Thule Rack Bike
thule rack bike Roof Rack or Trunk Rack for my Bike ? I have Trek Road and Mercury /Mariner (SUV) vehicle with factory installed Roof-Rack. This the picture of my car http://www.mercuryvehicles.c...
thule rack bike
1: Allen Deluxe 4-Bike Hitch Mount Rack (2-Inch Receiver)
Allen Deluxe 4-Bike Hitch Mount Rack (2-Inch Receiver)
This is the first bike rack I have owned. I did some searching and could not really find a big difference between this Allen rack for a little over 100 bucks and others in the 200-300 dollar range. When I opened the box I noted the durable construction and could not wait to mount it on the SUV. It held up to all expectations. The fold down features are nice. You could get a locking hitch pin but the bolt that comes with it screws down tight and it would be difficult to steal the thing. Someone would need wrenches or a socket set to pull of the heist. The straps pull down tight. I had no problem with hauling the bikes. To reduce sway I just used bungee cords to hold the bikes stable. Can't beat the price, definite value for the money.
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Good bike rack but not top pf line
My wife and I just got into biking and have 4 bikes between us and kids, so I bought the 4 bike holder.
Arrived quickly and as described. Put together with 3 bolts in about 3 minutes. Easy to follow instructions. The bolt that goes into hitch was fine. I would recommend buying a lockable bolt for hitch as you need toold to remove the bolt the rack comes with.
As for the rack, bikes sit on rack and strap in via 2 straps with tie downs for your bike. Depending on bike, rack may not fit the best. There was nothing to hold bottom of bikes. They just suspend there. This works fine unless ride gets bumpy. I dont like fact that there is nothing holding bikes down except straps and weight of bike BUT for $104 paid thru amazon I cannot complain.
Seems sturdy and finish is nice. Also hinges in two places (top and bottom) so you can get access to hatch if needed and fold down when not in use.
I would recommend in addition to a lockable hitch bolt, to get a simple tie down strap for bottom of bikes.
Otherwise, easy to assemble and hook up. Assemply to hook up is about 5 minutes with a basic wrench.
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Good (but not perfect) Rack
At first, I must admit that I thought that the two bars holding the bikes would not be strong enough to support all of the weight of my MTB bikes. But, after several trips to the local trails, I'm glad to report that it's been a very solid rig.
On the down-side (if you could call it that), you must remove a retaining pin when tilting the bike rack down in order to open your SUV Hatch. It can be a bit of a hassle if you're doing this a half a dozen times per day. I noticed that with Thule Racks (for example), they have a 'quick release' tab that tilts the rack down with a flick of the wrist. This seems to be a far superior method.
Other than that, I've been very satisfied with this product and would probably buy it again considering the great price.
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