Customer Reviews

Thule 915XT Roadway 5 Bike Hitch Carrier

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Just got back from a 1600 mile road trip with 5 bikes in the rack hanging out the hitch of my wife's XC90. My bike is the only one of the five that fit perfect, two of the bikes were my wife's and my daughter's and two were my sons' all of which did not have a cross bar to sit over the rack's two bars in a "pretty" manner. With some patience and wiggling all five bikes fit and were strapped snug over the rack. It held really well even through the hills and mountains of northern Georgia. The bikes come off easily and we were able to unload. The only problem is that if the rack is fully loaded with five bikes you better have a good reason to get into the back of your SUV because it takes three people to gently let the rack down and to put it back up.

I purchased this carrier after extensive reading of the online reviews for all the different brands. I have a family of 5 and we needed a way to transport our bikes to the Apple Cider Century Bike Ride in Three Oaks, Michigan this past month. I found it easy to install and use. All 5 bikes fit on the rack on the back of my full-sized van and did not bounce or sway. I did decide to pad each bikes frame with a rag where it would touch another bike so that there would be no loss of paint. This did take a little bit more time , but I found the bikes in great condition after the 5 hour drive. I also would warn anyone to check ground clearance between the bottom of the lowest bike tire and the road. This could pose an issue if you back up or go across steep ditches with a low riding vehicle. I did use the enclosed strap to cinch the bottom of the bikes to eliminate swaying. It worked great. I noticed several Thules in the parking lot where 5000 riders began the race, as well as many other brands. The Thule seemed easiest to use among all that i saw. It reaffirmed my choice was a good one. Since Thule is also a reputable name, I can be assured of replacement parts should the need arise. My only difficulty was with my daughters bike. I had to buy a $32 adapter to extend from the seat post to the handle bars, for it to fit on the rack, since the bike rests on the frame cross bar found on all men's bikes. The ability to flip a lever and get into the back of my van without removing the bikes was great. So after 10+ hours of driving everything from Interstates to county roads to grave roads and private drives I can say that I have given it a tough test and it has passed. Great product

I purchased this rack in anticipation of a long Father & Sons weekend with my four teenage sons. We loaded 5 adult mountain bikes on this rack mounted on the hitch of a Denali XL. There was almost no assembly required and all the hardware was included as well as a wrench. Very easily mounted to the hitch with a screw-on approach, presumably to prevent rattling noises in the hitch receiver. Works like a charm. We drove over 200 miles each way with no worries whatsoever. Loading the 5 bikes was a bit of a challenge but it had more to do with the odd shaped frames of modern bikes. This being said, once we figured out the best order for loading the bikes on the rack, it was a breeze and the rubber straps work very well at securing the bikes on the rack. I used the provided strap to secure the bundle of bikes to the rack and it was great. No rattling, no motion that I could detect. This is definitely a very good unit and the mounts on the rack are very easy to slide / turn if necessary. Highly recommend it.

I purchased a Thule (though Amazon) because I have been an avid bicycle enthusiast for the last 25 years and have come to trust their products. Out of the box, the carrier took me maybe all of 5 minutes to set up; this carrier is simple and well made. I gave the product four stars based on the fact that this is sold as a 5 bicycle carrier, however, to actually mount all 5 bikes you would have to remove wheels or pedals to get them close enough to one another to fit into the mounting brackets. That's not a huge deal, but then again, I don't want to spend an hour loading/unloading bikes every time I take the family out for a ride. The following is a roll-up of the good and the bad with this system:

The Good -

1. Easy to assemble and mount

2. Thule "quick release" system allows you to raise and lower the rack quickly; my Honda Ridgeline tailgate can be lowered the traditional way with the rack in the lowered position, however, there is still not enough room for the tailgate to be opened laterally (this is not a problem for most pick-ups)

3. Rubber bands used to secure the bikes are easy to use and will not allow the bikes to "sway" into one another

The Bad -

1. Like many other models, this rack requires a screw to be mounted through the trailer hitch instead of the locking pin that most people use to keep their ball hitch from being stolen. Thule sells their own locking screw in lieu of the bolt, but that's more money and should be figured into the overall price of the rack. A work-around is there are two metal loops at the bottom of the rack. I plan on running a bike lock through the loops and then through the safety chain receiver on the truck.

2. As other people have stated, it is difficult to actually mount 5 bikes on this rack. The work-around is to remove wheels and/or pedals based on the characteristics of the bikes you are planning to haul. Not a big deal for a long-haul, but not great for just "around-the-neighborhood" transportation. If you want to haul three bikes, it's too easy.

3. The lateral anti-sway brackets are made in such a way that they could eventually fall off if you don't take the time to ensure that they are still locked on correctly. As for now with a new system, the brackets are still too "stiff" to move freely, but over time and a lot of use, I could see how they could eventually loosen up and then fall off when not in use and driving on a rough road or trail.

