Submitted by
JCole
a Cross Country Rider
from Charlotte, NC USA Date Reviewed: November 14, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Catawba
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Purchased At:
somewhere online
Strengths:
easy and quick for storing my bike...especially nice when I am training for a race and don't want to leave my bike on the ground at the trail-head.
Weaknesses:
I have never felt 100% with the side arm's ability to really hold onto my bike.
Bike Setup:
Ibex Ignition 3
Bottom Line:
I have been pleased with the side arm, on short drives...but I still don't trust it for extended drives on the interstate.
On a drive back from Bryson City to Charlotte, I actually had the bike come out of the front mount. Luckily, the back ratchet held the bike on the roof while my kayak supported most of the weight.
I got out and really made sure that the front arm was as snug as possible on my front wheel - but I could still see a lot of movement.
But this could be because I set the rack up for another one of my bikes that was a little bit smaller...but if I have to adjust it every time I put a different bike up there, the Side Arm may find its way to craigslist.
Next long trip I make, I will be adding another ratchet for my front wheel in addition to the arm.
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Submitted by
mtbnachos
a Cross Country Rider
from San Diego Date Reviewed: August 7, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Noble Canyon, CA
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$130.00
Purchased At:
Performance
Strengths:
Easy to get bike on/off, fairly stable if mounted correctly, wheel strap.
Weaknesses:
Front tire bracket useless, no wheel strap for front, security feature terrible.
Similar Products Used:
Thule Peloton, V2
Bike Setup:
Soma Juice, Vassago Jabber
Bottom Line:
This rack is so-so. No need to remove front wheel and saves space aplenty. Yay! Security on rack, boo! My complaint is exactly Spencer's review covered. Deflate the front tire and bye bye bike. Luckily my Soma has a bent top tube where I can secure the arm low enough to ratchet and lock it where it is most stable. Then again you still can deflate and steal. Only a separate lock to your load bar will make you feel safe. Thule engineers need to have more common sense. They should combine the Sidearm w/ the Big mouth clamp and that should solve it.
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Submitted by
Ben
a Weekend Warrior
from San Mateo, CA Date Reviewed: March 6, 2008
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$110.00
Purchased At:
REI
Strengths:
Throw bike up and go. Simple to use and works with different sized bikes.
Weaknesses:
Takes up a lot of rack space, setup takes long time.
Similar Products Used:
Steelhead, ankle-biter
Bike Setup:
Heckler, Spesh Transition, Rockhopper
Bottom Line:
Easiest roof-rack to use that you don't have to take a wheel off. I'm sure that if someone really really wanted to steal my bike then the Sidearm would not stop them, but even if they could not take the entire bike, they could just as easily take my seat or rotors or rear wheel... no bike rack is 100% safe. It works great.
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Submitted by
Erik Trogden
a Racer
from Vista, CA, USA Date Reviewed: November 7, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Flightline
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$125.00
Purchased At:
lbs
Strengths:
Ease of use, stable.
Weaknesses:
None (I use a cable lock)
Similar Products Used:
Yakima lockjaw
Bottom Line:
Love it. Adapts to any size bike and I even mount some bikes backwards in it using the clamp to hold the rear wheel. Very convenient when mountain multiple bikes of different sizes (famnily outings with kids' bikes and adults' bikes)
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Submitted by
Spencer
a Cross Country Rider
from NY Date Reviewed: September 8, 2007
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$154.00
Purchased At:
REI
Strengths:
Very easy to get bike on/ off, and nice that doesn't attach to frame.
Weaknesses:
Security is lacking. With set up as recommended, I was able to simply deflate the front tire and slip my bike out easily. This security problem can be fixed with an additional cable lock hooked around your frame and load bars however, this gives me a lack of confidence should I have a slow leak in front tire and tire deflates on the ride home causing instability for the bike and rack system and possible fall off of my car? I hope not, just a possible worst case scenario.
Similar Products Used:
Thule Velo vice. - Love it, never had a problem
Bike Setup:
Cannondale Rush 5, lefty head shock.
