hitch bike rack suggestions?
 

looking at getting a hitch for my gf's toyota matrix (curt or drawtite, they both seem to run around $150 and are 1.25"). any suggestions on a bike rack? there are so many out there and they all seem to have some quirks - what are you happy with? 2 bikes is probably fine but am considering up to 4 as we both have a couple bikes

Funny, I am looking for the same thing right now. I want 2" and holds bikes via wheel trays and arm (so NO frame contact). I've been starting to watch Craig'sList for the Thule 2 and Saris Themla or OnCycle. There are a ton of options for ones that hold bike's via their frames, and they are cheaper too. Tons of those on CL.

From a design perspective I'd stick with the wheel tray design too, if only so you can open the hatch with the bikes mounted.

I use a frame contact TULE. It works fine. Because I ride with carbon wheels I don't want the rack to be useing the wheels for contact.
The frame contact rack works fine you just have to set it up so your bike dosen't swing on the rack I mounted a towel to the rack and use a small tie down to secure the bike to the rack. My rack holds 4 but I would be nervous that bike would touch and rub. So in that case a Wheel rack holds the bike a bit more in-place .

I think the frame contact racks will give you the ability to swing or hinge the rack out of the way and give more ground clearance.

We have used these type of racks because you can fit four bikes on the rack and haul a waverunner too, of course the waverunner is used for wakeboarding.
http://store.rampconnection.com/product.php?xProd=7115

These aren't the greatest out there, but they are priced right and work well. My buddy got one first for his jeep and then I bought one for my son's Honda Accord. The only downside is that they are only for 2" receivers. For the Accord I had to install a adapter. No biggie, it works well, tilts out of the way and is lockable. If you don't know the site, it is almost impossible to find. I just had to text my son to remind of the brand!

http://www.motobatteries.com/c-16-bicycle-carriers.aspx

Bunch of my bikes have external cable routing, so I want to avoid frame clamp designs. On our car I have a set of Rocky Mounts trays that work great. I just picked up use Jeep Grand Cherokee as my bike/wet/snow car. On that Jeep I really want wheel mount on the receiver. Softride, Saris, Thule and Yakima all have decent looking designs. There is a local guy on CL that has the Thule I'd like, but I want it for $100 than he is asking. So I'll hurry up and wait till find a deal.

We just run the hold down brackets between the cable and the frame. Good point though.

Costco, $50, holds 4 bikes, made in China. I took a couple holders off as I normally carry one or two bikes. It holds the bikes and does not rattle.

Went with the Thule T2 off Amazon. Will report back when the weather changes :-/