Saris might be the most genius company in existence, that I’ve encountered.
When it comes to installing and assembling new products, I tend to lose the battle. It takes longer than expected, or I don’t have the right tools, or I just do everything backwards. It doesn’t take much for me to lose my mind while putting something new together, when all I want to do is USE the new “thing.”
I worked at a retail shop where we sold car racks. Every salesman avoided being the one that had to assemble and mount the racks to the customer’s car. It’s not that we didn’t want to be helpful, but because it usually entailed about an hour and half of looking like a complete idiot. Saris is a god-send for all you shop workers.
Saris Cycling group just celebrated their 25th anniversary. Founded and based out of Madison, Wisconsin since 1989. Saris is dedicated to cycling and getting your bikes from point A to point B, while also offering storage solutions while your bike isn’t navigating the wild streets or switchback mountain passes. To make this “too good to be true” company even better, they make all their products right in Wisconsin. Holy guacamole, SOLD. Their steel is from Indiana, the plastics come from Milwaukee. They aren’t just manufactured or assembled in the USA, every possible aspect of their product is sourced in the USA.
I bought the Saris Freedom SuperClamp 4-bike carrier. Let me start with the out-of-box experience. Open box. Sort parts. Read instructions (hahaha, or not). Gather required tools (in this case, they are either basic, or provided). Assemble racks, easy. Mount to hitch, easy. Mount bikes to the rack for a test, easy. Wait, am I missing something? I still have all my fingers in tact, no blood, not one swear word, I promise.
The entire rack is so damn intuitive, you wonder why racks are made any other way. From assembly, to installation, to actual use, it is way too easy. AND if it’s not that easy to you (which it will be, if it was for me), then Saris has armed their website with a plethora of how-to videos making it near impossible to even break a sweat.
As for the actual bike usage, let’s go through the process. There are “cups” that the bike tires sit in, ANY bike tire from road to MTB 26″, 29″ and fat bike tires (fat tire cups sold separately). Then there is the “latch” that you simply lower over the tire, then exert enough pressure to hear 1-2 extra clicks to make sure it’s snug. Make sure the latches are at the correct angles, roughly 10 & 2, and that’s it. Your bike is secure. You want to lock the bikes in place while eating at your favorite roadside Public House or Supper Club? No problem! Integrated into the rack are locks and cables that easily pull out, intertwine between your bikes and lock together. Using the same key that unlocks your rack from the hitch, you simply unlock the cables and return them into the rack when you need your bikes off the rack and on the road to shred.
For rear tailgate access, it’s best to remove your bikes, but don’t worry, the racks themselves do not get in the way. When the racks are not in use, simply push the lever, and tilt the rack up so it hugs the back of your car. I’ve seen single bike carriers that extend further away from the vehicle than Saris’ 4 bike carrier. Nice and compact.
Now, to be clear, I spent my OWN money on this rack. It’s not a review of a product that was given to me. I have no need to rant about how great this rack is, except for the fact that it is as great as I say it is. And it’s made in Madison, Wisconsin USA, which gets me extra excited.
Thank you Saris for making me appear smart again, and for the commitment to making these great products in the United States of America.
Check out the video below to learn more about this great company. Warning: you will love everything about it.
Made in the USA | Lifetime Warranty.
