ALTA racks vs Velocirax,
As new racks enter the market, it’s important to highlight their features and differences. We will list the key differences between ALTA racks and Velocirax, starting with the origin of the product. While we can’t cover all design and feature differences, here are the most important ones. We will release a detailed video soon.
Design:
Starting with the hitch portion that plugs into your receiver, ALTA rises out of the receiver and extends out by 16 inches to provide the perfect clearance for dips in the roads, steep driveways, and off-road clearance. This is especially important for vehicles like minivans and those with lower hitch locations because the rise out of the receiver is critical to prevent the rack from grinding and to ensure that the bikes are high enough to clear the rear wheels. This feature is essential for a worry-free setup that will perform for years to come.
On the other hand, Velocirax, Recon Racks, Yakima bike racks, and other short hitch racks all have the same issue. Since they come straight out of the receiver with a 90-degree turn, the upright must be super long to raise the bikes for rear wheel clearance. This creates a super tall rack that will be hard to load in the upright position. Notice the picture of the Velocirax, where the baskets sit way above the roofline of the vehicle, restricting many from pulling into the garage or clearing overhead objects. This creates weight and reduces stability. With the rise out of the receiver, ALTA Racks takes care of the height rise and has a short vertical post. In most cases, the top bar and basket are at the roofline 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 rest 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, it needs to be lowered to load bikes. At this point, the weight becomes an issue with the large center mass and heavy basket. A top-heavy lever arm is created, which is why lift assist is necessary because of the sheer mass of the vertical mass, with the heavy baskets. The challenge is that the mast can’t be lowered easily without bikes, and the lift assist works against you. In contrast, ALTA Racks’ main mast is one of the shortest out there. This is due to a well-thought-out system design that considers the entire picture and envisions usage cases. Utilizing 15 years of aerospace engineering and military design, we know a thing or two about products that survive the harshest environments. The mast is easily lowered since the pivot point is at the farthest. A little physics goes a long way.
Let’s move on to the basket design and how the bikes rest in the rack. ALTA racks use completely adjustable baskets that can be 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 a no-contact carry. ALTA racks’ lower bar also gives the user infinite tie-down locations for the rear wheel, ensuring a no-contact promise. Going back to weight, we have the lightest rack on the market due to a lighter basket that utilizes physics and engineering to perform year after year. We have shuttle companies using the same rack for over 3000 hours, and it’s 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
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.