Just bought the Thule XT Easyfold for my Sportage and Ebike - Brilliant! [video]

[BOTG]

Yes it is expensive, with EMTBs and MTBs now costing 5k and upwards, you want to feel your bike is safe on the back of your car, I researched and scoured the forums for the best EMTB bike rack and that was the Thule easy fold XT.

Fully FOLDABLE for convenient mounting, handling, and storage, high load capacity enabling transport of E-bikes and heavy mountain bikes Easy mounting of bikes through detachable bike arms.

Thule AcuTight torque limiter knobs that "Click" when optimal torque is reached, Adjustable pump buckles with extra-long wheel straps for easy fastening of wheels (up to 4.7" wheels) enabling transport of fat bikes. Easy trunk access even with bikes mounted, easy mounting and adjustment of the carrier before closing the tightening handle thanks to the Towbar coupling’s initial stability. Ergonomic transport of the carrier thanks to the integrated carrying handles


Transporting your Ebike - Love the #thule Thule

 

[The Hodge]

Didn't know what you were talking about ...?
As 99.9% of the time when travelling to ride I'm only transporting myself and the bike I will continue to put it inside the car as this is still the optimal way in terms of both safety & security ..
Nice review though ..

 

[Jimbo Vills]

Not sure a bike and lose wheel inside the car is the safest option @The Hodge in the event of an accident. But would agree with the security side.

That said, I prefer the rack option as don't want the bike filthy in the car and don't leave the bike on the rack un attended. So less worried about security.

 

[Tim1023]

That might just be the "how to pronounce Thule in America"? Not a Swedish speaker, so I'm not sure.

Like calling your tyres "shwalbee" just hurts my ears as a German speaker. It's more like a soft "uh" sound at the end with a v sound where the w is. Hear here. It means swallow in German (the bird, before the snarky comments come)

Of course, sometimes companies just give up. Even their adverts for cleaning equipment in the UK say "karcher", which brings me to tears. The ä in Kärcher is simply pronounced like an e and rhymes with "care", the ch at the end is a soft version of the ch you get in the Scottish word loch. Kirche, the German word for church sounds pretty similar

OK, language pedant signing out...

 

[The Hodge]

Not sure a bike and lose wheel inside the car is the safest option @The Hodge in the event of an accident. But would agree with the security side.

That said, I prefer the rack option as don't want the bike filthy in the car and don't leave the bike on the rack un attended. So less worried about security.

Take your point ..but I never put the bike into the car without wiping excess crud off with old towels ..and it can be secured with bungees on the anchor points ( although I rarely do tbf) in addition I have heavy duty plastic sheeting covering the whole of the rear and the interior is spotless....a further point with regard to safety is that both the bike and vehicle are going to suffer serious damage if you get a shunt from behind ..or even getting it wrong when reversing ..
It wouldn't be the first time either that a nice bike on the outside of a vehicle had been followed home and nicked shortly afterwards ..but each to their own ?

 

[The Hodge]

That might just be the "how to pronounce Thule in America"? Not a Swedish speaker, so I'm not sure.

Like calling your tyres "shwalbee" just hurts my ears as a German speaker. It's more like a soft "uh" sound at the end with a v sound where the w is. Hear here. It means swallow in German (the bird, before the snarky comments come)

Of course, sometimes companies just give up. Even their adverts for cleaning equipment in the UK say "karcher", which brings me to tears. The ä in Kärcher is simply pronounced like an e and rhymes with "care", the ch at the end is a soft version of the ch you get in the Scottish word loch. Kirche, the German word for church sounds pretty similar

OK, language pedant signing out...

I've always pronounced it that way since being corrected when buying a roof mounted rack for my mtb in Halfords..?
That by the way is only used in the rare event of transporting someone else's bike ( non emtb) ..

