Customer Reviews

Thule 962XT Speedway 3-Bike Trunk Rack

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Recently decided to replace my old Rhode Gear rack (clasps were rusted). Tried the Saris Bones 3 - horrible. Returned it to the store the next day. Very difficult to get the bikes on and off. Now purchased the Thule 962XT from Eastern Mountain Sports ($104 on a 20% discount special). This is a beautiful piece of equipment. Well made, solid, easy to set up and holds three bikes very securely. The no-sway mechanism works well (this seems to be the primary upgrade from the earlier 962 version which now retails for about $105 without discount) and keeps the bikes at a slight angle away from the car. The bikes sit very firmly in place. Still need to secure the front wheels of the bikes with the supplied cynch cord (I prefer to use long pieces of velcro). Great product. A definite buy.

We ordered our rack for a Pathfinder but it works great on our Miata too. That's really close to being universal. Easy to mount, easy to load & unload bikes, easy to take off. The no-sway brackets do their job well and everything sits secure and safe.

Half the price of hitch mounts without the cost of the hitch.

I just have to figure a lock system so they can't "rip and run" with the whole rack.

This is an excellent bike rack but the hatchback design for the newer hatchback SI leaves some improvements to be desired for the trunk mount. The top and bottom hooks are secure but the ones mounted near the rear brake lights (as shown in the Thule example) seem to slide down as the car hits bumps in the road. This loosens the mount and it begins to bounce more as you ride. There are no sharp corners to adequately hold the side hooks so I am looking to add something (tape or closed cell foam) to prevent slipping. Secondly, my mountain bike design does not fit well on the rack. I have to rest the rear suspension spring on the bike rack arm so the weight is not evenly distributed. This could be another element causing the side hooks to slip. Either way, it's an excellent bike rack aside from the design issues with my hatchback Civic SI and Iron Horse mountain bike.

This bike rack is wonderful! Far better than expected. We had originally purchased an inferior brand and after installing, uninstalled and returned to the store for a credit. We began to research racks and read customer reviews and the Thule was the best by far. We purchased a 3 bike rack although we have only two bikes and we absolutely love it! It is sturdy and secure and the bikes ride beautifully on it. We live near Glacier National Park and bike in the park several times a week. Mounting the bikes on the rack is simple as is strapping them down securely. It is a solid rack!

The rack was sturdy, but the straps that hold the bike to the rack are horrible. My brand new bike came off of the rack while going down the highway, from hitting a very small bump in a construction area. This rack cost me $400 in bike damage the second time I used it. Luckily it didn't cause an accident and hurt someone.

All that the rack has is two rubber straps that stretch over a post with wings, to secure the bike. Nothing to lock the bike down to the rack with. I even double checked that the rubber straps were fully secured over the winged posts, before leaving and read the instructions several times before ever setting it up. It seems alright for going to the local park, but would never take it on the highway again or at any speeds over 35mph.

I purchased a VW Rabbit the other year and finally got around to purchasing a bike rack. I normally just get on my bike and ride (I hear a Queen song), as it's pretty rural here, but I had a longing to get out to the Harlem Valley Rail Trail again, so it was rack time. For my 1999 Honda Civic HB, I had purchased a tow hitch rack. By the time I sold the Civic, the interface between the U-Haul installed tow hitch and the trunk was thoroughly rusted, so I shied away from another tow hitch. [I had purchased the tow hitch rack because I liked the idea of having the bikes well away from the car.] I did some quick Google searching and found this Thule well-rated. The only negative comments I saw were something about the time to fit it to the car. So, when I purchased this, it sat in the box for a while as I was in the midst of reworking the deck on my house and loathed the idea of a convoluted installation. This past weekend I really wanted to go out to the rail trail, so I bit the bullet and went for the initial installation. It took less than 15 minutes to open the box, read the instructions, install the hitch, and mount my Trek 1000. I'm not the most conservative driver and the route to the rail trail is bumpy and windy, so it was a good test of the rack. I did not see the bike budge on the ride there. The bike was off in 30 seconds and the rack off in a minute. It was pretty hot for the ride and I extended the ride well into Connecticut to check on a house. So, when I returned to the car I was in no mood for struggling with the rack. It went back on in a minute. So, I'm very happy with the rack and would recommend it. Oh, I forgot one thing. In the instructions, they show how to lace the straps through the wheels to keep the front wheel straight. I've always used pieces of blown out bike tire tube for that, and still do, so I would not know how well the lacing would work.

Thule has done it again with this bike rack! It fits on all of my cars and holds 3 bikes with ease! It's extremely light and only takes 30 seconds to install. I love the fast-click adjustment knobs that let you instantly set this for your specific car. I've had NO issues with scratching paint like others have complained about. If you're scratching your paint you don't have it installed "tight" enough. Could not be happier. For $140 I would challenge you to find a better, more versatile rack for your money.

I bought this 3 bike rack for myself, to mount on my Taurus and Mountaineer. I've never had more than one bike on it, always made sure the straps were secure (as secure as one can get), and always made sure the bike was secure to the rack (I used 2 extra bungee cords and a bike lock to make sure).

I managed to eek out a little over a years worth of use out of this thing. I did not have any problems with damage to my vehicles. I did, however, almost lose my bike, when one of the tiny little pins, held by plastic, gave way and one whole arm of the carrier fell off. I was going 70mph down the freeway when this happened (over smooth pavement). Fortunately, no one was hurt, and my bike was not damaged.

Like a previous poster commented... I'll never buy so much plastic again, and certainly won't be trusting this brand name. This rack was supposed to be able to handle the load of three bikes, and I never had more than one (Specialized Hard Rock Comp). I bought a hitch mount Yakima to replace it, and am much happier.

I have an Oldsmobile Achieva and this rack works well. The only hangup is the fact that securing this unit to the car so it cannot be stolen doesn't seem possible. The two arms which hold the bikes are attached to the rest of the frame by quick release pins so it would be easy to release the arms and steal the bikes. For the price, this is a great product and works well. My main concern would be someone stealing the bike(s) when I'm away from the car.

I have a 2010 KIA Soul. I was having troubles finding a bike rack that would fit the car. We have one male and one female mountain bike. I think 3 bikes on this rack would be tough but perhaps if one was a child's size it would work. Our bikes travel very securely without any rubbing against either the rack or each other. I would recommend stretching the rubber wraps in a way that they circle the bike twice. And purchase some short Velcro straps. The straps used to attach the rack to the car are very long and the Velcro strapping allows you to roll the extra up and secure it to the rack. Great product and thanks to Amazon for once again providing the best price I could find.