Allen Smart Suction Go Compact Bike Rack review – Bluetooh sensors greatly mitigate suction cup anxiety

The Allen Smart Suction Go Compact Bike Rack is a clever, compact and reassuring way to carry a bike on almost any car, with Bluetooth monitoring removing much of the blind faith normally associated with sticking several thousand pounds of carbon to a roof with suction cups.

At £229, it also substantially undercuts its best known rivals while including the axle adaptors most riders will actually need.

A 16kg weight limit, the lack of a crank strap and fairly basic warning information prevent it from being perfect, but after several six-hour drives, plenty of motorway miles and some enthusiastic Devon back road driving, my Tarmac thankfully remained exactly where I left it.

What is Smart Suction?

Vacuum mounted bike racks are nothing new. SeaSucker is probably the name most associated with the concept, having started developing its car mounted bike racks in Florida back in 2009. Products such as the SeaSucker Talon and the TreeFrog Pro 1 have since demonstrated that attaching a bicycle to a car without conventional roof bars is considerably less reckless than it first appears.

Allen’s twist is adding electronics. The Smart Suction Go uses three large suction cups beneath the front fork mount, plus a separate fourth cup beneath the rear wheel. Sensors monitor the front suction system and communicate with the Allen smartphone app via Bluetooth. If suction falls below a minimum threshold, the app generates a warning.

The app also supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so those warnings can appear directly through your car rather than relying on you noticing something on a phone buried in the centre console.

For anyone whose first reaction to a suction rack is, “Yes, but how do I know it is still stuck on?” that is a genuinely useful addition.

Setup and installation

Installation is impressively simple.

The front section holds the fork, while the smaller rear section can be positioned independently underneath the rear wheel. The separate rear mount means there is no fixed rail dictating wheelbase, so the rack should accommodate a huge range of bicycles.

You first make sure the car surface and suction cups are clean, then position the mount and pump each suction plunger until its red warning band disappears. Allen specifically recommends mounting the front section on a relatively stiff part of the roof rather than a large unsupported panel as well as checking the suitability of panoramic glass before installation.

Removing it is equally easy. Lift the edge tab on each suction cup to release the vacuum and the whole system comes away without any permanent brackets, rails or tools.

Allen also supplies protective red covers for the suction cups, and these are more important than they initially look. The edge of a vacuum cup needs to remain smooth to seal properly, so protecting them when the rack is being thrown into a boot full of helmets, shoes and assorted cycling rubbish is sensible. Allen itself recommends replacing the covers after every use.

The compact design is one of my favourite features. Mine fitted neatly into the redundant spare wheel well beneath the boot floor of my estate car, where it now lives permanently.

That is arguably the ideal location. It takes up virtually no useful luggage space and means the rack is always there if you need to call your better half for an emergency rescue due to a mid-ride mechanical.

Not that I have ever required such assistance, obviously…

Bike compatibility

Allen has done a particularly good job with what comes in the box.

The rack supports 9 x 100mm quick release, 12 x 100mm, 15 x 100mm and 15 x 110mm fork standards, with the different adaptor sets included rather than requiring additional spending.

Remember quick release skewers? Allen even includes one specifically for the rack, and it is reassuringly substantial compared with the sort of lightweight skewer you might remember clamping an old rim brake wheel into place. If your bike uses a through axle, you simply install the appropriate adaptor and then use the bike’s own axle to secure the fork.

That flexibility is valuable if you own several bikes. A modern disc road bike, gravel bike and mountain bike can all have different front axle standards, so having the adaptors already in the box makes swapping between them painless.

The rear wheel strap is similarly accommodating. Allen does not appear to publish a specific maximum rim depth, but with my 48mm rear rim there was a huge amount of strap remaining. I would have no hesitation using it with substantially deeper race wheels.

The front wheel does, of course, need to be removed and stored inside the car. That is inherent to this type of fork mounted carrier, but worth remembering if your boot is already packed to the roof for a family holiday.

