Opinions sought on Thule bike carrier

G'day Nick,

I've got the same carrier - 934XT - and use it on my 100 Series with Kaymar rear wheel carrier. It, and the bikes, easily clear the spare tyre.

There isn't a lot of room on the arms for four bikes - road bikes would fit fairly easily - but I carry MTB's and two bikes fit well - three can be a squeeze - for four MTB's you need to take front wheels off so that handle bars are turned 90 degrees (along frame) to slim them down.

There isn't a spot for a bike carrier number plate (need in Vic as my car one is covered) but a few occy straps temporarily has it displayed. I'm currently working on an alloy bracket attached to a cam-loc strap to get rid of the occy's.

The carrier does move a bit (sway) as I haven't got the extra kit. If I wanted to I could run a strap from the bikes to the roof rack to prevent sway but it doesn't bother me that much.

The carrier is secured to the vehicle's hitch with a high tensile bolt to a captive nut. The spanners supplied work ok but a ratchet spanner or socket is a lot easier.

An easier option might have been the platform type rear hitch carriers but as I wanted to have the flexibility to carry four bikes I had to go this option.

I think I paid around the $250 mark (guess)


Regards,


Tim - Stratford.

You might want to checkout the ISI Advanced bicycle carrier systems website and just compare. They appear to be a well thought out carrier. We have used Thule bike carriers for years and never an issue. Cheers.