Thule Roof Mounted Carrier advice

I have a bike with a 1284mm wheelbase. It is a mullet, so a 27.5 wheel out back.

I am about to buy some new roof mounted bike racks.

I previously used the Thule carriers that clamp to the down tube in various iterations, but the bikes tend to wobble and I don’t feel like they hold the bike securely, plus I am not keen on clamping carbon. I would like to go back to the fork mounted version (568). They state a wheelbase of 1250mm max (which happens to be the longest of any Thule roof carrier).

Anybody got any real world experience with these racks to know whether that is arse-coveringly under stated or whether it might actually be fine? I can;t test one because once it is fitted I can’t return it. Although the wheel base is too long in theory, I am guessing that it takes a 29 wheel into account rather than a 27.5.

Thanks all!

I had a pair of 598’s when I had my Geometron and it was at the limit but it was fine. It survived two Alpine road trips. I think the wheelbase on that was over 1300mm. The bikes always wobble a bit which is off-putting but they’re not going anywhere.

The 598’s are plenty solid, the bike will break before the carrier. They have a torque limiter in the clamp as well. My bikes fit with some extra room to spare, I’m not sure the exact wheelbase but they’re XL and very long.

the bike will break before the carrier

That is exactly my concern!

I have pretty much decided against the downtube mounted version. The fork mounted version always feel more secure (in terms of wobble rather than theft) and it doesn’t touch any part of a bike when it is muddy after a ride that will damage the finish.

Might just have to order one and see, but still hoping that somebody from the forum has one.

My Hello Dave with a 1345 wheelbase fits in a 591 fine. It did need the main attachment block shuffling along the bar slightly. But all fits fine.

Can you turn your bars 180 degrees to reduce wheelbase?

We’ve had our 598’s on the cars for probably 4 years now and with 3 years of at least 2 trips away a month with the bikes on and no issues. One rack has started creaking a bit but it’s all still plenty right and solid. Few of those trips have been 12 hour drives at over 80 too.

Fantastic racks and well worth their price….

Im using a Thule Fast ride 564
https://www.thule.com/en-gb/bike-rack/roof-bike-racks/thule-fastride-_-564001
Great in that I can easily swap between QR, 12mm Road through axle, and 15mm boost TA. I can measure real world wheelbase if helpful. I see Singletrack Bikes doing these for £144, may get for less elsewhere…
EDIT:
Oh no I don’t! It’s actually this: https://www.thule.com/en-gb/bike-rack/roof-bike-racks/thule-topride-_-568001
568 Topride
Biggest bike I carry is a medium rigid 29er…

FWIW I used to move bikes professionally, with up to 6 bikes on the roof. We used downtube-clamp Thule racks and never had a problem with them – on any frame material. This is a business that has been operating for about 10 years, so that’s many thousand bikes.

I keep looking at the front mount clamped carriers – it would annoy me having to take the front wheel off every time the bike goes on the car. I’ve got a big boot but wouldn’t want to be sticking a muddy wheel in there.

I think one of the Yakima highroad / front loader racks will do long bikes. Can’t remember which one it is.

Also worth looking at the Thule upride 599 – although it doesn’t look as flush / tidy when it’s folded down without a bike on it.

Thanks all.

I know there are thousands of downtube clamp racks out there, but I am set on the stability of fork mounted. They wobble less and don’t scratch the frame when clamping a muddy bike. I have used them previously and sticking the wheel in the back in a wheel bag does the trick in terms of protecting the inside of the car.

Luv2ride, would you mind pushing the rear wheel strap as far back as it will go (whilst still being able to support a wheel) and measure centre of fork thru axle to centre of the rear wheel cradle at its max? Because my rear wheel is a 27.5, I am hoping that it will be fine.

Even with my old downtube mounted version and a bike with a shorter wheelbase than my new one the rear wheel clamp was hanging off the back of the tray.

The ones I mentioned don’t clamp the frame – they clamp the front wheel instead. I’m sure Bird have recommended either the front loader or Highroad for their long reach bikes in the past – forget which one

Highroad:

https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php/car-specific-accessories/yakima_black_highroad_8002124/Qx%40w%2C6M42VAwp3%40Rb%7B~cC4urewto9i

Front loader:

https://www.roofbox.co.uk/scripts/rbvehsel4_tab.php/car-specific-accessories/yakima_frontloader_8002104/Qx%40w%2C6M42VAwp3%40Rb%7B~cC4ure5Lf%60~

Thule Upride:

https://www.cycleworld.co.uk/accessories/bike-storage-transport/thule-599-upride-bike-rack-in-silver__5061?currency=GBP&chosenAttribute=599001&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_rS-h8_7_AIVKe_tCh1P4g5-EAQYByABEgI1wfD_BwE

There is always one and that one is me…

The bikes always wobble a bit which is off-putting but they’re not going anywhere.

Well, they did. Back from Glentress driving at a reasonable speed in a crosswind and one bike ended up hanging off the side of the car. The rack had broken. Its a one-off compared to Scotroutes but it did happen. Bought a rear carrier after that.

@solarider did you buy a 568 in the end?

I’m looking for a roof carrier that can deal with the position of the SWAT box and funky shaped down tube of my Stumpy Evo. Plus its 1285mm wheelbase in size S5.

