Recently, I was going on a cross-country trip in a rented minivan and needed to carry 3 bikes 3000 miles each way. I purchased a Yakima Mo'Joe 3 bike rear mount rack for the job. In the store, it looked like the most sturdy rack out of about a dozen different brands and models.

I found it to be a fine rack for the trip, but I experienced two main problems with this rack: getting it mounted securely on the back of the van and loading ladies/children's bikes on it.

First, mounting the rack:
The Mo' Joe has an adjustable frame which allows you to set the correct angle for your vehicle according to a reference sheet included in the box. This has the rack angle dimensions and mounting instructions for many vehicles, including my 2000 Mazda van. If yours isn't listed, there's a number you can call for advice. For some vehicles, an additional adapter may als be needed. Luckily, I didn't need one.

It's pretty simple to set the recommended angle for the rack. Once you have this, the Mo' Joe attaches to the vehicle via a set of straps. There are two top straps that hold the 'vertical' position using sturdy metal clinches on each. The side-to-side position is held by a pair of side/bottom straps with a plastic friction strap. I could never get these tight enough.

Using just the straps that came with it, we could never get it snug enough for comfort. Even on brief test drives, the top straps ended up supporting all the weight and the side/bottom straps kept falling loose, allowing the bikes and rack to swing around very easily.

We solved this problem by getting a strong nylon cinch strap and using it to attach the rack to the van door by looping the strap horizontally around the rack bars and then around the entire door. In effect, this securely belted the rack to the van door, so that the vertical straps only had to support some of the weight. I used a bungee to put some tension on largely useless side/bottom straps. If you are using this rack on a car with a trunk or hatchback, all these extra precautions may not be necessary as the trunk lid can help support some of the weight. However, when hanging on the back of a minivan, it was far too loose for even a short ride.

Once I knew what to do to set it up, I found I could re-install it in about 10-15 minutes. However, it did take awhile the first time to find a good solution.

Now, the next challenge: mounting the bikes. The rubber straps seem very secure and tight, but we had problems mounting a ladies frame bike and a smaller (24") bike. It seemed that the rack was designed for 27" men's frames. With some grunting and twisting, we were able to get the other bikes on there, but they sat fairly high on the rack and tended to obstruct the view out the back. We never had a problem with the bike straps coming loose.

In summary, this is a great rack, but it may need some extra supports to hold it snugly for some vehicles, particularly vans. Also, I had a hard time getting a ladies and 24" bike on it in a normal position.






Amount Paid (US$): 110