{"id":2046271,"date":"2026-07-16T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2046271"},"modified":"2026-07-16T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T07:00:00","slug":"the-rut-rack-is-a-hitch-rack-for-hauling-bikes-with-zero-straps-or-moving-parts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2046271","title":{"rendered":"The Rut Rack is a hitch rack for hauling bikes with zero straps or moving parts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Drawings: USPTO filings.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A recently published patent application proposes a unique no-touch back rack design, with zero moving parts. The utility patent \u2014 filed by Wayne Lockwood on June 4, 2025 \u2014 is currently under examination by the US Patent and Trademark Office.<\/p>\n

Singletracks reached out to Lockwood and learned that he\u2019s been prototyping the rack for some time now, and is currently on version 2.1. Dubbed the Rut Rack, Lockwood has built racks out of steel and aluminum to carry all sorts of bikes, from mountain bikes to skinny-tire bikes to cruisers.<\/p>\n

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Photos and video: Wayne Lockwood.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The slotted design is meant to hold tires in place \u2014 and that\u2019s it.<\/h2>\n

Lockwood\u2019s design brings to mind a simple, low-profile bike rack<\/a> you might find on the street. Simply lift the bike onto the rack and slide the front and rear tires into the slot. The submitted specification notes that the width of the slot \u201ccan be sized to snugly grip the tires [\u2026] to retain the bicycle [\u2026] in the bicycle rack.\u201d Of course, bike tires come in a variety of widths, so the rack slot needs to be sized based on each bike you intend to transport. <\/p>\n

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\u201cEach tray or channel is custom to the width of the tires,\u201d Lockwood wrote over email. \u201cI have spacers that bolt in for different tire widths for the aluminum racks.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Diagram<\/a><\/figure>\n

Existing slotted bike racks, like this one designed for an RV<\/a>, take a similar, though not identical, approach. <\/p>\n

The cross-members in Lockwood\u2019s design serve as rungs the wheels can\u2019t fall through, and are spaced closer together than the wheel\u2019s diameter. The idea is that wheels sink in and get cradled at just the right height.<\/p>\n

The patent drawings don\u2019t show any straps or arms to hold bikes in place, and it would seem that friction and the bike\u2019s weight alone might not be enough to keep the bike from being ejected from the rack at the slightest bump in the road. However, as you can see in the video above, the bike appears to be secure while driving (slowly) on an uneven road.<\/p>\n

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Clearly, a couple of hook-and-loop straps cinching the wheels to the rack could provide extra peace of mind, though that would go against the simplicity of the design. <\/p>\n

\"Black<\/a><\/figure>\n

The placement of cross members within the slot dictates how low the bike sits inside the rack, and depends on the bike\u2019s wheel size and overall wheelbase. This is actually a very important part of the design; if the bike sits too low in the slot, the bike\u2019s weight could end up resting on a derailleur or brake rotor. <\/p>\n

Patent documents aren\u2019t meant to market a particular design or invention, but it does appear there could be advantages to this setup. For one, bikes sit lower on this rack than existing hitch racks, which should provide better stability overall. However, the lower bike position introduces a new risk of tires and\/or rims \u2014 rather than just the underside of the rack \u2014 being damaged when rolling over speed bumps.<\/p>\n

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And with the bike sitting lower, this presumably improves rear-view visibility, depending on the vehicle.<\/p>\n

I asked Lockwood if there is a weight limit for the rack, and he said the heaviest bike he\u2019s tested on the aluminum version was a 45lb Schwinn full-suspension bike. That\u2019s not quite e-bike weight, though he says a steel Rut Rack prototype he built could easily support 200lb. He notes that the steel rack is heavier and, because it\u2019s fully welded, it\u2019s not adjustable once it\u2019s put together.<\/p>\n

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The aluminum Rut Rack is lightweight and doesn\u2019t take up much space<\/h2>\n

So far, Lockwood has produced single- and dual-tray Rut Racks. \u201cThe single really shines for a super lightweight 15lb aluminum rack that installs easily, loads and unloads quickly, and stores in a very narrow space.\u201d <\/p>\n

An Instagram post<\/a> lists introductory pricing for a Rut Rack that starts at $250 for a single. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear there is a market for clean, simple bike rack designs, and this one definitely stands out. Prospective buyers can get in touch with Lockwood via email at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Keep up with the latest mountain bike news by adding Singletracks<\/a> as a preferred source on Google.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Drawings: USPTO filings. A recently published patent application proposes a unique no-touch back rack design, with zero moving parts. The utility patent \u2014 filed by Wayne Lockwood on June 4, 2025 \u2014 is currently under examination by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Singletracks reached out to Lockwood and learned that he\u2019s been prototyping the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,274],"class_list":["post-2046271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-singletracks-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2046271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2046271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2046271\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2046271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2046271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2046271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}