 

[blueglide]

Nope...I'll never own another bike rack that uses arms that contact the frame. No matter how hard I tried using different kinds of padding they all damage the paint on the frame. I'll keep my Kuat 2.0 that only contacts the tires of my bike. We are full time RV'ers and travel thousands of miles around the country. No damage to my bikes from the Kuat. Tray style hitch racks like the 1UP and Kuat work great.

 

[BOTG]

Nope...I'll never own another bike rack that uses arms that contact the frame. No matter how hard I tried using different kinds of padding they all damage the paint on the frame. I'll keep my Kuat 2.0 that only contacts the tires of my bike. We are full time RV'ers and travel thousands of miles around the country. No damage to my bikes from the Kuat. Tray style hitch racks like the 1UP and Kuat work great.

How. Does it damage the frame? I used a carbo protector. and putting in car ruins your interior.

 

[Jimbo Vills]

Take your point ..but I never put the bike into the car without wiping excess crud off with old towels ..and it can be secured with bungees on the anchor points ( although I rarely do tbf) in addition I have heavy duty plastic sheeting covering the whole of the rear and the interior is spotless....a further point with regard to safety is that both the bike and vehicle are going to suffer serious damage if you get a shunt from behind ..or even getting it wrong when reversing ..
It wouldn't be the first time either that a nice bike on the outside of a vehicle had been followed home and nicked shortly afterwards ..but each to their own ?

Few bungies and sheet isn't really going to stop it flying at the back of your head if you have an accident though mate. Like if you've ever seen the inside of a van on impact with no bulkhead. Isn't great. But then it's all risk and reward isn't it... lets now go down that road! ha i just prefer sticking it on the rack with the wheels on and sorting the bike out later.

Point accepted on the following, 100% an issue.

Luckily I can pull into my drive on a rural road with no one seeing me unload, I only have one neighbour who's pretty high up in the MET so i kinda trust her lol. I'm conscious of this though so if there is ever a car behind me i'll go into the village and turn round. I've also just dug out and put side access down my garage with a secluded patios area out the back for working on bikes.

Spent too many years paranoid with race bikes in the garage to let anyone see what's in there or on my drive!

 

[blueglide]

How. Does it damage the frame? I used a carbo protector. and putting in car ruins your interior.

The vibration and movement from traveling (especially long trips) slowly wore through everything I tried to use for padding. Towels, rags, pieces of soft leather with plastic between the leather and rack arm, I couldn't find anything that was soft enough to protect the frame and not wear thru.

 

[The Hodge]

How. Does it damage the frame? I used a carbo protector. and putting in car ruins your interior.

You are more than welcome to inspect my car interior any time you are passing..its pristine as I nearly love it as much as my bike ..?

 

[Tim1023]

the Wheel base wasnt big enough for some of my bikes and there is no way the 2 or 3 bike model can fit 2 bikes that have FSR suspension designs

Yup. The only model I could find that could cope with the wheelbase of my XL Levo was a Buzzrack. The mechanism for attaching to the tow ball is a bit of a pain, but otherwise, I'm happy with it.

 

[Jimbo Vills]

Its pretty crap in many ways.

the clamp is utterly useless. ive nearly lost 2 bikes because of that clamp coming off. So i had to strap the bike to the clamp. the Wheel base wasnt big enough for some of my bikes and there is no way the 2 or 3 bike model can fit 2 bikes that have FSR suspension designs. The straps that come on my model were not long enough for fatter tyres. The bulbs were constantly going. The number plate holder sucked too.

Half that Thule junk is badly designed and doesnt fit anything other than a hard tail in a small wheel base.

phew... really rate my Buzzrack so far.

 

[BOTG]

Its pretty crap in many ways.

the clamp is utterly useless. ive nearly lost 2 bikes because of that clamp coming off. So i had to strap the bike to the clamp. the Wheel base wasnt big enough for some of my bikes and there is no way the 2 or 3 bike model can fit 2 bikes that have FSR suspension designs. The straps that come on my model were not long enough for fatter tyres. The bulbs were constantly going. The number plate holder sucked too.

