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Thule
Ultimate Upright Rack 599xtr
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Submitted by
TJ
a Weekend Warrior
from oceanside, ca, usa
Date Reviewed: January 1, 2008 | | Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month | | Price Paid: |
$41.00 | | Purchased At: | REI used gear sale | | Strengths: | Finally, a way to transport my fixed gear! | | Weaknesses: | Those stupid plastic wingnuts that crack after a year. No big deal but wish they would make em out of metal or better mnaterial. THese are the wingnuts on the tray. | | Similar Products Used: | Thule fork mounts - velovise etc | | Bike Setup: | fixed road and mountain | | Bottom Line: | Ive been a fork mount guy for 15 years. I found a great deal on a returned upright carrier so I got it. I have a fixed gear for commuting. Occasionally, my wife will give me a ride etc and it was very inconvenient pulling out the 15 mm wrench to remove the front wheel. Mounting the bike on top of my wifes full size SUV is not that bad (Im a guy - 6'0") but there is no way my wife could do it (but I would not expect her to do the fork mounts either). I fond the upright camming lever quite clever and makes securing easy. One thing that I dont miss with the fork mount - accidently slipping the fork of the bike of the carrier - BAM - nice little dent in the roof. It will never happen with this carrier. Seems that this carrier is more bulky than the fork mount, but then again you dont have to worry about the wheel and what to do with it! I will probably end up using this over my fork mounts for my other bikes due to the shear convenience.... I dont care if I dont look like a euro-pro! | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
EDDIE
a Weekend Warrior
from MATAWAN
Date Reviewed: October 29, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | RINGWOOD, WAYWAYANDA,HARTSHORNE ALMUCHY | | Duration Product Used: | 3 months | | Price Paid: |
$75.00 | | Purchased At: | BIKE N GEAR, EDISON N.J | | Strengths: | VERY SECURE, GOOD PRODUCT, NOT AS GOOD AS THE THULE BIGMOUTH | | Weaknesses: | PAIN IN THE BUTT TO USE. | | Similar Products Used: | SARIS TRUNK MOUNT | | Bike Setup: | CANNONDALE JECKYLL | | Bottom Line: | I PURCHASED 2 BIGMOUTH AND 2 STANDARD UPRIGHTS FOR A NEW 4 BIKE, ROOFRACK FOR MY NEW TRUCK. I KICK MYSELF FOR NOT GETTING 4 BIGMOUTHS. THEY ARE FAR SUPERIOR OVER THE STANDARDS. MUCH EASIER TO USE. TURNING THET KNOB SUCKS.
DONT SAY YOU WERE NOT WARNED! GET THE BIGMOUTH! | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
railtrailbiker
a Weekend Warrior
from Bergen County, NJ
Date Reviewed: October 28, 2001 | | Favorite Trail: | Old Croton Aqueduct State Park | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Purchased At: | rackwarehouse.com | | Strengths: | Stability, security. | | Weaknesses: | Ease of use. | | Similar Products Used: | Volkswagen roof rack system. | | Bike Setup: | Cannondale M400, Cannondale C300, Cannondale H500 - all stock. | | Bottom Line: | The method of securing bikes via turning that big knob could prove difficult for those without good upper body strength, particularly with the bikes up so high when the procedure is being performed.
Next time I'm buying a set of BigMouths. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Pan
a Cross Country Rider
from Lafayette, LA
Date Reviewed: October 6, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | anything technical | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Strengths: | -super stable at highway speeds (i can do 85mph with no problem)
-the camming-lever, though plastic, is lockable (if you buy a lock core for it)for a modicum of security
-easy to mount to the crossbars
-easy to adjust between bikes
-once mounted, never need to mess with it again. | | Weaknesses: | -the beefy plastic camming lever at the bottom of the carrier, which is used to open and close the jaws, can misalign when closing and squirt to the side of the wide plastic adjustable nut it slides against
-jaws could stand to open a bit wider
-have to buy a lock core to lock it
-price ($20-30 lower would be great) | | Similar Products Used: | none, these have worked almost perfectly for me | | Bike Setup: | '00 fsr xc, race face, xtr, crossmax | | Bottom Line: | -my carrier is over 3 years old. the currenct version *looks* like a lot of the shortcomings i listed have been solved (the jaw opening, the camming-lever).
