Thule 3 bike rack - old style with lock - fail

[Headshot]

I have always liked the elegant engineering that is Thule and bought a nearly new 3 bike tow bar mount rack from Load and Go a year or so back. The std variety with two arms and three sets of rubber mounts for your bikes top tubes. Mine is one of the older ones with the lock mount. Moved my tow bar up on the mounting to ensure the lever does not impact the ground.

 

The lock failed not so long ago and the cost for a new one - over R200 if memory serves. Thats a third of what I paid for the entire rack and a complete rip off. Apparently it happens quite often. Fail.

 

I do not believe these racks are up to SA conditions and dirt road driving in particular. The movable arm mounts have worn resulting in the bikes hanging off the back at an angle. I assume this is because the plastic has worn from vibration and the weight of the bikes.

 

Last weekend, we almost lost a bike off the back of the rack. One of the rubber mounts decided to slide backwards and managed to pop the plastic cap off the end of the tube. The front one stayed put so it was only the back wheel that enddd up bouncing off the tar. One trashed Maxxis X mark but luckily no other damage because heard the noise in time.. We had to stope several times to resecure the bike as even with cable ties around the rubber rack mounts they still slipped backwards.

 

Now some of this may well have been due to bad bike packing, however, I used the same method I always have without problems. Bottom line I dont think these racks are durable or strong enough for local conditions. Perhaps in Sweden the dirt roads are manicured and the speed limit under 100km/h but over here we need something a bit more durable.

 

Now I wonder if my rack will handle the 80km of dirt I am driving tomorrow...

 

Amyone else had problems like this - suggestions for an alternative?

[TYGA]

Headshot I have a Thule Express which also simply snaps onto the towbar and if I remember correctly the manual warns against using on anything except smooth tar so you are **** out of luck.

 

For longer trips I use a proper stand on rack and the Express only for local rides as it is super convenient.

[Gman1834]

Build your own....

super strong, cheap.

[Headshot]

Headshot I have a Thule Express which also simply snaps onto the towbar and if I remember correctly the manual warns against using on anything except smooth tar so you are **** out of luck.

 

For longer trips I use a proper stand on rack and the Express only for local rides as it is super convenient.

 

 

I think I have seen the express before - mine is not that flimsy - and certainly no warnings re using it on short smooth trips were given to me. I see racks like mine being used on holiday trips all the time...

 

Maybe I just drive too fast

[Headshot]

Mine is the previous version of the hang on rack - rated to 45kg no warnings re smooth roads. Very different design in the tow bar atachment department to the Express....

 

Still **** out a luck tho as it doesnt seem to handle local conditions too well...

[TYGA]

I don't know how you even manage to fit three bikes on there without them destroying themselves let alone on gravel, I personally hate hanging racks but I'm fairly pedantic about my bikes so my 2 bike rack is pretty much only a one bike rack. The Express for me is the convenient option but when I put my circus bike on it the back wheel sticks out past the side of my bakkie and the wind alone when getting up to cruising speed is enough to move the rack on my towbar. Mate of mine has the same of yours and cruises at pace no problems with 3 bikes on so I guess though much better than the Express probably not an ideal tool.

 

Seriously though keep your eyes open for a stand on rack, I picked up a holdfast one off the hub for about R1000 including a light board a while back and used it with two bikes on for a 3000 km trip in December, some of it through some of the roughest roads in the Transkei you can imagine and other than completely destroying the light and number plate board I had no hassles.