1Up USA RakAttach 2.0

Way back in 2019, we featured a story about the original version of 1Up USA’s hitch rack swivel that’s called the RakAttach. Today’s foray into cycling journalism will cover their newest upgrade to the RakAttach. For those of you unfamiliar with the RakAttach it facilitates a loaded or unloaded hitch rack to be rotated out-of-the-way so you can access the rear of your vehicle. if you don’t carry your bike on the rear hitch rack, you can stop reading and live free. But if you employ any brand hitch rack with a 2-inch receiver, you may want to read on. 

The new version of the RakAttach is ambidextrous or you might say that it swings both ways. It’s designed to be able to open a bit wider than the original version. The RA 2.0 rotates, 100 degrees to the right, or to the left of the back of your vehicle. The older version of the rack attached rotated 90° and had to be ordered as a right-handed or left-handed Unit. The 2.0 comes in two sizes to match the width of your vehicle. 1Up USA is known for making seriously solid equipment the RakAttach shares that DNA. 1Up USA racks are the only rack that I’ll trust to cradle my precious high-end, bikes, in addition to, the various demo bikes that manufacturers entrust to our care. The RakAttach is an equally sturdy dance partner for a 1Up USA rack. The RA is made from powder-coated heavy gauge steel.

One of the other things that changed with this updated 2.0 version is the anti-sway or load stabilization apparatus. The new version is integrated into the rack and doesn’t seem to do quite as good of a job as the old external aftermarket version that came with the original model. The new stabilizer makes it slightly easier to install and remove the RakAttach. All hitch racks wobble a little. The amount that the new version wobbles isn’t really much of a concern to me, but it’s there. If it were a concern, I would just pick up an external aftermarket stabilizer like the one that came with the first RakAttach.

I’ll do my best ‘captain obvious’ impression and try to share some situations where the RakAttach comes in handy. The prime situation that I originally sought out a rack swivel was for camping. When I retired my rooftop tent and started sleeping in the bed of my truck, it became something that totally made sense. The other thing that applies to the way that I roll is the fact that when I’m traveling alone, I often bring two bikes with me. Sometimes a gravel bike and my fatty, or a singlespeed and my fatty, or maybe even a test, fat bike and my fatty for comparison purposes. The rack attach allows access to the bike that’s mounted on the inside position of the hitch rack without removing the bike mounted on the rearmost position. Just last winter, I needed to bring three bikes to the Sweaty Yeti which meant that one of those bikes rode inside the bed of the truck. The RA makes accessing that inside bike much easier when it is rotated out of the way. The term ‘tailgate party’ is tailor-made for a RakAttach. You can pull into any park/rest area and get to your cooler, stove, and paper plates, and proceed to have a good old fashion picnic instead of stopping for shitty expensive fast food. I made a promise to myself to avoid McDonald’s a couple of decades, back and picnic lunches help me stay true to that creed. I’m sure if you use your imagination you could come up with additional scenarios where the RakAttach would be a beneficial accessory for any hitch rack on just about any vehicle. If your imagination manifests in a situation where the RakAttach might help that we’ve overlooked. Add it to the comments and we’ll send you out some cool Fat-Bike.com stickers.

The RakAttach 2.0 is a solid piece of equipment. I’ve used the RA 2.0 all winter and it came through with flying colors. It worked so well that it literally never left my vehicle. I’m also a coup[le of years into a completely rigorous test of 1Up USA’s Equip-D Double hitch rack. I think that it’s simply the best hitch rack made. I can say with confidence that our readers can purchase either one of these fine products and enjoy years of trouble-free operations. If you love your fat bike, it deserves to ride on a rack made by 1Up USA.

For more information visit – https://www.1up-usa.com/