-if you own a version that has that camming-lever problem, its easy to solve by simply squeezing on either side of the lever as you close it. works every time for me.
-if it ever fails on me, i'll buy another one without a doubt. | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
robert
a Cross Country Rider
from Flagstaff, AZ
Date Reviewed: August 23, 2000 | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Price Paid: |
$100.00 | | Strengths: | At one time it held the my bikes securely. | | Weaknesses: | The plastic covering on the crossbars is peeling off, making the rack look cheap. I also used an ultimate upright and the latch doesn't fit the adjusting knob like it should, catching only one side of it resulting in an insecure attachment. | | Bottom Line: | Don't use a Thule rack. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jamie
a Cross Country Rider
from Swindon, Wilts UK
Date Reviewed: January 28, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Grindelwald , CH | | Duration Product Used: | 2 Years | | Strengths: | Quick to Fit
Strength - I have had 2 bikes on my Prelude - no problem at motorway speeds (plus a bit!)
| | Weaknesses: | As rear bar mounting is not fixed one of my bike carriers wrattled - soon fixed by jamming some padding between the silver plate and the roof bar
VERY INSECURE LOCK - BE WARNED | | Bike Setup: | - was an attitude comp, now back to my trusty '85 Gary Fisher Hookoo. | | Bottom Line: | Please be careful when using the Thule bike rack with oversized frames as the jaws do not wrap around sufficiently to stop your bile simply being 'forced' off the roof.
I normally lock the bikes, and wheels to the roof rack, but I was only inside the house long enough for a thief to spot my bike, wrench it off the roof and ride off on it (Klein Attitude comp £1000 !! b^%$£%ds) luckily it was insured!!
My tip is that rather than trusting the simple locking mechanism when fixing oversized frames, purchase a small, but strong cable lock, the type you fix to the down-tube are great as you can fix it to the Thule uprights. pass this lock around the U join in the Thule uprights and around the frame:
___
// \\
||O|| //---\\ | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
deric
a Cross-Country Rider
from SLC,UT
Date Reviewed: July 21, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
Thule fit kits and cross bars seem to work O.K. | | Weaknesses: |
Only one day after buying it I noticed that the PLASTIC parts at the lower latch were not working correctly.One of the PLASTIC flanges on the PLASTIC lever would raise over the adjustment knob(knob would also describe the person who designed this thing).The bottom line is the rack would never attach securely to the bike because only one of the two latching surfaces,at the bottom,would stay in it's groove. | | Similar Products Used: |
Yakima Ankle Biter | | Bike Setup: |
Thule bars | | Bottom Line: | My obvious dislike of Thule products was over a year in the making and peaked when I
tried their newest upright bike rack.I also own their previous upright design,which among other things,scratched the down tube on my bike and takes entirely too long to
operate as compared to Yakimas quick release design.Thank God Yak makes a kit that allows me to use their products on my Toolie(as in the tool that designed these racks) cross bars.deric | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Ray
a Weekend Warrior
from Baltimore
Date Reviewed: July 18, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
3 months | | Strengths: |
Ease of use
Lockable
Stability | | Weaknesses: |
None | | Similar Products Used: |
Rhode Gear trunk mount | | Bike Setup: |
Trek 7300 | | Bottom Line: | Excellent rack. At highway speeds it is absolutely stable. It is also easy to use and to adjust between bikes. Removal only takes a few seconds once unlocked. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Peter
a Weekend Warrior
from Sydney, Australia
Date Reviewed: June 27, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Thredbo Raw NRG | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
Ease of use and flexibility of mounting most bikes. | | Weaknesses: |
Upright threaded rod has a habit of stripping away during hard use. | | Similar Products Used: |
Rola Bike mounts. | | Bike Setup: |
Gary Fisher Full Suspension 1998 models. | | Bottom Line: | Bought two of these racks and have been ultra happy despite minor problems. These racks have been places that would see bikes flying into the bush. Try ROUGH CORRUGATED Aussie bush roads at 140km/h hour after hour with no tightening or maintenance required. Just throw the bikes on, one flick and they're mounted. Just hop out and get them down at the other end! Only downside is that they are expensive, however they are the easiest alternative for mounting some of the weirder frame shapes (Fisher FS, Giant ATX-DH). Thule have done well. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
andy
a Cross-Country Rider
from saratoga
Date Reviewed: June 20, 1999 | | Duration Product Used: |
1 Year | | Strengths: |
easy to use, my bike never fell off
looks cool on your car | | Weaknesses: |
upright bar doesn't stay and slips down my down tube so it ends up doing nothing | | Similar Products Used: |
normal thule | | Bike Setup: |
fisher hkek | | Bottom Line: | not a bad rack, i wouldn't have been happier with the old school rack but it works. it just rocks around a lot up there, i've used it a ton though and it has never been a serious problem. 4 red hots | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Mitch Small
a Weekend Warrior
from Jersey City, NJ
Date Reviewed: April 6, 1999 | | Favorite Trail: |
Round Valley,NJ | | Duration Product Used: |
2 Years | | Strengths: |
Easy to get bike and Rack on and off.
