Yakima Little Joe 3 Bike Capacity

This is a great rack at a good price, stable and I can open my trunk even with the bike on the rack! (requires some lifting and getting out of the way when the trunk closes, very carefully) It's holding up much better than the previous rack I had, I just would like to be able to keep the bike a little further away from the car, and the front wheel of the bike is wearing away the paint off of my bumper. Definitely a good buy.

I wrote a review back in 2007 and since then my little joe was stolen (out of my garage along with some beloved bicycles) but I thought i would come back to say I bought another one because I still loved it so much and found it so useful for maximizing the capacity of bikes on my car (a subaru impreza outback sport wagon). When you can carry five bikes (3 with the little joe and 2 on the roof) you can save gas money on the way to the trail!

I already have two king cobras on my roof but wanted to be able to shuttle more bikes when needed. I bought this before a weekend trip that was nothing but shuttle rides and i am SO STOKED on this little guy. I would dare to say i like it better than the super joe my friend has. Since there are no "bumpers" to set your bike in, you have a lot more options of how to rack newer frame styles that often have small triangles between the top tube and the down tube. For my bike, this means i don't have to hang my bike where it will be sitting on any of my cables because i can fit the rack through that triangle. I also think that being able to nest the bikes closer together makes the whole thing really stable. I have actually been REALLY impressed with how stable it is.I generally take the extra strap lengths (from where the rack attaches to the car) and tie those to the frame of the bike to keep them on the rack nice and tight, but buying some cheap bungee cords is not a bad idea either. As long as you have the bikes tied on tight though, they don't sway an inch while driving.

Bottom line, it's not about girth. Best little bike rack (especially for the money) and actually preferred over the beefier looking racks.

I needed a bike rack and since this was the cheapest one with a good brand name, I figured it would work. I was a bit skeptical when I opened the package and there were no secure holds for the bike, you just slide it on the arms and the bike rests against the car. I thought this would cause problems, but I actually liked it better than the other bike racks I have had with the cradles.

Simple, stable, and able to open the trunk with the rack on (without bikes). This little guy rocked the house. However, I wish it came with some bike loops to attatch the bikes to the bars. You have to use the extra straps to keep the bikes on.