Half that Thule junk is badly designed and doesnt fit anything other than a hard tail in a small wheel base.

Sound like you bought a fake. It's guaranteed to hold 2 ebike and never come off. The clamp does not come off it locks under correct tension. Of course the straps don't fitter fat tires, they offer longer ones for those bikes. Iv already had 2 bikes on it so no idea what your complaint is.

Sound like you didn't read the manual before use. It's the most popular bike carrier in the scene.

 

[Mcharza]

Its pretty crap in many ways.

the clamp is utterly useless. ive nearly lost 2 bikes because of that clamp coming off. So i had to strap the bike to the clamp. the Wheel base wasnt big enough for some of my bikes and there is no way the 2 or 3 bike model can fit 2 bikes that have FSR suspension designs. The straps that come on my model were not long enough for fatter tyres. The bulbs were constantly going. The number plate holder sucked too.

Half that Thule junk is badly designed and doesnt fit anything other than a hard tail in a small wheel base.

I have different opinion. I have Easyfold XT for 3 bikes. Travelling with it maybe 7000 km with bikes, no problem.
One trip to Lapland we have 3 ebikes attached, again no problems and no need to put extra protection between the bikes. Trip was about 2500 km.
Maybe i'm so satisfied, because all bike were size M or L. But my Kenovo S3 has quite long wheelbase.
And also to @blueglide no damage to bike frames.

 

[BOTG]

No mate, I owned this thing for years. I know exactly how it works and i dont need no youtube video to tell me how it works.

Fake? Jog on.

Those clamps SUCK. they are not designed to hold fat frames or frames which are not a simple alu tube. You cant put enough tension on the frame without risking damage to the cabon frame. THEY SUCK. I know because twice my Sworks Enduro nearly ended up bouncing down the M6. I looked in the mirror and the bike was gone. Thankfully it was laying down being held on by only the plastic straps - NOT GOOD.

Guaranteed to hold 2 bikes? Why dont you demonstrate how you plan on fixing two of those Haibikes on to that rack... I can tell you that its nearly impossible to get 2 full suspension bikes on that rack especially if they have FSR designed suspension. There is no way you can get the long arm to the second bike because the first bike is in the way.

Good luck getting 3 bikes on one that is hilarious.

3 bikes? its a 2 bike carrier.
I have already transported 2 ebikes on it.
The bike carrier has a special adapter for carbon frames which i show in the video
They suck? it the best selling bike carrier in the uk
The bike IS attached on the 2nd frame holder thats the one i use, and the closest one i clamp the pedals.
Why so hostile?

 

[Tonybro]

My Thule takes my 'L' and my wife's 'M' Merida e-ONE Sixty's fine

 

[Tim1023]

The frame grips on my Buzzrack are at their limit, but OK for me.

There are, however, frame grips that seem to be designed for wider frames:

I've seen others with a nicer cushioning on the non-strap side, but can't find a pic at the moment.

 

[Mteam]

No mate, I owned this thing for years. I know exactly how it works and i dont need no youtube video to tell me how it works.

Fake? Jog on.

Those clamps SUCK. they are not designed to hold fat frames or frames which are not a simple alu tube. You cant put enough tension on the frame without risking damage to the cabon frame. THEY SUCK. I know because twice my Sworks Enduro nearly ended up bouncing down the M6. I looked in the mirror and the bike was gone. Thankfully it was laying down being held on by only the plastic straps - NOT GOOD.

Guaranteed to hold 2 bikes? Why dont you demonstrate how you plan on fixing two of those Haibikes on to that rack... I can tell you that its nearly impossible to get 2 full suspension bikes on that rack especially if they have FSR designed suspension. There is no way you can get the long arm to the second bike because the first bike is in the way.

Good luck getting 3 bikes on one that is hilarious.

