Formosa Dual Bike Cover for Hitch-Mount Bike Racks

Jim’s Tech Talk

By Jim Langley

Rating:
Company: Formosa Covers
Product: Dual Bike Cover
Sizes: Formosa has covers to fit up to 4 bicycles
Website: https://formosacovers.com/collections/sports-outdoors-outdoors-bicycle-covers/products/dual-bike-cover
Price: $109.99 
How acquired: Purchased
RBR advertiser: No

Hot

• Fully covers 2 bicycles to protect them from wind, rain, debris
• Translucent panels let taillights shine through if blocked by cover
• Hook and loop-fastened built-in boot to cover and protect the hitch
• Made of a thick heavy duty 300 D poly material
• Reflective piping
• Adds a layer of security since thieves can’t easily tell the quality of bikes beneath
• Super affordable

Not

• None

A Great Hitch-Rack Bicycle Cover at a Bargain Price

I’m writing this Tech Talk in my RV. My wife and I, and our Aussie posse (2 Australian shepherd pups) are in the midst of a cross country drive. As I type this, we are parked in Deadwood, South Dakota. 

This morning I pedaled to the top of Mt. Roosevelt and climbed up the Friendship Tower, erected in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt in 1919. Then on foot, we hiked up to the Mount Moriah Cemetery to see Wild Bill Hickok’s grave.

As a technical sidenote: I had no idea that there was something as exceptional as the Friendship Tower at the top of Mt. Roosevelt. I also didn’t know that the road up there would turn to dirt. But, that’s the wonderful thing about road bikes. Even with my aero road Cervelo and its skinny 25c tires, carbon wheels and rim brakes I was able to ride all the way up the gravel road and the singletrack to the base of the tower – and back down again, too. (It was 5:30 a.m. so there were no hikers.)

Testing a New Cover

An RV trip like this is the perfect opportunity to test a product that took me a while to find. It’s a quality bicycle cover for the two bicycles riding on the hitch rack on the back of our RV. On our last RV road trip (before Covid), I tried one that didn’t work at all. It flapped incessantly in the wind, came undone and the bikes got filthy and soaked.

In case you’re wondering what hitch rack I use, it’s a Hollywood. Here’s my review.

For this trip I did more research and found that the company Formosa Bike Covers has an excellent reputation for quality products. Plus, they sell them at quite reasonable prices. The 2-bike cover that I’m using sells for about $110.

It’s made of a rugged nylon fabric and has nice built in zippers and adjustable cinch straps with buckles. Included are separate bungee cords for use if the cover is baggie when fully zipped.

I’m carrying two full suspension mountain bikes on the back on this trip (a Trek Fuel EX and Specialized Levo e-Bike). My Cervelo S5 road rig rides inside most of the time. 

Protection for Two Bikes

The Formosa cover fits over two bicycles facing opposite directions on hitch style racks only. It’s not made for trunk style racks. With two mountain bikes and their wide handlebars, the Formosa cover is a perfect fit. It’s easy to cover the bikes and the cinch straps take up the small amount of slack in the cover.

When I put two road bikes on the rack, the cover isn’t as tight a fit because the handlebars aren’t as wide. Depending on the size of the bikes, that’s where the bungees come in handy.

Full Coverage

Along with the excellent fit and quality construction, what I really like about this Formosa cover is that it completely encloses the bikes and even part of the hitch. The cover zips closed on the bottom and there’s even fabric that covers most of the hitch to protect it, too.

It goes without saying that having the bikes stolen would ruin a trip like this. So one of my favorite things about this cover is how it hides the bikes from view. Yes, with the translucent panels you can see that bikes are inside. But, you’ve got to get up pretty close and move the cover around to make out the details.

I know professional thieves can steal anything, but I feel a little safer with the rack locked to the RV, the bikes locked to each other and to the rack, and now the cover making it harder to see that I’m carrying crazy expensive bikes.

So far no one has attempted to mess with the bikes (knock on wood). And, we’ve driven on a few dirt roads and had some showers on the trip and both bikes are still as clean as they left home apart from the dirt we put on them riding. So, overall, I think if you’re in the market for this type of bicycle cover you’ll be delighted with this one from Formosa. That’s why I give it our highest rating.

Ride total: 10,053

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Jim Langley is RBR’s Technical Editor. He has been a pro mechanic and cycling writer for more than 40 years. He’s the author of Your Home Bicycle Workshop in the RBR eBookstore. Check out his “cycling aficionado” website at http://www.jimlangley.net, his Q&A blog and updates at Twitter. Jim’s cycling streak ended in February 2022 with a total of 10,269 consecutive daily rides (28 years, 1 month and 11 days of never missing a ride). Click to read Jim’s full bio.