I was wondering if anyone had used either one of these racks and there opinions of them. I am debating which one to purchase but have not used either one.
Yakima King cobra or Highroller?
- Thread starter wetsponge007
- Start date
I've used the King Cobra quite a bit, but never the High roller. Sportworks (Thule now) Side arm is a way better system in my opinion. Easier to use, less wind noise and quicker to load a bike on.
I really like my king kobras. Best rack IMO that I have ever used. I have used the bigmouth and the side arm from thule. The king cobra I believe is easier to load and a SOOO easy to set up. The only tool required to set up the rack is scissors.
King Cobra works really well.
However, putting a heavy on top of car after a long ride can be hard. A Sportworks/Thule hitch is the best wasy to go.
However, putting a heavy on top of car after a long ride can be hard. A Sportworks/Thule hitch is the best wasy to go.
I have used the sportsworks and have a king cobra. As pointed out, the king cobra is definately is noisy in the wind.
But I tend to think the cobra is a much better design than the sportworks. The sport works is a simpler design, but lack becuase of it. It basically has no redundancy. If for whatever reason that wheel latch fails all bets are off. With the cobra, even if the upright mount disengages, the wheel strap should still hold the bike up, because the bike has to roll backwards to come out of the upright mounts. Plus the yakima has more points of contact on the tire, preventing the wheel from turning and coming out of the rails, which I've seen a few times on the sportworks.
And I would strongly disagree that the sportworks is easier to use. It is defiately easier to figure out than the cobra. But once you figure out the cobra it is basically one motion to put your bike up, versus the sportworks where you put your bike up, take it back down because you forgot to flip the arm forward, then when you flip it you dent your roof because your forgot there is nothing to to prevent it from crashing forward, you put your bike into the rails, while holding your bike with one and you reach over to grab the upright arm lift if and latch it. The latching part it quite easy, but what I didn't mention was you will probably drop your downhill bike on your head because you are trying to support all the weight while likely holding it quite low on the bike with one hand.
With the hitch mount version, the sportworks is very easy to use. It is when you are trying to work on the roof that it becomes difficult.
I have never seen the highroller, but it does appear to solve the wind noise issue of the cobra.
There are drawbacks to the cobra. It is loud, can be confusing to figure out and a minor hassle if you are using different wheel sizes.
But I have used both extensively and my vote is strongly in favor of the yakima.
But I tend to think the cobra is a much better design than the sportworks. The sport works is a simpler design, but lack becuase of it. It basically has no redundancy. If for whatever reason that wheel latch fails all bets are off. With the cobra, even if the upright mount disengages, the wheel strap should still hold the bike up, because the bike has to roll backwards to come out of the upright mounts. Plus the yakima has more points of contact on the tire, preventing the wheel from turning and coming out of the rails, which I've seen a few times on the sportworks.
And I would strongly disagree that the sportworks is easier to use. It is defiately easier to figure out than the cobra. But once you figure out the cobra it is basically one motion to put your bike up, versus the sportworks where you put your bike up, take it back down because you forgot to flip the arm forward, then when you flip it you dent your roof because your forgot there is nothing to to prevent it from crashing forward, you put your bike into the rails, while holding your bike with one and you reach over to grab the upright arm lift if and latch it. The latching part it quite easy, but what I didn't mention was you will probably drop your downhill bike on your head because you are trying to support all the weight while likely holding it quite low on the bike with one hand.
With the hitch mount version, the sportworks is very easy to use. It is when you are trying to work on the roof that it becomes difficult.
I have never seen the highroller, but it does appear to solve the wind noise issue of the cobra.
There are drawbacks to the cobra. It is loud, can be confusing to figure out and a minor hassle if you are using different wheel sizes.
But I have used both extensively and my vote is strongly in favor of the yakima.
I have a king cobra, and I think it's a great product. I don't have a noise issue either. That could be because I also have a fairing on the rack, or because my a/c doesn't work and my windows are always down anyways. I just took a look at the highroller and that definately has a lower profile than the king cobra while not in use. But it's also more expensive. Regardless; it's super sturdy and you'll never have an issue with the bike coming loose or falling off, as long as you put in the rack properly.
After several trips with both racks at the same time my experience was that the Sidearm was much easier. I personally never had any of the issues with mine that were mentioned above, but I can see how this may be an issue.
For the falling arm, I would just tighten up the clamp. Mine doesn't freefall once you take the arm down.
When loading, all I do is put the front wheel in the mounting side, and swing up the arm simultaneously.
The older arms did hit the larger forks, but I think it was addressed with the newer version because my bro's 40 clears on his.
I think they are both great systems, so you will be in good hands either way.
For the falling arm, I would just tighten up the clamp. Mine doesn't freefall once you take the arm down.
When loading, all I do is put the front wheel in the mounting side, and swing up the arm simultaneously.
The older arms did hit the larger forks, but I think it was addressed with the newer version because my bro's 40 clears on his.
I think they are both great systems, so you will be in good hands either way.
The thule/sportworks is a bit more stable. The king cobra allows for some wiggle room that will freek you out at first. Either way, I've not had an issue with either tray system failing.
The king cobra is noisy when not in use.
The king cobra is noisy when not in use.
The thule/sportworks is a bit more stable. The king cobra allows for some wiggle room that will freek you out at first. Either way, I've not had an issue with either tray system failing.
The king cobra is noisy when not in use.
The king cobra is noisy when not in use.
IMO, the thule is the superior product. I have both. After Thule bought SW, they changed the tray extrusion and added some box section. This dramatically increased the torsional stability of the whole rack.
I am very uneasy about putting DH bikes on my Yak. It never feels very secure.
I am very uneasy about putting DH bikes on my Yak. It never feels very secure.