FIRST LOOK: Yakima FoldClick 2

Photos: Element Photo and Video

Back in October we heard that Yakima Australia had the kind of rear-mounted bike rack we thought they were missing. They already have heaps of options for getting your bike to the trail head. But within their range they didn't have a rack that was towball mounted, had a high weight limit, and included a light and number plate board so it could be legal out of the box in all states and territories.

The Yakima FoldClick 2 doesn't just tick all those boxes, but it folds up to be pretty compact when not in use, and only weighs about 14kg so it's not too much of a beast to fit.

Thanks to the design, it can fold down so you can still access the rear boot of your car, and the arms that hold your bikes steady can be locked in place. It takes a bit of guess and check to see what works best for your bikes – but even with a few different bikes we haven't been stumped yet.

 The cradles will work for anything from a road bike upto a 4" fat tyre – but the cradles don't slide out to accommodate really long wheelbases. If you have a bike with a very long wheelbase (like a downhill bike) we'd suggest a different rack.

As it is, we did get a Norco Sight VLT in large to fit, and it has a wheelbase of 1218mm. Beyond 1250mm is probably too much. And while the FoldClick 2 has a 60kg capacity, that's the same as the FoldClick 3. Which makes the 2 the pick for carting two eMTBs. We put two Norco Sight VLTs on and it was rock solid.

To that end, you can even buy a little ramp to wheel a heavy bike up!

So far there is a lot to like with the Yakima FoldClick 2. At $849 there are cheaper racks out there, but this one folds down really well and has a weight limit that means it will take a broad range of bikes – and best of all after you move your number plate to the board and plug it in to the connector on your towball, you're good to go.

We've got a few more weeks to test this one out, we'll have a full review in our next issue.