Yakima FrontLoader upright bike rack review

Yakima's new FrontLoader bike rack is the perfect roof rack for people with factory crossbars. It combines the best elements of the popular HighRoller premium upright rack and the awesome factory-fitting, fork-grasping ForkLift.

The FrontLoader uses a universal front claw design that fits around almost any factory bar without modification (also seen on Yakima's awesome new EvenKeel kayak rack). The back clamp has three heights with a wingnut for fine tuning (borrowed from the excellent ForkLift). Even tough vehicles with super wide fixed-mount crossbars are no problem. This is a million times faster than Yakima snap-around mounts, and doesn't have the same tendency to pull a carriage bolt right through the metal tray that past racks like the King Cobra suffered from (thank god for Yakima's lifetime warranty).

Tension handle close-up

The front wheel clamp can be adjusted for bike wheels up to 29" in diameter, and it is wide enough to fit a huge 3" wide downhill tire without issue. The back part of the V-shaped clamp tightens with a large red adjustment knob, which doesn't have the HighRoller's quick-release function, and actually works a bit better as a result (the tension is totally adjustable). The back wheel tightens down with a ratcheting wheel strap (again, borrowed from the ForkLift).

The lock system on the FrontLoader is a little different than past upright, wheel-grasping designs. The cable on the wheel clamp is thinner, and makes a complete loop around the frame, instead of being anchored into the clamp and locking back on to a sliding peg. On the older King Cobra and HighRoller designs, you used to have to use the locking cable to lock the rack back down to the crossbars when not in use. On the FrontLoader, the slick front mounting hardware T-handle locks down with its own lock core.

I've put this rack on many customer's vehicles already. No more having to buy the HighRoller or King Cobra along with the Universal Mighty Mounts (or worse, the awkward Thule 594XT Sidearm). This rack goes on in less than a minute in most cases. The only downside of the FrontLoader is that it doesn't have the big, bulky, robust construction of the HighRoller. The rack weighs only 12.5 lbs, and it only has a 30-40 lb weight limit per bike as a result (see the PDF instructions for more information). By comparison the High Roller can take a 50 lb bike, so it is still probably the natural choice for people with hardcore downhill bikes on aftermarket bar systems.

If you have a Yakima or Thule rack, the HighRoller is still the most solid choice. But for anyone with a factory rack who doesn't feel like spending big money on a superior aftermarket crossbar rack, the FrontLoader offers the best of both worlds. I will be buying this rack for myself this summer (on Thule bars no less!).

Update May 19, 2016:

I'm still using and loving my own Yakima FrontLoaders, and they are still head and shoulders better than the Thule 594XT Sidearm, which badly needs a redesign. The only other rack I would personally consider for people looking for upright bike racks on factory bars would be the RockyMounts BrassKnuckles, which also works for fat bikes and has a super low profile look when sitting flat.