Bottom Line:
I prefere a fork mount. I've never had a problem with the Thule Velo vice after 5 years. However, Just purchased a new cannondale Rush 5 with lefty head shock which means a bigger pain to remove front wheel and having to buy an adapter for a fork mount. So, I bought the sidearm so I would not have to remove the front wheel and did not want to risk damage to aluminum frame/ cables with a system that attaches to frame. Have not tested for long enough duration to give a full analysis however weaknesses are just possible problems that I could foresee happening with the side arm. Except for security which most definately is lacking. Spending 150.00, I would expect something better, instead of having to buy a new cable lock to further secure my bike.
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Submitted by
James Goodhouse
a Weekend Warrior
from Portland, OR Date Reviewed: July 31, 2007
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$150.00
Purchased At:
Rack Attack
Strengths:
Ease of use is the biggest plus. It's great just tossing the bike up after a ride, clamping it in, and going on my way.
Weaknesses:
The security of this system is a joke. It's only good for deterring someone that would never even think of stealing a pack of gum, let alone a whole bike. For anyone else, just loosen the front wheel axle, undo the rear tire strap, and take the bike.
I've also had an issue with the ratchet system that locks down the front-end. It holds, but I always lock it just in case so it won't pop out.
Similar Products Used:
My back seat/trunk.
Bike Setup:
Specialized Rockhopper Pro - mostly stock.
Bottom Line:
It works if you want to haul your bike and not have to take off the front wheel. If your down-tube doesn't have cables routed underneath that can get pinched, buy a different rack.
If you go with this rack, get yourself a heavy duty chain and lock if you plan on being away from your bike for very long.
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Submitted by
Forest Line
a
from Missoula, Mt, USA Date Reviewed: July 30, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Rattle Snake Area
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$145.00
Purchased At:
Backcountry Racks
Strengths:
I have a Yakima Roof Rack and this Thule Product fits perfectly. Alot of racks don't have a wide enough tray for my MB tires this one does. It's easy to use, I'm on and off really quickly.
Weaknesses:
This thing really is great
Similar Products Used:
Yakima Raptor
Bottom Line:
I looked all over town for a bike rack. The people at the bigger sports stores were not speaking my language. Similiarly the guys working at a few bike shops in town were smug, impolite and pushy. I bought this from Backcountry Racks and those guys were knowledgable and friendly they sold me exactly what I needed and nothing more. I trusted them and they didn't let me down.
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Submitted by
chris
a Weekend Warrior
from toronto, ontario, canada Date Reviewed: June 20, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Autobahn
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$200.00
Purchased At:
rackattack
Strengths:
Holds downhill rigs with sloping top tube! Nice and sturdy
Weaknesses:
When holding trail or XC bike, bring an extra cable lock as frame could be removed from quick release
Similar Products Used:
yakima, thule big mouth
Bike Setup:
Rocky estx-50;KHS DH-200
Bottom Line:
Best roof rack out there - I have a Thule Big mouth also, but it won't hold my XC bike! Easy access, super simple to secure the bike. Awesome - way better than YAkima. My friend said it best - you'd buy a $3 - 4,000 bike and secure it with a cheap rack? Spend the extra dollars - if you need just one, get the sidearm (I went cheep and bought the big mouth). LAter when I got a downhill rig I found it did not fit the BM. Lesson learned!
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Submitted by
Tesh
a Downhiller
from Colorado Date Reviewed: May 9, 2007
Favorite Trail:
The Area
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$135.00
Purchased At:
Car Racks Direct
Strengths:
SUPER fast load/unload time (about 5 seconds) Very durable construction Holds bikes very securely Looks good
Weaknesses:
I bought the whole roof rack, feet, bars, locks, and bike rack. It came out to about 100 dollars more than the same type of set-up from Yakima, but once I received the rack, I knew where the money had gone.
