u-locks. all-in-all though, a good buy.

Yakima really makes wonderful products. The design of these is perfect - extremely easy to set up and use while remaining sturdy and secure. I bought 2 of these for 26" MTBs and I have no worries of those bikes bringing the whole rack down. Install literally took 3 min per rack. I was sceptical at first on weather 2 bikes would come crashing down, but I'm glad I went with these over the Viper (which is about the same price). Only complaint is that i have a Yakima old-style high-profile wind fairing and I have to take it off every time I want to use the racks. The lower-profile fairing will work no problems though. Excellent product and is the only bike rack you should buy.

My primary rack is a Yakima Hold Up, and this one on my roof only gets used for a 3rd bike if there is one. I don't use it every day because I love my hitch rack and I don't worry about incidents with it. Roof Racks that don't require front wheel removal are great, because you don't need to have multiple pieces to address the fact that you want to use the same rack for a trail bike with a thru axle one day and a road bike the next day. I've driven long distances (2000 miles) on the highway and short ones on rough-ish roads. It's definetly not the most secure. You'll have some wobble, and it never hurts to throw on an extra camstrap for piece of mind. If it's a long drive, always re-check how tight you have the red knob for the front wheel. It holds the bike though, and that is the goal. For some reason my King Cobra holds 700c cyclocross and 29" mtb wheels better than 26" mtb wheels. The 26"-wheeled bikes move around more it seems. If you want more piece of mind and a more stable bike rack for the roof, shell out the extra for the High Roller (Yakima) or the Side Arm (Thule).

These racks are easy to use and are particularly nice because you can throw your bike up there and it is set and you can let go of it. The cable lock system is very nice.

My biggest gripe with these racks is the amount of plastic on them. The way it is set up you have to rely on a piece of thin plastic not breaking or else your bike goes flying off. Having to tighten up that little knob in the front is a real pain too. These racks are kind of flexy too. I am always a little hesitant to put my bike on these, I much prefer the Thule side arms.

The King Cobra is my favorite bike rack for quick and easy use. It fits any size bike; 20", 24", 26", 29", and 700c. I've used it for both my road bike and my downhill race bike. The 'jaws' hold the front wheel securely and the rear wheel gets strapped down to the tray. There is a built in cable lock for safety, but I recommend using a second lock if you keep your bike in the rack for long periods of time. No wheel removal required. Overall, the King Cobra is easy to install and use, fits both round and square bars, and holds your bike very stable for those bumpy roads.

We have factory VW roof racks that needed the mighty mounts to attach the King Cobras. Two problems with the mighty mounts. 1) You need 3 mighty mounts per King Cobra rack. Mighty Mounts come in packs of 4. So you either have 1 extra or 2 extras, depending on having one or two racks. 2) Although the King Cobra has a locking system for the bike, there is nothing stopping someone from unscrewing the mighty mounts from the roof racks and stealing the whole rack and bike. I'm not happy about that.

Other than this I love the rack! And it looks cool too!

The rack overall works well, unless you're mounting it on a vehicle the size of a mid size SUV or larger, it makes it interesting hoisting your bike 6 feet in the air while you dangle on the side of your SUV to get the damn thing up there. Other than that, a great rack.

This is a good rack at a good price. I got it because it was the cheapest way to go. I have a Jeep Cherokee with factory racks, so I could only get an upright rack. I chose this one because I carry several different bikes and this rack works with every single one. It holds the bikes securely and it is very easy to load. I highly recomend this rack.

I use this rack in my pickup truck. I built a pipe frame raised 2in out of bed and installed this as if it were on a roof rack—It works out really well. No more removing the wheel and a very secure mount system. Nice product!!!!!

This rack is so easy to use/install. I have a 2002 blazer and I am 5'2" and using these racks works out great for me. The bikes are very secure and I love how easy these are to use. I have 2 bikes loaded within 5 minutes. They are very versatile as well, meaning you can put any type/size bike in these racks. I am a happy camper!

overall this is a great rack to have, but there are a couple things Yakima could improve on. For one, the locking red bolt up front to keep the front wheel holder in place will loosen while you drive. After driving the highway for 4 or 5 hours and then down a gnarly dirt road (driving pretty slow too as there were infinite amounts of potholes), my bike went crooked in the wheel holder, made a clunk sound from above, and almost fell off the roof. In their defense i think there is a disclaimer in the instructions not to drive on such roads, but c'mon.... Most people with the bikes they need this rack for will be driving dirt roads at some point. So I found out the hard way that you need to tighten that every time you stop, or stop and check if it's been a while and the road is about to get bumpier. Also, the bikes do seem to sway a lot at lower speeds around town. I've never had any problems with that by itself, but the noise of them on the roof is a little unsettling sometimes.

Other than that, this rack has been great. I have a lefty fork so it's harder to use a fork mount anyways, and it's really nice to not deal with taking off the front wheel. Getting the bike up and in the rack is relatively easy as well. It's nice that the back portion of the front wheel hold rocks up and into place automatically as you roll the bike forward and into the front hold. That way you don't have to balance the bike in place while you're messing with attaching and locking the rack.

Very functional and easy to put the bikes on and off. We have a 2001 Saab 9-5 wagon and we put the 20" kids bike, a men's mountain bike and a women's cruising bike. Very secure while going down the highway, Add a fairing to put stickers on to show where you've been. You can add a locking device to each rack to lock it to the roof system.

This thing is great. It was easy to mount onto my 06 Impreza with Yakima Mighty Mounts, and it works great for my Yeti 575 Mountain Bike.

It hold my bike securely, doesn't sway, and is easy to take on/off.

I really like the fact you don't have to take off the front wheel to get your bike onto the car.

It affect gas mileage quite a bit, but what rack doesn't?

If you have an expensive bike and need the best rack possible, I recommend the King Cobra.

It does the job, but let's the bike wobble around a lot. I've known friends who own this rack and have the same problem. The Thule Sidearm is a much better design.

i am a fan of racks and i could gaze upon this rack forever. stylish on the car, a snap to install and the quality is excellent. strapping a 2,000 dollar bike to the roof of your car can be a little nerve recking but with the king cobra you never have to worry about seeing your bike in the rear view mirror.

I recently bought a new bike that came with a 20mm front axle. There aren't any quick release squires for a 20mm axle so I needed to find a new roof top rack that would allow me to just roll the bike on without removing the wheel. The rack is pretty solid and I like the fact that it comes with a built-in locking system, but I only have one problem. I had to make an adjustment to my windshield so that I could secure my bike, otherwise it's a great fit.