Kuat NV Base 2.0 Bike Rack

Features

The NV Base 2.0 works like any other tray rack. You adjust the ratcheting arm over the front tire and secure the rear tire with a plastic strap. Compared to other racks’ arms, the NV Base 2.0’s seem about average, and are easy to use. Although I’ve never noticed it, my wife has complained about releasing the arm if it’s tightened too snugly over the front wheel.

One slick feature that will be even more useful if you’re using the NV 2.0 racks as a 4-bike rack is the ability to change the height of the front wheel tray. If you’re running into interference with another bike on the rack, you simply loosen the securing hex bolt and move the tray to one of three preset settings. With the prevalence of dropper posts and quick releases, this feature is easily overlooked when you’re just using the rack in its 2-bike form. But it should come in handy when you’ve got four bikes vying for space.

The foot lever pivot release is easily the best update to the new NV 2.0 racks. You might not really think you need it, but once you’ve used it, you’ll realize it’s pretty handy. You can fold the rack up or extend the rack just by pressing the lever with your foot instead of having to reach down.

Both the NV 2.0, and the Base 2.0 include integrated cable locks. I owned an original Kuat NV, and the old locks were frustratingly short. Thankfully, Kuat addressed this on the 2.0 racks, and they are now longer and more usable. That being said, I still wouldn’t rely upon the 2.0’s lock to fully secure a $5,000 bike for extended periods of time, but it can give you some peace of mind if you’re just making a quick trip to the store on your way home from a ride.

Stability

As Noah said in his review of the Rocky Mounts SplitRail, rack stability is a pretty big deal. If the rack is banging back and forth, that energy is going somewhere and likely will be loosening your rack’s grip on your trusty steed. Even if the bike is fine, it’s annoying to watch it jumping around.

A feature that carries over from the original NV rack is Kuat’s Hand-Tight Cam System. This is Kuat’s solution for keeping the rack and your bikes from bouncing around on the back of your rig. Most decent hitch racks have something for stability but this is still the best system I’ve used. You can adjust it by hand if need be, but Kuat also has stashed a hex wrench on the base in case you need to give it that extra oomph. The Hand-Tight Cam System works so well when you have it tightened down that the first thing to move when you grab and move the rack is your car.

Durability

The NV Base 2.0 experienced all that Montana has to offer for weather testing, including snow, mud, and dust. I actually left this rack on all winter without treating it to a car wash. The rack still functions as new, and shows no rust or corrosion despite the Montana Department of Transportation’s best efforts to ruin everything that touches the roads with a healthy dose of magnesium sulfate — that stuff did a number on the polished aluminum wheel trays of my original NV rack.

About two months into the review, I managed to back the folded-up rack into a very large and very stealthy trash can. After inspection, the rack looked a little crooked, but all that was needed was some tightening of the hex bolts that connect the rack trays to the base, and it was back to normal. It was sub freezing when this happened, so I was pleasantly surprised that none of the plastic bits failed.

One place that my previous NV wore down is on the rubber of the ratcheting arm that goes over your front tire, and I suspect that the NV 2.0 racks will also wear over time. Fox brake hose guides seem to really eat into this rubber. However, some decent wear on the original NV rack never affected the arm’s ability to properly hold the bike in place. I can’t really think of a way to improve this issue, though. I think the rubberized area has a lot of value in protecting the finish of your fork and in keeping the bike secure, so some wear is to be expected.

Comparisons & Weight

Even if it isn’t Kuat’s top-of-the-line offering, there is no doubt that the Kuat NV Base 2.0 is a premium rack. And it comes in $20 less than some of its competitor’s premium offerings that have a similar feature set, like the Thule T2 Pro XT.

It’s also $80 less than the top-of-the-line NV 2.0 model, while still being packed full of all the practical features you need in a hitch rack.

The only spot the NV Base 2.0 comes up a little short when compared to its competitors is weight. The Rocky Mounts SplitRail weighs 46.8 lbs, (compared to the NV Base 2.0’s stated weight of 51 lbs) and the Yakima Dr. Tray claims to weigh only 34 lbs (though I doubt it is as burly as the NV Base 2.0). At about 50 pounds, the NV Base 2.0 is no featherweight (and the stated weight of the NV 2.0 is 52 lbs.), but I think a lot of its weight is one of the reasons for the rack’s great stability. Start shaving away too much material, and things may start to get flexy.

So if you take your rack on and off your vehicle a lot, the NV 2.0 racks might not be ideal. But if your rack lives on your vehicle year round like mine does, the NV Base 2.0 is a strong contender.

Bottom Line

The Kuat NV Base 2.0 is a solid tray rack with a few additional perks, like the ability to carry fat bikes and a foot lever release. Kuat started with a great foundation to work with, since the original NV’s Hand-Tight Cam System keeps the rack stable on even the bumpiest forest service roads. That being said, there were a few areas that needed to be improved on the original NV rack, and with these recent updates, Kuat has made the NV Base 2.0 better than its predecessor.