We will be using this through the Winter/Spring so stay tuned. In fact it is a pretty big bit of steel back there and it is a good thing that it folds up and gets out of the way when bikes are not on it. The rack is wider than the Mazda 3 by just a little bit too. WIth two bikes in place there was an acceptable amount of play in things and on the road it was fine. It is a matter of a few seconds to get a bike onto the rack and set in place. The wheel trays are 3.25″ wide at the top, maybe not enough for a Fat Bike tire, but it would be interesting to try it. The front wheel trays are generously sized and the rear is a flat surface so a big tire will fit fine. The bikes are held in place by the ratcheting crook that presses against the front wheel at the fork legs and by a ratchet strap at the rear wheel. There is a quick release lever that allows the rack to fold up when not in use and tilt down to allow for car hatch opening when bikes are on the rack. Once installed on the car, the NV Core felt pretty solid with not much lateral motion. I will be adding a locking hitch pin but for now I used the included bolt/pin that threads in and keeps the rack from wiggling in the receiver. I weighed the assembled rack at 40lbs so that is right in with the stated weight. I will be using it with the smaller size so I removed the adapter. The rack came with an adapter for the 2″ or 1.25″ receiver size. The picture in the instructions is very easy to understand.

However, there was no practical way to tighten the hitch bolt with a wrench at the receiver…no room to swing a wrench…and I had to use a socket and ratchet to get that part done. All the tools you need to assemble the rack are included as well as a wrench to tighten the hitch bolt/pin. Accommodates 2″ AND 1.25″ receiver optionsĪssembly is very straightforward consisting of installing four long and substantial bolts and that is about it.Fits 24″ – 29″ wheels (can be modified to fit 20″ wheels with adapter, sold separately).Includes bolt-in hitch pin (in lieu of the hand-tight cam system).Front and rear tire ratchets make loading and unloading a breeze.Enhance the NV Core with integrated cable lock and locking hitch pin (kit sold separately).Total carrying capacity of up to 120 lbs.Here is the link to our On Test article and here are the salient details from the Kuat website: Features The NV Core sits in the middle of the Kuat platform rack line-up retailing for $439.00. But! I’m certain that all the stress and planning will be worth it in the end and we’ll have a great time. This road trip has been a nightmare to organize – we got the initial dates wrong, then we realized our insurance was going to run out in the middle of it so we’ve been busy looking for the best cheap auto insurance policies, and there’ve been issues getting all the equipment we need for the trip.

We have a multi state road trip coming up and it will be pressed into action soon enough, hauling two 29″er singlespeeds to a Utah endurance event. Kuat is a funny name for a bike rack…sounds like an exotic fruit…but it is a pretty serious rack regardless of that and we just recently unpacked and installed a Kuat NV Core two bike platform type rack onto the back of a Mazda 3 and the product can easily transform into a RV bike rack (depending on the size of the RV). Out of the Box: Kuat NV Core Bike Rack- by Grannygear

Nor lyx gun rack