Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am a person who religiously reads reviews for products to ensure I am getting the most for my money. After reading many reviews of this product I was incredibly disappointed in what arrived. The Swagman Bar adapter seemed to be a quality product prior to removing it from it's packaging. That is because it does indeed have many very good quality. . . unfortunately it has one fatal flaw in my opinion. Pros: +Good rubber coatings on all parts that touch your bike (which is not the case on the product I recommend in place of this one, but there is an easy fix). +Decent closure mechanism on end clamps. +The fit and finish of the exterior tube and end clamps seems very good. +This is subjective, but I do like the look of the device better than it's competitors - for what it's worth on such a utilitarian object. Cons: -The tension device within the tube is a very fragile looking, small diameter, nylon type bungee that offered almost no tension what-so-ever when pulled - see picture. THIS IS A DEAL BREAKER! I cannot comment on it's true durability as I have never actually used it driving down the road, but this is because I do not trust this design to secure my wife's and my $1k+ bikes. It looks fragile, it has very little tension, and in my experience, this type of bungee chord inevitably looses elasticity over time. -There are a few pieces of hardaware (nuts and bolts) that are exposed and not stainless steel. These will rust over time and have the potential to scratch your bike. Not a big deal, but for this price point I expected better. -The price. My recommended replacement is less then half the cost ($15 vs $37 at time of purchase). I scheduled to return this item almost immediately after opening it. I have seen a few reviewers make similar comments to mine, but they did not seem as troubled by this. I would truly give this product a star and a half, but since I believe the other reveiwers have this given it MUCH too high of a rating I have rounded down. I would unequivocally recommend the "Allen Sports Tension Bar Bicycle Cross-Bar Adaptor" in place of this product. The Allen Sports tension bar provides actual tension via a heavy duty spring within the tube. Imagine that! In fact, if you read through the reviews, the largest criticism of the Allen is that some people have pinched their fingers. You will have to make one modification to the Allen product as other reviewers have recommended, which is to add heat shrink to the pull pin that goes around the stem of your handle bar to prevent it from scratching your bike. You may be thinking, "but wait, you rate that product 5 stars and it needs to be 'fixed' as well!" The difference is the Allen needs a minor modification so it will not scratch my bike while the Swagman has a structural design flaw that I believe could lead to my expensive bike falling off my bike rack (which I cannot see when attached to my fifth wheel camper). Also, the Allan is less then half the price of the Swagman, so a very minor (less then a dollar in parts) modification is acceptable in my book.