Overall I like this system and recommend it for potential buyers; the system secures the bikes well and will not allow your bikes to be damaged in transient. Just be aware that loading more than three bikes will take more time, practice, and patience.

12 November 2011 (update)

I have owned this carrier now for about 3 years with no issues, however; if you have duel suspension bikes, you will need the adapter to use a top tube mounting system (like this one). If you own/transport duel suspension bikes, I would consider the platform systems instead. Also, spend the extra money and get the swing arm. You'll be happy, especially as you watch me download my stuff to open the tailgate.

We have a road bike, hybrid and two odd size kid's bikes. The kind with wide frames and not a whole lot of openings to get them over bike rack bars. We couldn't fit them all on our old Thule so I looked into this. It's perfect. Forget getting 5 bikes on this, however, it's worth a few extra bucks so you don't have to spend your leisure time trying the calculus of how to get 4 odd bikes on a 4 rack system.

Easy to set up and the drop down bar and tilt down feature a perfect for SUV's with a variety of hatch and window configurations. Also, the rubber rests that the bike frames fit in make it easier to get the smaller bike opens over. The stabilizer feature is optional and we only use that for the road bike and hybrid so they don't sway.

Some people don't like buying the lock that Thule sells (about $50). You can use the bolt that comes with the system and the convenient tool they give you to keep in the glove box. However, I like the fact that I can bolt the rack to the car and have the lock - First, while it can be knocked off with a solid hammer whack, it does offer some security from theft. Second, it gives me a little piece of mind if the bolt ever came loose on a long trip and slipped out. To me, the $50 investment is a lot cheaper than a rack that comes loose.

We just took this rack on a 1500 mile trip to Maine. We had 5 bikes loaded on it. 2 adult size bikes, 2 junior bikes, and a child size (20 inch) bike. We only had trouble fitting one of the junior bikes on (a 14.5 inch frame) but we found two ways to put it on with no troubles. You just need to try different things out. The rack was very secure. We went over some bumps at high speeds on the freeway and the rack would bounce up a bit-at first that was scary- but we got used to it. The rack did not sway back and forth at all.

We also took it on dirt roads etc.. and it was great. We are thrilled to have the freedom to take all our bikes out again.

It was no problem to tilt the rack back with the bikes on it so we could access the trunk. My husband was able to handle the weight himself.

We really appreciated the extra blue strap to secure the wheels so they would not turn. We also used a generic bike lock to lock the rack to the hitch and another to lock the bikes all together. This made us a little more confident leaving the bikes on the rack as we hiked etc...

Don't be afraid on the "girl" type bikes to stick that back wheel up into the air and attach it at the bar between the handle bars and the cranks, and attaching the sway connection to the tire. We saw several people who did that and we tried it and out and will keep doing it.

A great product. 5 bikes really do fit!

I recommend this rack to anyone who needs a hitch mount bike carrier. Two things I wish to pass along to would be purchasers. The bolt which tightens the carrier in the hitch reciever tends to want to losen up. there doesn't seem to be any danger of it coming out, it just likes to loosen up a little. Second, I recommend which ever carrier you purchase, buy the capacity for one more bike than you need. I have yet to find one that holds what they say they should. With this rack I was able to remove the extra fastening hardware and spread the rest out for a better fit for my bikes. When I use the stablizing brackets provided, my bikes stayed mounted solid while driving. They really didn't move. None of my past racks worked that well.The extra money for the models with stablizing hangers is money well spent. For security I purchased a short piece of stainless steel chain and a small weather resistant pad lock. Much cheaper than Thules locking bolt, my price, about $2 for chain and about $7 for the lock. If someone realy wants to steal the bikes or rack, nothing I have found yet will stop a determined thief. We have used it often thru the summer so far and I am very satisfied, it works well.

I looked at various brands of bicycle racks at my local REI but after talking to several friends, decided to purchase a 5-bike Thule rack. I am very happy with my decision. It is a high quality rack and holds all of my family's bicycles. The price was significantly cheaper on Amazon.com, I was given free shipping, and it arrived in three days. We are very happy with our purchase.

Great hitch, easy to mount and sturdy! We were able to load 4 adult bikes and a childs bike with no problem. When we encountered rough roads the bikes stayed secured with the straps included.

The product seems great so far. It was a breeze to assemble and after trying 2 adult bikes on it, I would say that it should be able to accommodate 5 adult bikes easily as long as you get a cross-bar adapter for each "girl-style" bike. It's adjustable enough that I could still fit my wife's "girl-bike" without an adapter, but that put hers into a weird enough position that I couldn't put my bike right next to it. I had to leave a space between them because my handlebars wanted to be inside her back tire. With the proper adapter, though, I'm sure they would've fit right next to each other. The 3m cinch-strap is a breeze to use. I also like that this rack keeps all 5 bikes on the outboard side instead of some other 5-bike racks I saw that had one extremely close to the car. The rubber straps are a breeze to use, too.