Smart monitoring and the app

Pairing the rack with the Allen app was refreshingly straightforward. Bluetooth connection was quick, the interface was simple, and more importantly the whole thing integrated seamlessly with Apple CarPlay. That means you can set off with the rack monitored in the background rather than driving down the motorway periodically staring through the sunroof and wondering whether your bike is still present.

I deliberately broke the suction seal during testing to see what would happen. True to Allen’s claims, the rack quickly generated a warning on my phone, which was then mirrored through CarPlay onto the car display. That is exactly the reassurance I would want from a system like this.

The warning itself could be more sophisticated, though. What I received was essentially a suction warning rather than useful information showing how close the rack was to its trigger threshold or providing much detail about the problem.

There is an obvious safety argument against encouraging drivers to judge how long they can continue after receiving a warning, and I would treat any alert as a reason to stop somewhere safe as soon as practical. Still, more information about which monitored cup had triggered, or whether pressure was stable or continuing to fall, would make the smart element feel more complete.

There is another important detail buried in the manual: the separate rear wheel suction cup is not monitored by the app. It retains the conventional red mechanical indicator, so Allen advises periodically checking it yourself. The three cups supporting the fork mount are the ones providing the live electronic monitoring.

That does slightly dilute the “everything is being watched for you” impression, but the critical front section holding the fork is electronically monitored, and the rear cup remains easy to inspect.

Batteries and weather resistance

The electronics run from four AA batteries, which are not included. At £229 it would have been nice for Allen to throw four in the box, particularly given you cannot use the smart functionality without them.

On the positive side, they are ordinary batteries rather than some proprietary rechargeable cell that could become difficult to replace several years down the line.

I did not need to replace mine during the test period, despite using the rack repeatedly over the summer. And because the suction itself is mechanically generated, dead batteries do not suddenly make the rack detach from the car. You simply lose the electronic monitoring and have to revert to checking the physical indicator bands yourself.

The battery compartment is also neatly executed, with a proper weather seal around the cover. That proved reassuring when driving through heavy rain, and I saw no sign of moisture ingress during testing.

On the road

My test period involved rather more than a cautious lap around the block. The Smart Suction Go came with me on multiple family weekends away over the summer, with individual journeys lasting up to six hours with plenty of motorway mileage.

Naturally, the car never exceeded the UK’s 70mph motorway limit at any stage. (I promise, officer.) The Allen manual specifically says never to exceed the posted speed limit, so that is all we need to say on the matter.

More importantly, there were no issues with stability. The bike remained visibly solid and I received no unwanted suction warnings.

The rack also survived some rather more entertaining roads in Devon, where a visit near my parents’ old house resulted in me temporarily rediscovering some of the enthusiasm with which I drove the same lanes as a teenager. My Specialized Tarmac remained reassuringly attached throughout.

That experience does more for confidence in the system than any amount of staring at suction cup specifications. Once you have completed a few long journeys without the bike shifting, the initial unease about trusting vacuum cups fades remarkably quickly.

The smart monitoring accelerates that process. With a conventional suction rack, you have to trust the mechanical indicator and your installation. With the Allen, there is an additional electronic safety net sitting on the dashboard.

Weight limit and crank clearance

The most obvious restriction is the maximum bike weight. Allen’s UK page states 35lb, or 16kg, which is comfortably enough for almost every road bike and the vast majority of gravel bikes, plus plenty of conventional mountain bikes.

Where it starts becoming restrictive is with burly mountain bikes and, particularly, electric bikes.

TreeFrog and SeaSucker both rate their equivalent single bike carriers to 20kg, so Allen gives away around 4kg of carrying capacity.

Then again, if your electric mountain bike weighs substantially more than 20kg, lifting it above your head and delicately positioning it onto a car roof is already becoming an ambitious exercise – particularly for a noodle armed road cyclist like me.

A more relevant omission is a crank arm strap. Allen instructs users to keep the cranks horizontal when loading the bike so the pedals do not contact the vehicle.

On my relatively flat estate car roof the pedal clearance was already fairly close. Mount the rack onto a more curved roof and I could imagine that becoming tighter still.

