ProView – Küat Sherpa 2.0

Upon receiving the Kuat Sherpa 2.0 Bike Rack, I was more than hyped. I truly didn’t know what my life was missing until I was graced with this beauty’s presence. When you live out of a truck on the weekends, it is far from ideal when you are shoving your bike in and out of your sleeping space. I have dealt with my fair share of crappy bike racks or ones that are just not reliable. I was shocked at how easy it was to learn and use the Kuat Sherpa 2.0 when I first attached it to my hitch. I strapped the bikes in and drove straight to Durango, Colorado, in search of some fun dirt to ride.

Küat Sherpa 2.0

Product Description: The all-new aluminum Sherpa 2.0 resets the standard for user-friendly adventure. Folding tire cradles create an abundance of clearance while our foot-actuated pivot lever lets you bask in the glory of carrying a bike or eating a breakfast burrito while unfolding your rack at the same time. With features designed around your lifestyle, this lightweight rack is as easy to take off as it is to leave on.

Offer price: MSRP: $498.00

• Quality
  (5)
• Features
  (4)
• Fit
  (5)
• Durability
  (4)

Summary

The Kuat Sherpa 2.0 exceeded my expectations and still does. It met the product description well and the instructions made perfect sense when assembling the product. The tray is also big enough to fit several types of wheels, so if you have a fat bike I would also recommend this rack!

Overall

4.5

Pros

• Durability
• Structure
• Lightweight
• Aesthetically Pleasing

Cons

• Honestly, none

• Shop on Kuat

To be honest, I was a little worried about being able to assemble the bike rack without screwing it up. I would be lying if I told you I didn’t skip a few steps right off the bat, I blame that on my excitement. Fun fact, read the first instruction on the paper provided with the rack. Anyway, after I got over that hiccup, it was easy and everything came together smoothly. Once assembled and put on my truck, the rest was a breeze. I was super stoked to see that it came with a lock that easily went into the rack itself so that I didn’t have to worry about going out and getting one prior to my trip. The bikes fit like a glove on the rack and secured tightly.

I grabbed the bikes and my pup, and we headed down to a serious mountain biking oasis, Durango, Colorado. For those of you who have not yet ridden down in Durango, I highly recommend it but also warn you of the steep inclines and techy downhills. The drive is a beautiful spin around Wolf Creek Pass where you find the tiny western town of Durango. We camped in the truck and rode as much dirt as possible without getting heatstroke. The locals were also great with helping us find the best trails. The roads to get to the trails were pretty gnarly and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about a bike getting loose and flying off the back. This worry probably came from the time I was on a family vacation and my mom thought it was a brilliant idea to strap five bikes to a less-than-well-structured rack. Long story short, the rack broke, the bikes rocketed off the car and onto the highway, literally shattering into pieces. Ever since then, I have this irrational fear that any bike rack is going to do that to me. Luckily this Kuat Sherpa 2.0 has regained my trust and even though the bikes do seem to rock back and forth quite a bit when on dirt roads, everything stays in place. I definitely put it through the test with all of the bumps and potholes I had to drive over while during our stay here.

Performance:

The Kuat Sherpa 2.0 is definitely a sleek design and style. It’s lightweight and black which overall just looks good. It is an excellent tray-style hitch rack which makes it seriously easy to put on and take off your bike. There is a foot lever tilt release that makes it easy to move the rack up and down with or without the bikes on. It fits two bikes and for me that is perfect, anything bigger is excessive and also makes it harder to see out the back of my truck. The construction seems sound and well put together. I have definitely beat it up a little bit through back roads and throwing my bike on and off, but the durability seems fantastic.

The Final Word

The Kuat Sherpa 2.0 exceeded my expectations and still does. It met the product description well and the instructions made perfect sense when assembling the product. The tray is also big enough to fit several types of wheels, so if you have a fat bike I would also recommend this rack! Thanks again to OPL for being the freakin best out there and serving up knowledge in all things outdoors.

Kathleen has been a guide in Alaska on and off for four years, focusing on glacier travel, mountaineering, and ice climbing. She prides herself as an outdoor educator in environmental sciences and glaciology, something she is very passionate about. After a bad back injury, she finds herself in the lower 48, working on getting strong and back into her climbing roots, while exploring what Colorado has to offer. You can find her sleeping in the back of her barbie dreamhouse, aka her dusty grey tacoma, running up mountains with her pup & trying her best to have the most fun. Connect with me ~ @tkbakes!