Agree - tried one, those clamps just dont work well enough with more than one bike, the other bike gets in the way.

The 3 bike version is horrendous

 

[R120]

How much is the Thule - I dont think the price was mentioned in the review?

If you dont have a van every option has its compromises though I still think putting the bike inside is better than any outside option, I am not a fan of hitch racks as I know a few people who have had clamps fail, and the fact the bike is in the line of fire for road salt/crap etc in bad conditions, though the covers are a good solution for this. How compact the Thule folds away is a nice feature.

Best hitch rack I have seen is the Saris MTR, but its bit of a monster, but it takes LWB bikes, and holds them super secure without clamps on the frame. Only seen it in the US so not sure if available in the UK/EU

Saris Hitch Racks -Effortless Bike Transport Solutions

Carry your bikes with confidence using Saris hitch racks. Explore a wide selection of racks for various vehicles, bike types, and weight capacities. Shop now!

www.saris.com

 

[The Hodge]

We just take 2 cars and put them in the boot. Once you pay 600 quid for the hitch and then 600 for for rack that buys a lot of fuel

..for a good few trips away with mates on mtb holidays ( under normal circumstances )

 

[Zimmerframe]

..for a good few trips away with mates on mtb holidays ( under normal circumstances )

Ah, thanks Hodge, where we going ?

 

[The Hodge]

I said under normal circumstances..and lets face it mate you're a long way from being normal ?

 

[Banktramp]

Yes it is expensive, with EMTBs and MTBs now costing 5k and upwards, you want to feel your bike is safe on the back of your car, I researched and scoured the forums for the best EMTB bike rack and that was the Thule easy fold XT.

Fully FOLDABLE for convenient mounting, handling, and storage, high load capacity enabling transport of E-bikes and heavy mountain bikes Easy mounting of bikes through detachable bike arms.

Thule AcuTight torque limiter knobs that "Click" when optimal torque is reached, Adjustable pump buckles with extra-long wheel straps for easy fastening of wheels (up to 4.7" wheels) enabling transport of fat bikes. Easy trunk access even with bikes mounted, easy mounting and adjustment of the carrier before closing the tightening handle thanks to the Towbar coupling’s initial stability. Ergonomic transport of the carrier thanks to the integrated carrying handles


Transporting your Ebike - Love the #thule Thule

i would be worried doing 70mph on a motorway with that bike parka on, got a link to where you got it from?

 

[R120]

Welcome to BikeParka, the forefront of bicycle covers

Discover the ultimate solution for secure and convenient bike covers with BikeParka. Our innovative bike covers provide protection against the elements, ensuring your bike stays in top condition. Explore our range for stylish and practical solutions to keep your two-wheeled companion safe.

bikeparka.com

 

[The Hodge]

i would be worried doing 70mph on a motorway with that bike parka on, got a link to where you got it from?

Eh ..?
You would be a bit worried being on the motorway..but then want a link ?
Are you buying one for someone you don't like then ..??

 

[Zimmerframe]

I said under normal circumstances..and lets face it mate you're a long way from being normal ?

I'm normally insane ? Therefore Normality has been achieved !

 

[Banktramp]

Eh ..?
You would be a bit worried being on the motorway..but then want a link ?
Are you buying one for someone you don't like then ..??

Yeah you ?

 

[BOTG]

Why do you think. Firstly you say mine must be fake which is the stupidest thing ive ever heard. Then you say i didnt read the manual. Seriously.....

Those carbon frame things are new btw. guess why? because those clamps suck. Look at the shape of them they are the most idiotic design ever.

The way the 2 bike system works is dependant on the design of the bikes because FS ebikes have all sorts of random frame designs and that clamp is not big enough to fit around the downtube of an ebike which is what you have to do to fit the 2nd bike and there is a 3 bike version where the problem would be even worse

The new pressure plates are because people now have full carbon frames.

 

[The Hodge]

Yeah you ?

Awww shucks fanks ??