Saris MHS Rack – A Rack For All Adventures

We can’t all roll out from our front door and start our rides, especially if we are riding at events or ride trails. That means you need to transport your bike. Depending on your vehicle, that means either stuffing it inside, a roof rack, a trunk rack, a truck bed mount, or a hitch option. For years, I was a roof rack guy, whether it was on my Jeep Liberty or my Subaru Impreza, but eventually, through doing some reviews, I switched over to being a hitch guy. It helped me improve my gas mileage by not having the rack on top of the vehicle when not using the bikes, and I can quickly remove the rack if needed, just by pulling the hitch pin. The Saris MHS (Modular Hitch System) gives you the perfect option to keep up with your active lifestyle, on or off the bike. We worked with Saris to build up a 2″ hitch option with two bike mounts and the optional light package to create a sleek hitch rack that will keep up with any bike I want to take. Recently, Saris announced that the MHS is now rated for 100 lbs per tray for the two-mount option, or 80 lbs per tray if you do the 2+1, with the additional tray rated for 35 lbs.

If you didn’t know, Saris is based in Madison, Wisconsin. That’s not just their corporate offices, but also their design, engineering, and manufacturing for their racks, trainers, and infrastructure products in a 70,000 square foot facility around back. Keeping everything under one roof allows Saris to develop its products quickly and efficiently. They source their materials from local suppliers to help reduce the environmental impact on transportation, while also supporting their local economy.

The MHS is pretty ingenious, allowing you to create a modular rack that fits your needs, no matter where the adventure takes you. The system starts with the base, which is essentially a rectangular-ish tube that everything mounts to, allowing you to add attachments to build out the rack to best suit your adventure. Bases are available for 1.25″ and 2″ hitches. The 1.25″ is limited to the 1+1 option, while the 2″ has the 1+1, 2+1, and 3+1 bases. The first number is the available spots to mount an accessory, while the +1 is a spot for an Add-On bike mount. Next, you decide how to build out your perfect rack. Saris offers two different bike trays and a cargo tray. The bike trays only take up one spot, while the cargo tray takes up two spots, so it only works with the 2+1 and 3+1. There is also the brake light kit we received, and you can also get mounts to move the cargo rack to your roof rack if needed, along with a few other accessories.

To mount the Cargo Rack or bike trays to the base, Saris uses the MHS Clasp that wraps around the base securely, and then the accessories bolt to the Clasp. There are grooves on the sides of the base that show where to mount each Clasp. It uses a T-bar to close the Clasp, and then you tighten the hex bolt to secure it in place. Once tightened down, it’s not going anywhere, but it is still quick and easy to remove if you want to change up the configuration. You can also get an extension that bolts onto the end of the base that allows for that +1 bike mount to be added.

For the bike racks, you have the Uno and Duo. The Uno uses a single arm, a wheel cradle, and a wheel strap to hold the bike in place. It weighs 17 lb and can fit bikes with up to a 50″ wheelbase, up to 60 lbs, and wheels from 20-29″. The cradle can handle up to 3″ tires, but also has a narrow notch for road tires. The Duo, uses two arms and a rear wheel strap to lock the bike in place. It weighs 30 lbs, and can handle bikes up to 53″ wheelbase, up to 100 lbs, and wheels from 20-29″ wheels and up to 5″ tires. In both cases, the bike mounts never touch the frame to prevent scratches.

You also have the option for the cargo rack. The 5.5 square foot tray can carry up to 200 lbs on a 2+1 or a 3+1 base. It is perfect for coolers, luggage, camping gear, or anything else you don’t want to carry in the vehicle with you. It uses two Clasps, or you can also get an optional mount that allows the rack to be mounted on a roof rack, keeping the base open for carrying your bikes.

So now that you have a bit of background on the MHS, how good is it? Well, I think it is great.

Installation

Setting up the rack was pretty painless. There was some assembly for the bike trays, but nothing crazy. I think it took about an hour to build and mount the entire rack, without the lights. And if assembly isn’t your thing, buy the rack from your local bike shop, and they will probably build it and install it for you for free, or a small charge.

Installing the base was simple. Just because I have OCD, I did add some grease to the stinger, the part that slides into the hitch, to help protect everything. The stinger slides in, and Saris includes a hitch pin with a lock to help keep it in place. Be sure to add a little grease to the threads, thread the pin into place, tighten it, and the rack is held tightly in place. It may settle over time, so retighten as needed to keep it rock solid.

Next, I added the trays. Place the tray, wrap the Clasp around, tighten the hex bolt, done. I did the Duo on the inside and the Uno on the outside, just because you should always put the only bike, or the heavier bike, on the tray closest to the vehicle. I only have road and gravel bikes, so it isn’t much of a concern as far as the 100lb weight limit goes, but again, OCD. One nice feature is that you can stagger the trays using offset mounting holes where you connect the Clasp to the trays, depending on the bikes you are carrying. If it is a couple of cross-country bikes with wide bars, you can stagger them a bit wider to allow for plenty of clearance. Or, if all you are carrying is drop bar bikes, you can keep them centered to make the rack as narrow as possible to hide the bikes behind the vehicle and out of the wind.

A little later on, I added the light kit. It includes two light bars that mount to either side of the base and the wiring kit. The lights provide extra brake lights to supplement your vehicle’s and also work as turn signals. They are angled so they will be visible with the rack up or down.

