1Up USA Tremendous Responsibility Hitch Bike Rack Evaluate

1Up has always built bike racks from extruded aluminum with replaceable parts, employing the double-wheel arm mechanism it originally developed. This produces incredibly durable racks that can be repaired by the customer with hand tools. And as burly as the racks are, they coddle fragile carbon bikes because nothing touches the frame.

I reviewed the prior version of the 1Up Super Duty, and my concluding statement was, “I know this will be the last hitch rack I will own.” When I unboxed the current version, I was astounded that the made-in-America brand made it significantly burlier. It visibly seemed like maybe it was overkill.

I tested a pre-production version of the 1Up Super Duty (SD) for 3 months and the production version for almost 6 months. The rack carried everything from flyweight road racing superbikes to heavy enduro-type e-MTBs.

And every time I headed out, with bikes or not, I subjected the rack to the 2 miles of rough and rocky dirt roads that lead to my house each way. This commute has launched bikes off of lesser racks, rattling some of them apart.

In short: I hate to be a repeat offender, but the new 1Up Super Duty is now the last bike rack I will ever own. Yes, it’s heavier than the previous “last bike rack” I would ever own. But admittedly, e-MTBs are getting incredibly heavy as capabilities increase. And, well, my dirt road only gets worse. So, I now see the need for heavier-duty racks. Although I still feel this new version might be overbuilt, I’ll take it. And 1Up added features that make loading and unloading easier.

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1Up USA Super Duty Hitch Bike Rack Review

The last 1Up SD rack I tested in 2022 was the outright heavyweight champion. But it was obvious when I unboxed and assembled the new one that 1Up went up a weight class. It looked like the super-heavyweight champ.

The Same Burly Materials, but Bigger

1Up’s all-aluminum construction has always made the brand’s products stand out and last. The new SD was more of the same — much more.

Every extruded aluminum part outside of the welded 6061 T-6 hitch bar is bigger and burlier. The wheel trays are wider, and everything about the wheel arms is sturdier. When looked at as a whole, the dimensions all fit together. But compared to the outgoing model, it’s like the SD injected a few rounds of anabolic steroids.

And like a juiced bodybuilder, all the weight capacities increased. I tested the SD in a double tray configuration, and 1Up rates each tray up to an astounding 100 pounds. A third tray can handle 65 pounds.

Going to the maximum four trays renders the last two trays capable of 45 pounds each, with the second tray reduced to 75 pounds. In total, 1Up specifies a 265-pound total weight, a 40-pound increase over the prior SD. The wheel arms now fit tires up to 5 inches wide.

I received the all-black 1Up Super Duty. 1Up powder coats the bike trays, and the rest of the unit is anodized, with a hard coat anodization applied to the hitch bar and ratchet glide bars (explained later). All hardware is stainless steel, save for two bolts on each wheel arm, which are Grade 5 yellow zinc to prevent galvanic corrosion.

1Up offers the SD with a 2″ or 2.5″ hitch bar and comes as a single-bike or double-bike model.

New Features on the 1Up SD

1Up didn’t stop with the steroid infusion. It added a few new features that ease and improve bike hauling.

One-Handed Operation

One minor inconvenience on the outgoing SD rack became apparent only when I started using the new version: raising and lowering the two-wheel arm required two hands. One hand had to push a button to disengage a ratchet mechanism that held the arms in the chosen location while the other hand moved said arm. The ratchet engaged when the button was released. I never noticed, as it was standard procedure for many racks, but I always had to lean my bike against my car to load it.

On the new 1Up Super Duty, the ratchet can be disengaged with one hand, and then the same hand can move the arm. I never had to let go of my bike. As I said, I never really noticed this minor inconvenience, but now I see how it was.

The same red button disengages the ratchet, but now a “Domino” that houses the button rotates upward to keep the wheel arm gliding freely. Rotating the Domino to its original orientation engages the ratchet mechanism.

Pivot Handle

The SD can rotate on its base to one of three positions: totally vertical, tilted out to clear hatchbacks, and flat for bike transport. On the older version, I had to reach down or forward past the first bike tray to pull a bar that locked the bike trays in place. I have long arms, and it was still quite a reach, especially when the rack was “open.”

On the new SD, the same bar is now conveniently actuated by an aluminum grab handle that is at the top (or front when carrying bikes). This was 100% easier and eliminated the mobility exercise required when the trays were down.

Optional Wheel Chock

1Up offers an all-aluminum adjustable wheel chock. It possesses the same burly build quality and ratcheting mechanism as the rest of the rack. It is truly overbuilt for what it does, but I appreciated it, knowing that my rough treatment of gear wouldn’t faze it.

