Review of Ezigrip's Uplift 1 Bike Rack

Our new roof mount rack, the Uplift 1, was recently reviewed by Flow Mountain Bike. The Flow Mountain Bike team tested the rack in the wilds of Australia and found the Uplift 1 to be a "nicely designed and well-built premium roof carrier option". 

"It incorporates some nice design refinements... - in particular, the super quick and easy-to-use ratchet system".

A Low-profile Solution

Straight out of the box, the Uplift 1 is fully assembled ready-to-go and compact. At just 8 kg, the rack is easy to lift onto a vehicle and comes configured for t-track roof bars. The Flow Mountain Bike team found it took just 5 minutes to set the rack up on a vehicle using the provided t-bolts. They simply slid the rack into the tracks and used the integrated and lockable cam levers to tighten the bolts down. They guessed that using the included bar adapters for vehicles that do not include t-tracks would likely incur only a 5 minute penalty to swap the parts. The Uplift 1 comes with adapters to mount to cross bars with a cross section of up to 30x60 mm.

A Standout Design Refinement

When a roof mounted carrier boasts no-frame-contact it usually means the bike is restrained by holding the front tire. Flow were quick to recognize that the Uplift 1's wheel restraint system followed similar principals to competitor racks but with one very specific improvement - a super quick and easy ratchet based system. The Uplift 1, unlike its competitors, does not use fiddly knobs to vice the front tire of the bike. Instead, the Uplift 1 opted for a simple ratchet system that is activated by pushing the rear arm up onto the tire. This same quick system also makes releasing the bike for unloading just as fast. 

A secondary ratchet moves the chock on the front arm so different front tire sizes can be fit. An indicator along the front arm shows roughly where the chock should be positioned to fit each size. As Flow pointed out, this is a set-and-forget adjustment if the bike type is unlikely to change. 

A Premium Product

The reviewers found that once the bike was mounted there was no undue movement and remarked that the Uplift 1 felt like a solid, premium product. With an adjustable extrusion that can extend to carry bikes with wheelbases up to 1400 mm, a simple ratchet strap for the rear tire complete with handy storage clip and a fully integrated cable lock, the Uplift 1 includes features that you'd only expect to see in a premium product. 

The reviewers did come across some quirks particularly for their vehicle and bike fit where long bikes could interfere with the opening of the vehicle tailgate. They describe the issue as context-dependent meaning it depends on what vehicle is used and what bike it fitted. Check out the handy sizing guide on the Uplift 1 product page (see the tab labelled "size") to help determine fitment.

Discover the Uplift 1

Curious for more details? Read the full review on Flow Mountain Bike’s website here.

Want to dive deeper into the Uplift 1’s features? Visit the product page here.