Cheers

I’ve recently bought a pair of Thule 598’s, got one bike with a wheelbase of 1250ish and one nearer 1270. All I’ve done is move the arm back a bit, which is dead easy to do, and they fit fine.

As others have mentioned, the jaws are soft so no issue with clamping around the downtube. I could see an issue if you had a normal bottle cage in the way, but one bike has a fidlock and it clamps over that no issue.

They are definitely quality items, easy to fit too.

I’ve got an Inno and two Thule 599 on the roof – don’t like having to keep taking wheels off, so these work well.

Used them for two trips out to the Alps, including with XL 29er with 1330mm wheelbase, and they seem to work well.

I’m sure Bird have recommended either the front loader or Highroad for their long reach bikes in the past

Just in case anyone was wondering about the answer to this, I can tell you it’s not the Highroad. It’s too short for my 1250mm bike. But if you don’t mind destroying your warranty, it’s possible to modify it fairly easily to extend by a few cm, which I’ve now done.

Thanks. I’ll have a play with a 598 and moving the arm, but the Stumpjumper Evo has the SWAT storage under the bottle cage, which is right where Thule want you to locate the jaws, and I don’t fancy clamping there.

I’m still interested in a fork mount alternative.

Are there any of the Thule roof carriers you can put an ebike on?

Are there any of the Thule roof carriers you can put an ebike on?

The roof ones are rated to 20KG so some will. Mine goes on as it’s under 20KG. I tried an UpRide initially but the rear arm of the wheel clamp was too large to fit between the wheel and the frame. It was fairly simple to get the bike attached with no need to remove the front wheel but it did need balancing carefully at first to get the wheel clamp on. Not so easy single handed with a heavier bike. I swapped it for the TopRide which although requires the front wheel to be off it takes literally seconds to attach to the roof after that. I bought the wheel carrier so that the wheel can go on the roof as well if the car is full.

I also have the OutWay Hanging. It’s a lot more faff all round but it will take heavier bikes. Needs electrics and light board which I stupidly didn’t factor in before I bought it so I don’t use it (none of the pictures I saw on the website show it with a lightboard hence me not considering it).  It says load capacity 30KG or 15 KG per bike. I am assuming therefore that a single bike weighing more than 15KG is within tolerance.

@solarider

One thing that puts me off the fork axle clamp designs are that it put lateral stresses through the fork that the form wasn’t design to take – including a “twisting” motion that will put one leg in tension and one in compression when cornering. Not really a concern for an MTB as theyre designed for all sorts of loading in use but would not want to a mount a road bike like that (clearly people do so it’s probably actually fine).

The other thing to bear in mind is that the newer 598 clam is much nicer for carbon frames – it wraps all the way around, has a open design rubber element that can deflect to the shape of the frame and also has a torque limiter. Much nicer than the old design (I have both types and only use the 598 one for carbon bikes). Definitely check these out before completely dismissing the down tube clamp approach.

Not really a concern for an MTB as theyre designed for all sorts of loading in use but would not want to a mount a road bike like that

I think bikes are so light compared to bike+rider that it’s just a non-issue. If you stand up on the pedals and lean a bike sideways, it’ll see the same type of loading, probably much greater, and you’d be disappointed if it broke.

The thing that bothers me about most through-axle fork mounts is that must of them grip the axle as an anti-theft mechanism, but there’s nothing spacing the fork legs, so you can’t do the axle up tight, so the axle is effectively sitting loose in the fork threads. I’m sure it’s a non-issue in reality, but it bothers me 🙂

I’ve got an old style Thule 561, with an adapter that you just bolt the fork to like a wheel. No security, but at least you can do the axle up tight.

I use a Thule 598 with my carbon frame bikes – always use one of these Thule carbon frame protectors under the clamp :-

https://www.thule.com/en-gb/bike-rack/accessories/thule-carbon-frame-protector-_-1692661

Never had any issues with frame damage – I also always use one of these security ties to secure the pedal/crank to the carrier upright arm helps reduce the wobbling + gives more piece of mind!

I have the downtube clamp Thule carriers, inherited on a used car.

While they are fine with my Oranges and Bird, I can see the issue with something like a Stumpy Evo.

But really, I would much prefer a towbar mounted rack if it were an option at all. My old Thule Euroclassic was far nicer to use than the roof mounted jobbies – and better aerodynamically as well as for height barriers.

The thing that bothers me about most through-axle fork mounts is that must of them grip the axle as an anti-theft mechanism, but there’s nothing spacing the fork legs,

Interesting consideration pdw. From the instructions for the 568, it looks to have an adapter which the thru axle passes through and which might do that job of being a spacer.

(and apologies to the OP for hijacking their thread)

I will chuck my Thule UpRide in the mix   ive an xl 29er with a 1300+ wheelbase . with no worries with frame claming or fouling  they only real worry is how difficult it is to get it on the suv without a step.

Interesting consideration pdw. From the instructions for the 568, it looks to have an adapter which the thru axle passes through and which might do that job of being a spacer.

You’re right. I was thinking of the now discontinued 565, and also the Yakima equivalent.

The 568 does seem to use a spacer, so that seems much better, and it uses a separate cable lock to “secure” it.

I’ve used Thule 561s for years, and although I’ve never been too concerned about crushing carbon, I have had issues with paint damage. Even done up tight, they wobble enough that a bit of grit can wear the paint. I’ve now mostly switched to Yakima HighRoads (front wheel hold) and am pretty happy with them.