TreeFrog includes a simple Velcro crank strap with the Pro 1, and SeaSucker now includes crank straps with the Talon too. It is a tiny and inexpensive addition that prevents the cranks rotating and potentially introducing a pedal to your paintwork, so I would like to see Allen include one as well.

Security

There is no integrated lock securing the Allen rack to the car or the bicycle to the rack.

That is not unusual for a compact vacuum carrier, but it means I would not leave an expensive bike unattended on it at a motorway service station while disappearing inside for half an hour.

The upside is that the rack takes seconds to remove and is compact enough to put inside the car when you reach your destination. For my use, where it was primarily transporting bikes between homes and riding locations rather than acting as permanent exterior storage, that was not much of an inconvenience.

Warranty

Allen backs the Smart Suction GO with a limited lifetime warranty for the original retail owner when bought new through an authorised dealer. The warranty covers defects in materials and workmanship rather than wear, accidents or misuse, and proof of purchase is required. Allen’s manual also asks owners to register the product to qualify for warranty support and important product notifications.

That is reassuring for something whose continued mechanical integrity you are trusting with both an expensive bicycle and the roof of your car.

SeaSucker also offers a limited lifetime warranty to the original purchaser, while TreeFrog warranties vary by market and retailer.

Value and Rivals

At £229, the Allen Smart Suction GO looks very competitive.

The most obvious rival is the TreeFrog Pro 1, which I also own. The current Pro 1 carries a bike up to 20kg and uses three vacuum cups beneath the fork mount plus a separate rear wheel holder.

It has TÜV safety approval, includes a crank securing strap and can be specified for a range of fork standards. Depending on version and UK retailer, expect to pay roughly £250 to £300.

TreeFrog therefore wins on maximum load and the useful crank strap, but Allen’s integrated monitoring is a substantial advantage if suction mounting makes you nervous. Its included adaptors are also particularly convenient if you regularly swap between road, gravel and mountain bikes.

Then there is the SeaSucker Talon at £350. SeaSucker is effectively the elder statesman of this category, having begun developing its vacuum bike racks in 2009, and the Talon has built an enviable reputation. It carries up to 20kg, includes a crank strap and uses three substantial vacuum mounts.

The snag is price and compatibility. The Talon currently costs £350 in the UK, and while the HUSKE fork mount is impressively versatile, the appropriate axle plugs are additional purchases rather than all arriving in the basic package. A set for a 12 x 100mm or 15 x 110mm axle currently costs another £25 per set.

That makes the Allen look particularly good value. It costs £121 less than the Talon, includes the common axle adapters, and adds Bluetooth pressure monitoring plus CarPlay and Android Auto integration.

For someone already completely comfortable with vacuum mounts, the extra electronics might sound unnecessary. Having used both approaches, though, I think they add genuine value. It is difficult to put a price on not spending the first hour of every motorway journey repeatedly glancing upward and imagining a carbon bike bouncing along the M4 behind you.

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Overall

The Allen Smart Suction Go Compact Bike Rack takes an already proven concept and addresses its biggest psychological weakness.

Vacuum racks can be immensely practical. They work across different vehicles, require no permanent roof bars, take minutes to fit and occupy very little storage space. The problem has always been convincing yourself that those little circles of rubber really are enough to hold your pride and joy to a car at motorway speeds.

Allen’s smart monitoring makes that much easier.

The app is simple, CarPlay integration works seamlessly, installation is straightforward, and after repeated long journeys my bike remained completely secure. Including the common axle adapters is another welcome touch, while the compact dimensions mean the rack can simply live in the car until needed.

The 16kg capacity trails TreeFrog and SeaSucker, I would like a crank strap in the box, and the app could provide more useful information when it does detect a problem. It is also worth knowing that the separate rear suction cup still relies on manual checking.

At £229, though, those compromises are easy to forgive. It substantially undercuts the best known competition while adding a genuinely useful layer of reassurance that neither of its main rivals currently provides.