On all racks that use wheel arms or hoops, the front wheel often oscillates in the wind. It’s not a bike security issue — unless the wheel arms somehow move, the bike cannot escape from its grasp. But it’s visually unnerving. The new wheel chock butts up against the back of the front tire, which sits in a “V” notch, creating a backstop so the pressure of the front wheel arm can effectively mitigate the oscillations.

The chock also limits steerer tube rotation on heavy e-bikes or when driving on extremely rough terrain. This helps maintain the clearance between bicycles.

The 1Up Super Duty Bicycle Hitch Rack in Use

The 1Up USA website states that the SD rack is fit for “extreme off-road” use, and I didn’t have to read that to know that it was true.

Solid Is as Solid Does

The one word to define my experience with the 1Up SD is “solid.” From hitch mounting to securing bikes, fit and finish, and appearance, the SD is bombproof.

A stainless steel “corner ball” within the hitch bar creates pressure to eliminate any wobbling or rattling inside the hitch receiver and also acts as a security measure. A special Allen wrench tightens the ball against the receiver.

1Up also includes a keyed hitch bar pin lock for additional security. The rack never wobbled or vibrated once during the entire 9-month test period, and I never had to retighten the corner ball. During that same time period, I discovered that I tore all the front-end bushings in the car. That is how rough my road is on cars.

The wheel trays and base look visibly overbuilt, and they carried bikes in the same fashion. It didn’t matter if I had two heavy e-bikes aboard and was running late. I could still blaze down my dirt roads at the limit of traction, and nothing budged. Putting a 14-pound road race bike on the rack seemed offensive. It felt like a waste of the SD’s formidable physical abilities.

I’m used to looking in my rearview mirror or through my sunroof while driving on dirt roads to reassure myself that the bikes are OK. I have launched two bikes off of car racks in my time, and they were not mine. Even with the prior version of the SD, I would instinctively glance if I hit a big G-out or larger square edge. After a week of using the new 1Up USA SD rack, I finally stopped looking at all.

Easier to Use

I’m sort of hard-headed and don’t notice inconveniences unless they hit me square between the eyes. The new features of the 1Up SD rack made me aware of the ones I had been dealing with for quite a while.

Both the new Domino and pivot handles worked as intended, and combined, they eliminated the inconveniences that I may not have noticed before. This puts the 1Up SD into the same convenience category as some competitors that have touted similar, somewhat “luxurious” features.

The optional wheel chock worked as designed. It drastically reduced wheel oscillations on gravel and mountain bikes. For road bikes, 1Up’s clip-on “wheel savers” cradled the narrower tires to reduce wind-induced wobbles and dispersed the pressure of the wheel arm across a larger section of the tire.

These additions cleared what I considered minor trades for the legendary durability, repairability, and quality of materials and construction. Now, the SD only has one compromise.

The 1Up SD Is Still Heavy

The old two-bike SD weighed around 50 pounds, which made it difficult to take on and off. The new SD’s gain in capacity and burliness came with an increase in weight, adding to its already considerable heft.

At 64 pounds for the two-bike model, the new SD is heavy for a hitch rack. By comparison, the high-end, two-bike Thule Epos weighs 38 pounds. The top-shelf Kuat Piston Pro X is equally as heavy as the SD, at 63 pounds. But, both the Epos and Piston Pro X have substantially lower load capacities.

If you are a set-it-and-forget-it cyclist, this isn’t an issue. But if you take bike racks on and off, installing and removing the SD might be a nuisance and challenge. And, like all bike racks that don’t have wheels (like the Epos), the SD was awkward to handle.

Conclusions on the 1Up USA Super Duty Bicycle Hitch Rack

If you’re an e-bike pilot, especially aboard the longer travel MTB versions, drive over extreme terrain, or value overbuilt durability, then the 1Up SD is a choice that is extremely hard to beat. The repairability is an added bonus that all but guarantees it will outlast your vehicle and probably yourself.

I routinely see 1UP racks that are decades old. And 1Up racks are the only ones that didn’t eventually break on me (and were unrepairable). I have also never had a bike even come close to working its way loose or jettisoning off.

I used to think 1Up bike racks were on the high side of pricing. But now, other comparable racks are equalling or surpassing its price point. At a $900 base MSRP, the two-bike SD costs less than both the Thule Epos ($1,000) and the Kuat Piston Pro X ($1,389). And neither of those is anywhere near as repairable. The single-bike SD starts at $600.

If you want your forever bicycle hitch rack, look no further than the 1Up SD.

Believe it or not, 1Up has an even burlier rack, the Xtreme Duty, with an astonishing weight capacity of 345 pounds.