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Allen 103S Premium 3-Bike Trunk Mount Rack |  | Brand: Allen Bike Racks
Category: Sports
List Price: $99.99
Buy New: $79.19
as of 9/9/2010 07:56 CDT details
You Save: $20.80 (21%)
New (8) from $79.19
Seller: Niagara Cycle Works
Rating:  32 reviews
Sales Rank: 11082
Color: Black/Silver
Size: NA
Shipping Weight (lbs): 5
Dimensions (in): 28 x 18 x 5
MPN: 103S
Model: 103S
UPC: 076527124000
EAN: 0076527124000
ASIN: B000NOMKZ6
Release Date: March 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Fits most sedans, hatchbacks, minivans, and SUVs, including some vehicles with spoilers | | • | Quick set-up design pops into place right out of box; can be folded down using one hand | | • | 15-inch long carry arms easily accommodate up to three bicycles | | • | Comes fully assembled and can be set up and installed in minutes | | • | Lifetime warranty on workmanship and material |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The Allen® Premier trunk-mounted, 3-bike carrier snaps easily into place and can be folded away with one hand. A patented tie-down cradle system individually secures and protects your bicycles. There's added internal clearance on the rack to fit most vehicles with rear-mounted deck spoilers.
Amazon.com Product Description
The Allen 103S Premium trunk-mounted, 3-bike carrier snaps easily into place right out of the box and can be folded away with one hand. Featuring 15-inch long carry arms, it also offers added internal clearance to fit most sedans, hatchbacks, minivans, SUVs, and vehicles with rear-mounted deck spoilers. A patented dual compound tie-down cradle system individually secures and protects your bicycles. It comes fully assembled, and it's backed by a lifetime warranty on workmanship and material defects. About Allen Bike Racks
In 1967, after a few years of working on the aerospace technology for the Apollo missions, Dick Allen was out of a job. Government cutbacks led Allen, a Harvard-trained physicist, to transform his garage hobby into a new industry. A cycling enthusiast, inventor, and family man, Allen had a personal need for a bike-carrying device. On weekends, he would take his sons and wife to Cape Cod or the White Mountains of New Hampshire. What proved difficult time and again was the transport of his family's bicycles. Rather than fight through inconvenience with twine and a dinged car, Allen sought an answer for himself as well as a market in which he foresaw major growth possibilities. Always a pathfinder, Allen took to work in his Lincoln, Massachusetts garage in search of a more efficient way to transport bikes. Drafting designs during the day and constructing them throughout the night, he put together a model made of electrical conduit, metal strapping, and fire hose casings (for padding). At first, the Allens tested the prototype on weekend excursions. Finding the first trunk-mounted rack to be a success, Dick started Allen Bike Racks. Dealer acceptance came quickly, and by 1971 Allen Bike Racks were sold nationally through a number of major bicycle distributors. Today, the company owns over three dozen patents and offers a versatile product line of bike racks while Dick's son Alex now owns and operates the business. What started out as a small garage run operation now operates three warehouses nationally, two factories abroad, and has products sold in more than a dozen countries around the world.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 32
 Strong and reliable...but basic. January 11, 2009
Tweezak (Pacific Northwet)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
I opted for this rack over others because I kept hearing about things like recalls on the Yakima "Joe" series racks and that those and other similar racks had a nasty habit of dropping bikes. This was often because these racks had plastic hinges that failed. A button release mechanism might be really cool and convenient but if it drops your $1000+ bike...it tends to lose its coolness.
The Allen Premium 3 Bike Rack is hell for stout. The pipe is thick and because it is bent rather than joined with bolts or rivets, it does not flex. Also, the hinges are metal. They are two metal plates that swivel together and are secured in the locked position by a 3/8" steel pin. This is not going to fail unless you do something stupid like haul lumber on it.
The rack only has 4 straps and I thought that would be a problem...but because of the inherent side-to-side rigidity of the design, it does not need any side supports. When it is strapped down and tightened you can grab the thing and shake the whole car. The only movement in the rack is a result of compressing the squishy foam pads that rest on your car.
