This is THE rear hitch rack!

By JT August 7, 2007

Some draw backs.

1. You have to assemble the rack. The instructions are good, but it still takes about an hour or so.

2. The swing bar does place some pressure on the front break of road bikes.

3. The rack is a little heavy. Taking it on & off of the vehicle is much easier with 2 people.

4. The rear hitch racks are notorious for leaving bikes with road grime after long trips - especially in the rain. (however, they are shielded from summer bugs a little better then the top racks)

5. Locking the bike is questionable. We have to methods of lock down.

a. Light lock down - going into the grocery store - We bought the two additional locks & the snug tight locks. This allows one to lock the "arm" in place over the front tire. This is all fine for keeping the good people honest, but come one. I can quick release the front wheel & get the whole bike free.

b. If we are going on long trips we purchased a 8' long cable with a heavy duty lock. We run this thought the bikes frames & wheels then lock it to the rack - which is locked to the car. Again, this is not full proof, but I don't really care, b/c our bikes are insured & I would always enjoy getting a new bike.

Some things that I like about this rack:

1. The rack has a very nice "not in use mode" where a quick depression of a lever allows the rack to be placed in a vertical position.

2. Loading the bikes is lightning fast! I can load 2 bikes in about 2 minutes. No wheel removal or storage. Also, this rack can handle my heavy duty mountain bike with disk breaks (becoming more & more standard) that most top racks have issues with. Plus I hate removing the front tire on my mountain bike. This is important - going biking takes long enough without taking 15 minutes to load & unload your steed.

3. The rack allows for the movement of the bikes so that you can see the tail lights through the wheels. Also, you can arrange the bikes so that the handle bars & seats don't hit each other. ( a common problem on rear hitch racks)

4. The bikes don't swing at all - or very very little. The bikes are loaded in a very fast solid manner with out additional straps that swing or slap in the wind.

5. If you go for the 2" inch rack, the 2 bike add on is very nice. I think that it even comes with a rear break light that can plug into the trailer lights for additional security. I would do this, but it is not recommended for the 1 1/4 hitch weight load. I have considered doing this because they are usually covering their ass - as some down hill mountain bikes (made for riding lifts) & the growing popularity of electric bikes - can now weigh close to 60lbs each.

6. My wife can quickly & easily load the bikes by herself. She normally couldn't & wouldn't want load then on top of the vehicle by herself. (This is a huge plus)

View Details: Thule Transport T2

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes