ALTA racks vs Velocirax,
As new racks enter the market, we find it necessary to point out features and differences between them. Going to list the differences starting with origin of the product. There are so many design and feature differences that we can’t point them all out, but here are the key features. We will do a detailed video very soon.
Design,
Starting with the hitch portion that plugs in to your receiver, ALTA rises out of the receiver and extends out by 16 inches to give you the perfect clearance for dips in the roads, steep drive ways, and off-road clearance. Why is this important? Specially for vehicles like minivans and lower hitch location vehicles, the rise out of the receiver is critical for not griding the rack and having the bikes high enough to clear rear wheels. This feature is key for a worry-free setup that will perform for years to come.
Right from the hitch portion to the upright bar, Velocirax, Recon Racks, Yakima bike racks and other short hitch racks will all have the same issue. Since they are coming straight out of the receiver with a 90 degree turn , now they have to make the upright super long to raise the bikes for rear wheel clearance. That creates this super tall rack, that will be hard to load in the upright position. Notice picture of the Velocirax the baskets all sit way above the roof line of the vehicle. Restricting many of you for pulling in to the garage or clearing overhead objects. That drives weight and reduces stability. ALTA Racks with the rise out of the receiver, takes care of the height rise and has a short vertical post. In most cases the top bar and basket are at the roof line of your vehicle, not restricting your access and clearance. Also the mast needs to be lowered on the Velocirax, 3x,4x, 5x, 7x and the entire weight of the rack can be rested on the bikes, or the largest bike. ALTA stops the rack and saves the rear wheel from contacting the ground when lowered.
Since Velocirax now has a super long and heavy main mast, now they need to lower it to load bikes, well the weight becomes an issue at this point with large center mass and heavy basket a top heavy lever arm is created. That’s why they need lift assist, because of the sheer mass of the vertical mass, with the heavy baskets. The challenge is that mast can’t be lowered easily with out bikes, the lift assist actually works against you. ALTA racks main mast is one of the shortest out there. This is due to well though out system design, we look at the entire picture and envision usage cases. Utilizing 15 years of Aerospace engineering and military design, we know a thing or two about products that survive the harshest environment. The mast is easily lowered since the pivot point is at the farthest. Little physics goes a long way.
Lets move on to the basket design and how the bikes rest in the rack, ALTA racks uses completely adjustable baskets that can spaced based on the required clearance for bikes, this way you can slide the baskets to clear the handle of the bike and other items for no contact carry. ALTA racks lower bar also gives the user infinite tie down location for the rear wheel. This will give you the no contact promise. Going back to weight, we have the lightest rack on the market, this is due to lighter basket that utilizer physics and engineering to perform year after year. We have shuttle companies using the same rack for over 3000 hours and still going. Having adjustable baskets also allows us to narrow down the top mast, we are obsessed with weight reduction, because it’s the difference between products that last and products that fail.
ALTA racks, its heavily welded. We actually have over seven feet of weld on our six pack rack. We build products that last a life time, and provide a life time warranty. ALTA offers you value with features and capabilities that do not restrict existing features of your vehicle. No touch, No Rub, All Love is out motto. There is a cost difference between these racks, some has to do with the origin of the build, but most has to do with the quality of the product, the workmanship that has gone in to the parts that make up the rack. Bolting racks will eventually cause unwanted movement and sagging. The holes will gape and things will fail. We have all had racks like that already. If you are reading this it means you are doing some homework in regards to your purchase, and can see beyond the marketing hype of companies that put profit before the people and the environment.
ALTA Racks is made in the Salt Lake valley located in Northern Utah; we utilize local resources as much as possible to create one of the smallest manufacturing foot prints in the industry. We are for USA manufacturing for many reason and one of them is this. Here it is from the US State’s department : “https://www.state.gov/xinjiang-supply-chain-business-advisory/”.
ALTA racks is a family owned and operated company right here in Northern Utah. We are engineering driven, performance obsessed, with proven quality. ALTA provides you seamless operation for years to come, get your last rack. We back that up with our Life Time warranty. Please see our reviews. Remember our Life time warranty for ALTA racks is unmatched by any other companies.
We appreciate all of our customers, for supporting American manufacturing, we pay living wages, pay our taxes, contribute to local economy by employing many, and utilizing local services. Even our boxes are made locally.
