Review: RockyMounts TomaHawk

If you’re like me and you drive a small car but love to ride, then you’ve probably been faced with the dilemma of what to do with your bike when it’s time to load the car. There are lots of bike-carrying racks out there, but the TomaHawk from Rocky Mounts has become my go-to. I used to have a hatchback rack, but that made accessing my trunk impossible, plus the wear-and-tear on my vehicle was noticeable. The TomaHawk attaches to my roof crossbars, keeping the bike out of the way while I’m organizing gear or taking items out of the car. The rack’s swingarm has a ratcheting hook that locks your front wheel down, meaning there’s no frame contact, and the hook locks in place for added security when your one beer at the bar turns into three. If you have a taller vehicle, this might not be the rack for you. I attached this to a Toyota Rav4, which is by no means huge, and getting by heavy-ish mountain-bike on and off required some effort. I'm also only 5'8", so a taller person might not have had as much trouble. When the car is in motion, the rack's plastic straps rub against my car's roof, which can make a loud noise, and leave minor stratches. Overall, at this price point, I'd recommend this rack to tall people with small cars. $160; rockymounts.com.