Review on Overdrive 2 Bike Ratchet Platform Hitch Mounted by Eric Jenkins

This is a solid luggage rack that securely holds two of our e-bikes. Much better locking ratchet hooks than the previous version with screw clamps that just kept coming loose - we almost lost the outside bike twice! But there are some design/manufacturing flaws hence only 3 stars. First, the center post that holds the two bike hooks has ratchet grooves on the right side, as intended. This makes it difficult to mount bikes. When the long hook is put on first. To fix the bike closest to the car, the short hook cannot be used as it needs to be passed under the long hook. If you place the short hook first and then secure the first bike with the long hook, you will not be able to place the second bike on the rack because the short hook cannot be lifted high enough as it hits the long hook. I solved this problem by removing the pivot bolt that secures the center post, flipping the post so the ratchet grooves are on the left side, and screwing it back on. It only lasted a few minutes. Now I can first use the short hook to attach the bike closest to the car and then the long hook to attach the second bike to the back. This annoyance could easily be remedied if the manufacturer machined grooves on *both* sides of the B-pillar, then you would have a choice of which hook to fit first. While doing my modification I saw that the rearmost plate holding the strut pivot pin has a notch on the outside which is no doubt designed to engage the spring-loaded stop ball that holds the strut upright, but this notch should be *on the inside * be where there is a ball to facilitate solving. The plate was welded in the wrong direction! However, the spring-loaded ball is difficult to dislodge from the locking hole, as is the fact that the ball is now at the front of the post, where it's harder to reach and press. These two shortcomings significantly reduce the "ease of use" of the rack. I hope that the seller/manufacturer pays attention to this!