Similar Products Used:
Yakima
Bike Setup:
06 Bighit FSR II
Bottom Line:
I considered both Yakima and Thule when looking for car racks, and I am very happy with Thule: it was very easy to install, the design is great, and Thule is very good about making fit kits for almost every car. Yes, the security measures aren't fool proof, but unless you are leaving your bike on the rack overnight in Compton, your fine.(also you can further enforce the security measures via running a Kryptonite cable through the bike and roof rack bars.
NOTE: Thule's automated fit guide is flawed, it will say you only need 4 lock cylinders, but the feet(4) each need one, and each side arm needs two.
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Submitted by
John
a Downhiller
from USA Date Reviewed: May 2, 2007
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
REI
Strengths:
Update to my last review Great customer service!
Bottom Line:
E-mailed Thule, they get back with you in 24 hours or less. Either way, they explained that the trigger has been replaced and that i must have got an older one from REI, so they are sending replacement triggers to fix the lock issues. Great service. Can't go wrong with Thule.
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Submitted by
ghostrider
a Downhiller
from USA Date Reviewed: April 30, 2007
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
REI
Strengths:
Holds bike well, easy mount, easy loading
Weaknesses:
Lock system doesn't work. With the right locks (on thule's web site) you can still push the ratchet release down and remove the bike.
Similar Products Used:
fork mounts
Bottom Line:
Everything about this rack would be perfect if Thule can figure a way to fix this lock issue. What good is the bike rack and lock system if you can't trust that the bikes won't be around after leaving it alone.
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Submitted by
Chase
a
from Pagosa Springs CO Date Reviewed: March 29, 2007
Favorite Trail:
log chutes
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$120.00
Purchased At:
San Juan Off Road
Strengths:
Holds my downhill bike very sturdy! Very strong and efficient rack system.
Weaknesses:
The locks are alright. They are made to deter a thief, not to stop him sitting there for 20 min and figure out the rack system and how to get it off. I have the lock on the actual arm, the roof racks, then on the back of the side arm attatchment.
Bike Setup:
03' Bullit, 05' Boxxer, 5th Element
Bottom Line:
Great system! Those people who are worried about their bike getting stolen need to chill. If you buy 3 locks, your bike is safe! I am putting $4000 on those racks every day and I am confident in them. BUY EM NOW
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Submitted by
steve woelfle
a
from squamish Date Reviewed: November 6, 2006
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Purchased At:
rei
Strengths:
Nice and easy to use. Load your bike in one minute. The system seems quite solid and holds the bike very well even at high speeds for prolong periods of time. It also holds to the racks well on bumpy gravel roads, Although make sure to check your bikes after all the bumps because they will shift a bit. Front arm makes for holding any size bike a snap.
Weaknesses:
The big weakness about the side arm is hands down the locking department. The arm does not lock to front tire properly I am not sure If I got a defect one but when it is in the locking postion if I push down on the locking lever it will slide open leaving the bike up for grabs. And that is the only lock for the whole system. I would recomend that if safety is important to you must buy a good cable lock. It is to bad for the amount of money these racks cost that they wern't more security minded. The plastic knobs for this product are average.
Bottom Line:
Good rack would recomend it
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Submitted by
Kyle Doherty
a Cross Country Rider
from Davis, CA US Date Reviewed: October 22, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Annadel
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$110.00
Purchased At:
ebay
Strengths:
-Bike really is on in less than 30 seconds. -Very sturdy, bike is glued to your roof. -Does not touch frame at all. -Don't have to take off the front wheel.
Weaknesses:
Kind of pricey. Listed for 140 msrp, found it for 110 brand new on Ebay.
The security systems seem pretty cheesey to me. You tighten the trays on with threaded hand tightened nobs, which seem sturdy enough. But to prevent others from tampering with them Thule provides a very weak plastic covering for the nobs that you can lock with a lock cylinder. I didn't have extra lock cylinders so I snapped it on, and fixed one of the supplied plastic plugs in the hole where the cylinder would have gone. Within 10 minutes of driving on the freeway it flew off. It's a non-essential part, but ridiculous none the less. Even if you had the lock cylinders, someone could just snap off that plastic piece of crap with a screw driver.
$
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