Customer Reviews

Thule Sidearm Rooftop Upright Bike Carrier

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This rack is lightweight, sturdy, and quick to load and unload. It holds the bike steady on twisting mountain roads and at highway speeds substantially in excess of the posted signs. I had to do a very unscheduled unload while attempting a low clearance In-n-Out Burger drive through this past weekend. There's nothing like trying to unload a roof rack while several cars in line behind me watch and laugh, but I had the bike off the roof in under 20 seconds.

Assembling the rack is another story. It is not intuitive and the instructions reminded me of another Scandanavian company--Ikea (this is not a good thing). Between attaching the Thule fairing and the bike rack, it took me about two hours. Of course, once assembled, it attaches and removes easily.

This bike rack is awsome. It takes all the weight and distributes it evenly on the roof of the car, while other rear bike racks eventually will damage your car's suspension, (I speak from experience). It fits any bike, from little light weight roadies to serious full suspension downhill monsters! It does have a pretty good locking system however, like most bike/ski/snowboard racks, they are just a deterent. If somebody reallys wants your gear, they'll get it. Better to unload when parked overnight, or in sketchy locations. I have two of these babies and my fiance and I travel in style in our 89 Civic with our two bikes on the roof!! Here we come Whistler bike park!

I own one sidearm attachment and two criterium attachments, all by Thule. I use the sidearm to hold my dual suspension 29er because due to the shape of the frame, the criterium does not hold as securely as I would like.

Overall I am more satisfied with the criterium, it weighs less, goes on and off the vehicle more easily, and looks better on the car. It is also easier to load the bike into the criterium. I would only suggest the sidearm to someone with a dual suspension bike or an unconventional frame shape, but if that's what you have, I would strongly recommend this product.

If you have a road bike or a hardtail mountain bike, buy the criterium. I have read some reviews of the bike falling off on people, but if you take your time to ensure the bike is loaded properly, you won't have any issues.

Wow, I am so impressed with this bike rack .... it is totally awesome!!!!!! By far, this is the easiest to use roof bike rack I have ever bought. The bike was on my roof and tightened up in less than one minute. Would recommend this to family and friends. In regards to the assembly instructions, please have a "REGULAR" person design them. My god, it's like assembling a barbecue grill.

I was forced to upgrade my inter-generational (handed down from my Dad) Thule rack system because modern mountain bike frame geometry doesn't really fit securely in old style Thule bike grippers which were designed to hold simple tubular frames.

Was a bit skeptical with how well (and how steady) this rack could hold a bike, but the product performed very well and was a huge relief. I had previously been holding the new-frame style bike in the old-style Thule rack, complete with a jury rigged system of straps and the whole arrangement was pretty nerve-wracking. Could not believe how well the rack held the bike, so unbelievably steady even at speed. Less tire vibration and movement than the old style racks, even compared with bike frame-styles which they were meant to hold.

All in all a very, very good product.

Protip: Be sure to pull down the retention arm as tight as possible and get that extra notch click or two. Makes a big difference.

Why did I buy the item through Amazon from out of US? Yes, that's what people wonder. I would say one thing, it's worth buying from Amazon.com. We can trust, fast responce, and easy to buy. Whatellse do we need? Besides, the item also doesn't exist in Japan, no one has it. It's cool I am may the only one who has it.. hehe. Thnx for everything.

This is one of the easiest racks to use. It takes seconds to install the bike. I think it is worth the extra money. The only issue is smaller person may have a problem lifting the entire bike on the roof.

I was a bit hesitant to put this carrier on my car. It's only an old integra and I thought it may look a weird have a full bike on top. Well I'm glad I did purchase it, no longer do I have to take the front wheel off my bike. It's just lift on the roof, ratchet, and strap and away I go. It doesn't look too bad. the carrier is sturdy, my bike is not fly off the roof. When the rack is not in use it does have a large profile even when it's folded down. All I need now if for Thule to design a roof rack for an integra that allows you open the moon roof. Come on Thule get it together.

I got this bike rack specifically to hold my son's BMX bike. I coughed at the price, but it seemed to be the only one designed to specifically handle BMX-sized bikes. Assembly was straightforward, as was mounting to my Thule rack (it will fit other systems as well).

Mounting the bike literally requires about 30 seconds. You put the bike on the rack, slide the ratchet arm down on to the wheel/fork, strap the back wheel, and you're done. I was really impressed with how solidly the simple ratchet arm holds the bike. There is no play at all. Releasing it is just as quick.

We also have a short garage, but this only adds about 3" on top of the rack when it's folded down, so our van still makes it into the garage.

I love the ease of use of this carrier, but after buying 2 of them I learned that all you need to do is undo the quick release of the front wheel and you can wiggle the bike right out. Or you can just undo the bolts holding the arm to the bike tray and it leaves the bike fully exposed for the taking. Advertisements say you lock the carrier to the rack and your bike to the carrier, but that's not truee because of how EASY it is to get a bike out of this. At least with the velo vices and other fork mounts someone would need a hammer and they'd look suspicious whacking away to break the mount to steal your bike.

I contacted Thule and their response was "Nothing is safe... look at a car thief who can get around alarms to steal a car." I agree there are ways around things, but the way around with this carrier is just way too easy. Using the carrier as instructed should at least provide SOME security, but it does nothing. Go lock your bike on your roof and then try getting your bike out by undoing the quick release to see what I mean.