Easy to adjust. Holds bike solid even at speeds over 70 mph. | | Weaknesses: |
A little on the expensive side. | | Similar Products Used: |
None | | Bottom Line: | An excellent rack, that has never given me any trouble. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David Ray
a weekend warrior
from Cumming, GA
Date Reviewed: February 26, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
I picked up the Thule roof rack for my 81 Volvo wagon and originally got the Velo-Vise fork mount carrier. While installing the rack I started thinking about the convenience of the Ultimate Upright for just $10 more. ($100 vs. $89 at REI) So I swapped the fork mount for the upright and couldn't be happier. Bike seems to be rock solid on the roof and it's a breeze to hook up. Rack is great for traditional frames but could see difficulties with some of the exotic designs. Only downside is expense, but if you're buying Thule racks you're spending some bucks. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
olymtb
a cross-country rider
from berkeley, ca
Date Reviewed: December 25, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
This rack is ok, but not as good as my previous Yakima. The construction is sturdy but the plastic shell is falling appart. Also assembly is not as easy as my previous Yakima. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Larry
a
from Palo Alto, CA
Date Reviewed: January 11, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I have tried both the Yakima and Thule Roof Rack systems. I originally bought the Yakima Roof
rack system because or their round bars which I felt would adapt better to curved gutters. Also,
according to their Fit Book, their gutter mount would fit all three of my cars. However, their book
was wrong. It did not come close to fitting one of my cars. The dealer, (REI), couldn’t believe thelr
Fit Book was wrong but came out to my car and confirmed that this was indeed the case and
exchanged the entire system for a Thule system for me.I bought 5 of Thule’s Ultimate Upright bike racks. Their Upright system works better than Yakima’s
in that their latching and locking mechanism is down at roof level rather than up by the downtube. (In
1998 Yakima is supposed to come out with their “Ankle Biter” bike mount however, which attaches
to a bike’s crank arm, making downtube diameter irrelevant. Also, this keeps the cranks from
turning while driving. But it does not use a triangulated mounting system with two upright struts per
bike, but one strut only, which seems inherently less stable.)Furthermore, if you want to switch your racks from car to car, the Thule requires only one knob.
Yakima requires a knob, but in addition, requires you to use a wrench on a bolt on the hard-to-see
backside of the gutter foot. This wrench can only be turned about an eighth turn at a time.
Furthermore, as you tighten the foot, the angle of the foot to the bar changes, which has a tendency
to bend both feet on the bar in towards each other, changing their distance between each other, so
you have to loosen the bolt and start the tedious process all over again, predicting by trial and error,
where the foot will end up after it’s fully tightened. This may not be so tough if you have to set it up
for just one car, but if want to switch cars, repeating this process is very inconvenient.The Thule Ultimate Uprights appear quite sturdy, and can hold road, mtn, kids bikes, or even our
kid’s trailer bike, (Alley-Cat). Thule’s rectangular bars have not been a problem. We even bought
Thule’s Adventurer 16 cu. ft. cargo box, which there is room for on the rack in addition to our
bikes.I also like Thule’s quick release levers to attach and detach the bike uprights. It makes it easy to
slide the outer racks with bikes into the center of the roof while mounting additional bikes. The bikes
lock to the Ultimate Uprights which lock the Uprights to the bars.
| | Overall Rating: |
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