Speaking of straps...the buckles on the trunk straps are high quality cam-lock style. They are all metal and are a smaller version of the buckles used in my motorcycle tiedowns...they are bulletproof and will never release. The harder you pull on the strap, the tighter they bind. If they seem to be stuck, give the loose end of the strap a little pull and the button will push right in.
The lower straps have a rubber section in them that holds tension on the rack even if it shifts a bit. Pretty cool idea but I wonder a bit about the durability of that rubber.
Other nice things: The pipes where you slide your bike on are fully covered with vinyl so if you bang your bike up against them, it's no problem. The vertical tubes are also covered in this manner.
Negatives:
This is a very basic rack. There's no mechanism to keep your bike from swinging so you'll need an additional strap and buckle or a bungee to put around the frame and wheel. The buckles that hold the bike on - while extremely secure - are not super convenient. After a few uses, you get the hang of it though.
The bottom line: If you are not hung up on getting a trendy brand. Consider this rack. If you want a rack that is so strong that your trunk will probably buckle before the rack folds up, this may be the one.
excellent design September 12, 2008
C. Resnick (New York, NY United States)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
This rack fit snug on my Mazda 3 hatchback and carried three adult bikes from NYC to Maine and back without a waver, even on poor quality highways. I had been considering a roof rack, but I'm very glad I found this instead.
Some standout qualities:
1. A sturdy, snug fit.
2. A very quick, simple, and logical setup/dissembly.
3. The excess strappage from the upper tensioning straps is generous and ideally positioned to thread through the wheels and tie, thus prohibiting front wheel knock.
4. When not in use it easily collapses to a profile that's nearly flat. It should easily fit in most closets.
5. It's very reasonably priced.
A caveat: at least on my car, only the lower rubber pads touched metal, as the upper mounted against the hatch window, so I had no concern for abrasions. However, the way this thing stuck I doubt it would be an issue on any car, provided you wash off any grit at least in the few places the rubber meets the body.
Stop Looking, Buy This One!!! May 26, 2009
David Laxman (Salt Lake City, Utah USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I spent a lot of time looking for the perfect rack for a good price. I looked at Yakima, Thule, Hollywood, and Allen Racks. The Hollywood racks seemed to be cheap and had poor reviews. The Yakima seemed to be overrated and one day, I say a Yakima Super Joe rack on a car and the bummer was completely ruined - the rack does not keep the bike up off the car. My co-worker has a Thule rack with the stabilizers that seems very nice. His only complaint with the Thule rack is that it does not lay flat when not on the trunk. My complaint is that his Thule rack cost $150 on Amazon. Because of these reasons I went with this Allen rack. I was little hesitant to by this rack at first because some reviews said that the bolts rusted. I also was nervous about not having side straps to stabilize the bikes. I decided to take a chance and I bought the rack. I could not be happier. Allen has obviously listened to their customers. The bolts on the rack are now all coated and the rack now includes side straps that have an elastic material attached - making it very easy to install the rack. We put three full size mountain bikes on the rack with relatively few problems. On one bike, we had to take the seat off, but that is not a big deal. I haven't taken three bikes on a long trip, but I have with two, and the rack held secure.
The rack is very easy to install and the bikes are held securely up and away from the Hyundai Sonata - never had a scratch. When the rack is not in use, it lays completely flat in my trunk. I would highly recommend this rack!
First rate bike rack August 26, 2008
ABR (WI)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Have gone on trips in a small car (Mazda Protoge and Saturn wagon) loaded with three bikes: a normal men's bike, a large woman's bike and a kid's trailer bike. This rack is beautifully designed - super easy to set up and load, secure, very compact and a great price. A+ all the way!
Slightly more money but a great product September 30, 2008
T. Bourke (Windsor, Ontario, Canada)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a great product even though it may cost a bit more than some other 3-bike racks. The bike mounting straps look like they were made to hold triangle framed bikes, but swivel to easily accomodate Y-frame bikes. I used this rack on my Winstar van with three bikes and a canoe on top and had no issues at all.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 32
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