[Closed] Thule tow bar racks.

Just bought a 927 and it made it to France and back with 4 bikes on. Very solid, easy to fit and tips easily to allow boot access.   Much better than the Buzz Rack it replaced.

We have a thule 925 velocompact for the wife car. Easy to fit with a clamp on to the towball, it locks and has a tilt so you can access the boot or open hatch. Wide wheel trays to take 2.6/2.8 tyres and good quality ratchet straps for the wheels. I got it here:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Thule-925-VeloCompact-Towbar-Mounted-2-Two-Bike-Cycle-Carrier/281676030180?hash=item41953320e4:g:aQoAAOSwDuJWzukD

I’ve recently got a velospace xt, mainly as it will hold plus tyres and ebikes so future proofed a little, it’s heavy, I have a bad lower back due to work injury every so often it goes on me, and i struggle with the rack now and then...

I used to have a Euroway I had this for 10 years well feels like 10 years, it’s been great only snag is it wouldn’t hold my plus bike.

I’ve had no major issues with ether racks and would recommend as so much easier once on the car compared to roof bars I’ve ran before.

The only issue I had last year was the wiring came loose and I dragged it all the way from Scotland, but I found it’s simple enough to rewire and worked as good as new after.

The resale value is good, I got £150 for my Euroway when I sold it on, was fairly impressed think I paid £250 all those years ago!

Mine's a velocompact. Seems pretty bomb-proof. Can be folded and stuck in the boot too.

Got myself a thule 9-whatever. 4 bike jobby.

Very solid. Boot access. Don't know why people would bother with roof bars and lifting bikes above their heads.  That bit of cars is for kayaks 😉

Have a look on www.roofbox.co.uk

Plenty of options, don't feel you have to stick with Thule. The Buzzrack ones are pretty good, very solid.

 The Buzzrack ones are pretty good, very solid.

Mine wasn't .  It rusted very early on in it's life.  Took a spanner ever time I wanted to connect it to the car.  The locks fell out very early on and it snapped bolts left right and centre. Had it about 4 or 5 years before it felt like the bikes were at risk of falling off.

Thule Velospace. Fits the fatbikes and my Turbo Levo easily. And doesn't end up with them rubbing each other to bits. (ie even an idiot like me can use it without fear of damage to the bikes).

Mine wasn’t .  It rusted very early on in it’s life.  Took a spanner ever time I wanted to connect it to the car.  The locks fell out very early on and it snapped bolts left right and centre. Had it about 4 or 5 years before it felt like the bikes were at risk of falling off.

Which model? I'm guessing an older one.

I've had the Scorpion for 8-9 months, used a couple of times a week, and no problems at all so far. No rust, no loose bolts, all locks and clamps working fine. Designed for big full-sus and ebikes, so will take loads of weight.

I actually quite like the attachment/hitch method....hook over the towbar, hand tighten the handle/clamp, and nip the bolt up tight. Seems very secure. Only takes 30 secs to attach or take off.

I have a 9403 - it's been pretty bombproof and stable. The only issue I had was the thread inside the towbar clamp slipping, but Thule were decent and replaced it quickly, and there has been no repeat despite many hundreds of miles of use.

Platform racks which support the wheels are the best for stability.

Most fix to the towball, but this is the weakest part of the system.  The germans do not allow 4 bikes off the ball unless an additional fix to the vehicle is provided.

Your car will have a S load for the towbar.  This is the vertical load allowed.  Cycle rack and bikes should not exceed this. Again the germans limit bike weight to 60Kg maximum.

Not sure what bikes you are loading, but be careful regarding

- tyre size width. 3" tyres can be a problem

- Space between bikes. Boost axles may not fit. At least 250mm required between bikes and preferrably more

- Wheelbase.  If it is full suspension then 1200mm is becoming common. PS.  Your bike may overhang the car too.

- Carbon frame clamping.  Most carbon bike manufacturers recommend against frame clamping. https://auxtail.com/2018/06/09/clamping-your-carbon-frame/

Thule 927/928 - whatever the 4 bike version is that tips down to allow boot access.  Incredibly good rack, just finished 1600ish miles through France without an issue.  Rack is about 4 or 5 years old and performs faultlessly, barely impacts fuel consumption, easy to carry 4 XC bikes.  The nose limit weight on the car is the limiting factor for anything heavier (bikes + rack should be approx 75Kg).

Getting the towbar fitted, and buying the rack was an expensive option, but it's proved its worth.

I have the 9503 which I think it one of the lower spec ones. It has been rock solid since getting it 2 years ago second hand.

Only issues I have are when I load three bikes they can rub each other, I use pipe lagging between them to stop this. The wheel trays dont seem to like my 2.35 Schwalbe tyres and do crack vertically, which then lets the tyre wobble when driving and makes this issue worse, it happens more with the front tyre, I now use a second strap on the front to stop wheel movement, no risk fro, this, just annoying and then longer bikes do stick out as far as my wingmirrors, not really an issue, just worth noting.

I have recently had to spend some time un-seizing the hooks which allow it to tilt, I should have put grease on them last year before the winter but forgot, they had seized solid!

have an old Thule tow ball mounted rack that takes 3 bikes and unless go fattie mad looks like will last forever and been very happy with it - only issue I've had was very bad pedal damage to a chainstay from rubbing in transit (very mismatched bikes - daughters BMX on my CX) - now usually remove pedals if got 3 bikes on - 2 is fine

I had roof mounted carriers on my old car, they lived on there and were always there when i needed them, if i needed the broom wagon my wife would just take my car, problem solved 😉

Now we're down to just the 1 car and we got a volcompact 927 (i think). It holds the bikes really securely but it's a bit of a faff to dig out of the garage, whack on the car and all that.

If you're parking in a pub car park for a night ride and it's a bit tight for space then you need to take the thing off and whack it in the boot. Faff

I park my car in front of the garage with enough space to open the door, there's then not enough space to close the door with the rack on. Faff

The other thing is that the wheels protrude out the side of the car a bit, bear in mind i'm driving a massive, 7 seater 4x4 thing and only riding a large enduro bike. The only reason I wasn't reusing my old thule bars and racks with a new foot pack is that this car is too wide for the rails!

I've got an old Thule towbar-mounted 3-bike rack with an add-on for a fourth bike. Maybe a 900 or 9000 series; there's no number on it.

It's been designed for a maximum wheelbase of 125cm, and the rails are 17cm apart, which makes it quite a challenge to load two large 27.5" bikes and a small 26" bike. It used to be tight with four 26" bikes, always needed padding, and it's worse now.

Tipping the rack up and down for boot access is a bit of a pain; there's a long bolt to loosen and tighten underneath the bikes, which isn't so easy to manage when the rack is loaded.

Otherwise it's good.

I've got a Thule 970 Xpress for 2 bikes.

Bought it before I got roof bars for the car and it was that good I didn't get roof bars, I've just changed cars though and now need to get a roof bar system as I've no tow bar. So my Thule is up for grabs if you're interested!

Thanks @kevhl but after a bit of reading looks like a platform rack is what im really after.

Cheers for the offer.

My one bike is a carbon frame, i use the Thule frame protectors for the clamp, often just clamp the seat post as that’s not carbon and use pipe lagging to widen the tube as it’s a dropper, it’s more to keep it stable as the wheel straps are pretty firm.