Kuat Trio Review

The Kuat Trio is one of the most versatile roof racks on the market. Being a fork mount rack, it requires the removal of the front wheel, which makes it much easier to load than tray-style roof racks that clamp the front tire or frame. The unique skewer/axle system makes the rack compatible with almost any axle size or fork spacing. From an aesthetic perspective, it is one of the best-looking roof racks you can buy.

Since first testing the Trio, Kuat has made some updates to keep this rack at the top of your want list. The most important change was to the front wheel mounts, the rack now ships with adapters for 9×100, 15×100, and 15x110mm Boost spaced forks, making it possible to carry most of the mountain bikes on the market today.

Tested and Rated

We love a good product review, but all too often, those reviews are long-winded paid advertisements from influencers who received a free product. At GearLab, we purchase all of the gear we review, and that includes this rack. We keep a close eye on the bike rack market and order almost every new and compelling product that we find. I've long been impressed with Kuat bike racks, so seeing them turn their engineering talents to a roof rack was pretty exciting. Am I impressed? Indeed I am, read on to find out if this is the perfect new rack for your rig.

Performance Comparison

Ease of Everyday Use

After using this bike rack daily for months, I can say that despite the extra hassle of removing a wheel, it is a fantastic design. If you're normal height and driving something taller than a Subaru Outback, I'd consider something else.

One of the drawbacks of roof racks of any kind is the high load height as compared to a hitch mount rack. Racks such as the Yakima Front Loader do not require the removal of the front wheel, but this also means you have to lift the bike a bit higher to get the front wheel in the tray. The Trio is somewhat easier to load because the bike does not have to be raised as high. This is particularly important if you have a vehicle with a higher roof height, such as an SUV, van, or wagon. Once you align the fork of the bike with the axle or the axle adaptor if you have a thru-axle fork, the bike can be steadied with one hand while you thread the axle or tighten the cam lever in the case of a 9mm axle. Swapping axle adaptors is accomplished by loosening the bolt with the skewer tube wrench, which allows the installed axle adaptor to be removed and another axle adaptor to be inserted into the tray. The Trio has three separate adapters for 9x100mm, 15x100mm, and 15x110mm. The rear wheel is secured with the ratcheting rear-wheel strap.

Ease of Removal and Storage

The Trio takes up a limited amount of space when not in use, but removal is a bit of a pain. The dual u-bolt design of the front crossbar clamp requires tools for removal and takes a fair bit of time because all four bolts must be completely unthreaded to remove the rack. If you are looking for a rack that goes on and comes off easily, there are better options.

Versatility

The Trio is a relatively versatile rack that can carry just about any style of bike. It has a 45 lb weight limit, so it should be able to handle the weight of any bike that most people are willing to lift to roof height.

It is a fork-mount rack and includes adapters for all of the most common axle standards, making it capable of carrying anything from a kid's bike to a trail bike. If your bike quiver differs from the norm, Kuat has adapters available for the wider axle spacing found on fat bikes and plus bikes. Since it is a fork mount, frame design does not impact its ability to carry a given bike, and there is no contact with the frame, so you do not have to worry about vibration or friction damaging your bike.

The clamps that hold the rack to your vehicle's crossbars are also compatible with virtually every crossbar shape on the market, including round, square, oval, and the newer aero crossbars available from Yakima and Thule.

Ease of Assembly

The Trio arrived mostly assembled right out of the box. You will need to select the correct axle adaptor for the bike you'll be mounting and slide it into the tube on the tray, tightening the fixing bolt by using the skewer tube wrench (it is a 4mm Allen key).

The rack attaches to the vehicle crossbars with two U-bolt-style clamps that must be tightened using the included wrench. The security bolts that hold the clamps have a unique head shape and can only be tightened or removed using the included wrench, so you'll want to keep track of this one.

Getting the U-bolts tightened down isn't difficult, but it takes some time because it's important to tighten in an alternating manner to ensure you have even tension across the four bolts. The crossbar strap is attached using two bolts that slide into a channel on the underside of the rack tray and the small metal strap with two wingnut knobs. Overall, this is not a difficult assembly, but as with most roof racks we've tested, you wouldn't want to be removing it daily.

Security

The Trio includes a sturdy diameter cable lock that deploys from the rear of the tray; the lock is similar to the one found on the Kuat NV rack.

The cable is long compared to cables found on many other roof racks, making it possible to secure the frame and rear wheel of most bikes. While no locking system is completely theft-proof, we feel that the cable on the Trio offers some of the best protection available. The rack itself is secured using “security nuts,” which resemble a standard hex key. After close inspection, we realized that it only has five sides, which would result in a thief needing to have this particular wrench (that comes with the Trio) to remove the rack. While not fool-proof, it likely rivals a lock because, in reality, if a thief wanted the rack, they would probably just cut the U-bolts with an angle grinder.

Durability

We found this Trio to be exceptionally durable. It is made from quality materials with a great finish that appears ready to handle many years of use and abuse.

The materials are top-notch, and the powder coat finish is the most durable of any rack brand we tested. The Kuat NV has a similar finish, and we found it to be equally as durable. Despite spending an entire winter on the roof with a daily barrage of road salt and grime, there is not a speck of rust to be seen, even on the mounting bolts. The Trio is exceptionally stable in crosswinds and seems to be holding up well in all regards despite our abuse.

Value

With the Trio, you get compatibility with three axle standards out of the box with the ability to upgrade with adaptors for fat bikes. We feel that the versatility, combined with the aesthetics and ease of use, make the Trio an excellent value.

Conclusion