|
|
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Best Bikerack ever made (thus far), August 23, 2009
This review is from: Thule Helium 3 Bike Hitch Carrier (Sports)
Over the past 40 years, I've either owned or regularly used about 10 different brands and types of bikeracks. While I can't give this rack five stars due to one minor problem, it is by far the best bikerack I've ever used or even heard about. I have it on the back of a 2006 Scion xA. (Did have to get a hitch put on the Scion, but this is very much worth it to be able to use a rack like this rather than some sort of a strapon kludge.)
As with all Thule racks (compared to several competitors), the stretchy rubber straps that hold the bike on the bikerack are easy to use, indeed even better than an older Thule rack I have on my Land Rover. (For instance, the Softride rack we have has straps and posts that are much more difficult to use.)
The posts that stick out the back are close together, so mountain bikes and kid's bikes fit on easily, without having to use the lower post of the bike as one of the attachments to the rack.
It really is light, though quite sturdy - you'll notice this especially when you pull up the little latch to let the rack come down so you can open the back of your car, or tilt it back up with one finger.
The integrated lock cable (locks with the same key that locks it into the hitch) is an elegant design. One cable comes out of the (as you look at it) left horizontal post, and another cable, with a lock on it, comes out of the top of the vertical post (yes it has a little cover on it to keep rain out of the lock, and the one in the horizontal post has a little keeper to keep it in place when not in use). You simply lock the two of these together (they're really quite short) over top of the bikes. This won't save your front wheels from being stolen, you might want another cable lock for that.
My only complaint is that, when I wanted to spread the saddles on the horizontal bar apart a bit to better accommodate three mountain bikes with lots of stuff on them (handlebar extensions, etc.), it was very, very hard. I do 250 pushups every morning and I couldn't get them to move by using my hands. I tried to use a large pair of Channelock pliers, which scraped up the saddle but didn't move it hardly at all. I then used an oil filter wrench, the type that has a length of nylon webbing that you wrap around the object (the saddle in this case), attach a 3/8" socket wrench. I twisted the saddle around the horizontal bar 2-3 times while gradually moving out or in as the case may be. That's really a minor problem, I figured I'll do this once and then never move them again.
Everything else in the installation is a snap. Everything is well-engineered, and you'll find lots of little details where Thule's experience and engineering expertise show - many incremental improvements over earlier Thule racks.
If I had to give this rack a grade using the US grading system, I'd give it an A-. I would give most of the other Thule and Yakima racks a solid B or B-, and some of them, like our Softride rack, a C+. And I was pretty happy with my Thule rack before, so this rack really raises the bar.
Final impression: best bikerack ever, if you just need to carry 3 bikes. Highly recommended, and worth getting a trailer hitch put on your car just so you can use it.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
|
|
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
great device, August 1, 2009
This review is from: Thule Helium 3 Bike Hitch Carrier (Sports)
it was very easy to assembly and to mount. The disapointment was that for carying a woman's bike need to order a separate part from Thule
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Nice rack, but unable to adjust the cradles into position, February 1, 2010
This review is from: Thule Helium 3 Bike Hitch Carrier (Sports)
I have just bought this rack through Amazon and installed on my vehicle. It seems really nice, lightweight, and well made. However, out of the box the cradles for holding the bike top tubes are rotated out of position by 90 degrees. According to step 9 of the fit guide the cradles can be rotated and shifted on the bars to accommodate different bike geometries. Similar to another reviewer, I am completely unable to adjust the cradles into position. I am a 200 pound male who rock climbs weekly, and am unable to rotate or move the cradles even a fraction of an inch using my full body strength. I have a tech support email into [...] asking for help, but if this cannot be resolved soon I will be returning for a refund, and probably go with a Kuat instead.
Update: 5/18/2010
I was able to rotate the the cradles into the correct position using a car oil filter wrench. Great rack - lightweight, doesn't stick out too far so I can leave it on the car all the time, and holds 3 bikes nicely. Deducting one star for the issue with the cradles, and useless response from Thule's customer support center.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Great rack...but not made in the USA, April 24, 2010
This review is from: Thule Helium 3 Bike Hitch Carrier (Sports)
After a great deal of research, I chose this rack for basically two reasons: 1) it was aluminum and therefore lighter than equivalent racks and 2) every website retailing this rack advertised it as made in the USA. First, I wanted a light rack since I'm using it with a 1 1/4" hitch on a Cadillac CTS - not exactly a heavy duty setup. Seccond, I research just about every "larger" purchase I make to find a US-made product (all three of my cars are made in the USA, as is my bike), so being made in the USA - regardless of price - is a key factor in my purchase decisions. I was VERY disappointed to read "Made in China" when the box arrived. While Thule does make many of its products in the US, my guess is web retailers carried over the description based on previous Thule products they've sold. So, if you want a made-in-the-USA product, this particular Thule rack is not one of them. My first inclination was to return the rack, but since there was no defect with the product itself and options for a lightweight rack are limited, I decided to keep it and see how it worked.
Once I got over the "Made in China" on the box, I can say this is an EXCELLENT rack! It is designed well and despite being light, it is very sturdy. It takes literally seconds to secure the bike(s) on the rack and the built-in locks for the hitch and the bikes give peace of mind. The anti-sway devices work perfectly, as does the swing-down mechanism for easy trunk/liftgate access. The powder coating on the aluminum is perfect and very attractive compared to the basic black you often see. Without question though, the best feature of this rack is its light weight compared to similar 3-bike carriers.
If American workers were receiving a paycheck for making this rack, it would be perfect. I still applaud Thule for continuing to manufacture products in the US; just wish this was one of them.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
|
|
|
|
|
|