Installation was a little bit more in-depth, as you have to mount the lights to the base, run the cables through the base, and then to the 4-Pin flat connector for your vehicle. This was honestly pretty easy and didn’t take much effort. The harder part was adding the wiring harness to the vehicle, as it didn’t come with one. By following along with some YouTube videos, I was able to pull apart some of the panels in the rear hatch of the Honda CR-V, connected the adapter and grounded it, and then fished the connector through the body and in place at the hitch. If your vehicle already has the wiring harness, you are all set. I’d say this part took about another full hour from the time I unlocked the car until everything was added and I locked it back up. If you already have the harness, and just need to add the lights to the rack, maybe 20 minutes total. Again, if assembling isn’t your thing, there are people out there to help, but it wasn’t hard to do at all.

In Use

Out on the road, the MHS is rock solid. I did check the hitch pin, but it has not needed tightening in a few months of use. The rack easily rotates up and down, using the handle at the end of the base. When you pull on the handle, it unlocks the base and allows you to lower it. You can have it vertical, what I call “slightly off vertical”, horizontal, and lowered all the way. Lowering it all the way allows you to gain access to the rear hatch while the rack is loaded. The slightly off-vertical gives you another option if you need a little additional room, maybe to open up a rear window for example. Previously on the vehicle, we had an old rack from another brand that was extremely hard for my wife to raise and lower. She is a 5′ 2″ fitness instructor, so it is not for a lack of strength, but the MHS takes much less effort to unlock, raise, and lower, and it also weighs less.

For the Uno, it is pretty easy to mount a bike. Flip the bar up with the hook up, place the bike on the tray with the front wheel against the chock, pull the lever on the hook to slide it down on the forward side of the tire to lock the bike in place, strap the rear wheel down, and you are all set. The lock is located at the lever for the hook and locks the hook so it cannot be released. While it does prevent someone from unlocking the bike and running off with it, nothing is stopping them from detaching the fork from the wheel. A way to get around this would be to use a D-lock that is looped around the front rim and the frame, or a longer cable lock that threads through the wheel, frame, and rear wheel to keep everything locked together.

The Duo is definitely a heavier-duty mount that is made for big bikes. It uses two U-shaped arms that press up against the tires of your bike. Along with the arms folding inward towards the center to lock against the tires, there is also a piece that can be adjusted to different positions based on tire size. The front wheel also has a chock it rests against and a rear wheel strap. There is a cable lock that pulls out from the center in both directions that you can feed through the frame and then lock together. There is also a ramp that can be hooked onto the rear of the Duo to make it easier to load heavy bikes onto the tray. The two-piece ramp hooks on, and extends with the rear arm tilted all the way down. Simply roll the bike on, detach the ramp, and slide it together to make it as small as possible, and store it in your vehicle. There is also a wheel holder for bikes with fenders. It attaches low on the bars and pushes up against the tire at a lower point to not hit the fenders.

One thing to note about the locks. When adding them to the rack or the hitch pin, you can get the same locks so you have only one key to use across the entire system. And if you have other Saris products already, you can get matching tumblers to add to use that same key. Our kit came with two keys and you can get more from Saris if needed.

Both racks work great. Both hold the bikes in place and keep them stable, and allow you to securely lock them safely on your vehicle without putting any pressure on the frame or potentially rubbing on it. Being a road/gravel rider, I personally prefer the Uno. With a shorter wheelbase than a mountain bike and skinnier tires, I feel like it holds the bike in place a little better. The Duo holds a road bike perfectly fine, but the shorter wheelbase means the rear bar folds much further forward to contact the tire. With higher-pressure tires, it’s also a little harder to give the bar a little extra push to find the next click to tighten up the fit. For gravel, and the higher volume/lower pressure tires, I could find that next click, giving me that reassuring feel that the bike is locked in completely. It’s not a bad thing that the bar leans forward, but it just doesn’t look as natural as mounting a mountain bike. I also like the larger wheel chock on the Uno a little better as it keeps the bike solidly in place. If I was strictly a mountain biker or had both, I’d probably have a different perspective, but honestly, they both work great for any bike.

Now for the price. The MHS Base starts at $199.99 for the 1+1 and 2+1 in both sizes, and the 3+1 runs $249.99. The Uno is $249.99, while the Duo is $349.99. Both come with Clasps, but if you need to buy an extra or the Add-On mount, they are $79.99. The +1 versions of both trays are the same price as their Clasp-mounted versions. The Cargo Rack is $399.99 with the roof attachment kit at $99.99. The Duo ramp is $189.99 and the Fender adapter is $29.99. Finally, the light kit is $189.99. Saris also has packages built on their site for the 2″ version of the base and Duo mounts, but they are the same if you would custom-build your options.

Our build came out to $989.96, which is definitely an investment. The quality of the rack is top-notch, which will ensure it last for quite some time, and probably move from your current vehicle to the next. But unlike other high-end racks, you have the option to switch the configuration up depending on your needs. Heading to the beach without your bikes, put the Cargo Rack on and use it to carry your cooler or beach gear. Heading out with the bikes, swap in the trays. Need both? Add an Add-On mount for a Uno or Duo with the Cargo Rack, or put the Cargo Rack on the roof and the Uno or Duo to the base.

The MHS truly is the rack for any adventure. The adaptability MHS offers is really unique in the industry. The capabilities of the rack will allow it to work with a range of bikes well into the future, with the top-notch build quality making it a rack that will probably outlast the vehicle you are putting it on. It is an investment, but not one you’ll need to replace for years to come.

www.saris.com