Thule Racks | Helping You Carry Your Bikes

Thule is a Swedish company whose products are as universal as the Swedish Volvo. No matter where you go in the world of bicycling, you’ll find bikes being carried on vehicles by reliable Thule products. Visit their website (www.thule.com) and you’ll notice the first thing you need to do is to identify your country of origin and language. That’s because Thule products are not only fit to the changing requirements of bicycles, but the changing models of cars.

Custom Fitting Your Bike And Your Car

The most important consideration in choosing a bicycle carrying system for your car is, of course, safety. You don’t want your bike damaged (or lost!!!), and you also don’t want your car damaged by a poorly fitting bike carrier. For this reason, Thule makes its systems car-specific. You can find a Thule carrier for a big, gas guzzling American SUV or a little French Citroen. You can even find a carrier for an Alpha Romeo convertible.

Swedish world rack leader

Some parts are pretty much universal. The cross bars on a roof rack system, for instance, vary only in their length and fit more than one car model. It’s where the carrier meets the car that systems are unique, and this is where the security of the system resides. There are two aspects to this security: the security of the bike carrier on the car and the security of the bike on the carrier. A Thule rack gives you both. All you have to do is to remember to lock it and remember, while you’re driving, that it’s on your vehicle!

Choosing The Right Thule Rack

Along with a huge array of accessories and options for carrying everything from extra luggage to canoes to camping supplies, Thule makes three basic kinds of bike transportation systems, one of which is a rooftop rack and two that mount on the back of a vehicle. There is a system that hangs off the car body itself and another model which relies on an under-chassis hitch mount. What you choose will be determined by your car, the conditions of use, and your personal taste and preferences.

Roof Rack Systems

Roof racks are pretty much the standard among active athletes, probably because they accommodate not only bicycles, but can also be outfitted to carry canoes, kayaks, and a variety of rooftop luggage carriers that add enormously to the carrying capacity of even a very small car. The downside of roof racks is their wind resistance and, for some of us who aren’t very tall or strong armed, the greater difficulty of mounting the bikes up high. The hazard of roof racks is the fact that you don’t see them and most of us who use them have known, at least once, the awful sounding crunch of our beloved bikes hitting a garage.

Behind The Car Systems

If you choose to mount your bikes behind your car, you’ll probably be able to keep an eye on them via your rear view mirror, and you probably won’t have them ripped off your car, but you will run another risk: the risk of a rear end collision. This is the most frequent kind of car incident, especially in urban traffic or any crowded motor routes, not to mention the accidents that occur in backing up, even without another car involved. In short, whatever kind of system you choose, remember that you’re carrying a bike out there!

Once you make the decision to carry bikes behind your car, you will need to choose between hitch and trunk-fitting racks, and this may be determined by your vehicle and your need or ability to open the trunk or back door of the vehicle. You can carry multiple bikes on most of these systems and carry them securely. Your wind resistance will still be higher; roof racks are not the only detractors from fuel efficiency. Also, remember that your vehicle will be substantially longer with a rear mounted system and require more space for parking and greater care in backing.

What Makes Thule Unique

There are other good manufacturers of bike transportation elements; Thule is not the only one to know how to make good, strong, secure systems to add to your vehicle’s carrying capacity. What Thule offers better than any other manufacturer in the world is their variety. Thule can probably allow you to carry a bike securely on any vehicle out there, and their products are in sports and bicycle shops in every part of the world. They can outfit your car to carry bikes and extra wheels and all your equipment. They can fit your car to carry even the awkward length of tandem bikes, recumbent, and low-riders.

Before you go shopping, whether online or in person, make sure you have the necessary identifying information on the vehicle you’re fitting, its make and model and year. This is essential. Aside from that, you have only to answer the hardest questions of all: What do I want from my system and how will I use it? Good luck!