Thule Bike Rack Reviews
1: Thule 964 Revolver 4-Bike Hitch Mount Rack (2-Inch Receiver)
Thule 964 Revolver 4-Bike Hitch Mount Rack (2-Inch Receiver)
Written Review
This was a “Christmas Gift” for my ‘Son and his Family’!
They didn’t use it as of now. Come Spring!
Thank-You!
Pat Bernhardt
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Buy This Rack!
I spent a lot of time researching various brands and styles of bike racks. I settled on a hitch mount rack since loading three bikes on top of my Toyota Highlander would be a chore for me, and for my wife, impossible. I finally bit the bullet and spent $400 at REI for the rack.
This is a very solid and heavy rack. It weighs about fifty lbs. Construction is excellent. It is easy to assemble. There are two pivot points on the swing arm which allow the rack to move out of the way of the vehicle tail gate. I put light layer of wheel bearing grease on these before installation, though the manual did not call for it. The pins look like they might have a teflon coating, however, the grease will help repel water in the future. Everything moves easily with a full load of bikes. I also applied thread locking compound to the nuts on the pins, they have plastic lock washers on the nuts, however, road vibration can eventually work these loose (I used to be an automotive engineer, btw.) The nuts and bolts are 19 mm, using a socket wrench and a box wrench during installation will be much easier than the wrenches supplied with the rack.
Loading the bikes is simple. Thule also provides four very effective anti-sway brackets to keep the bikes from rocking. A nylon strap comes with the rack as a final measure to secure everything. The rack comes with an integrated locking cable for the bikes which tucks neatly into the frame. As another reviewer mentioned, this will probably slow down a thief not prevent one who is intent on stealing your bikes so you may want to invest in a Kryptonite lock and cable.
The rack mounts to 2″ hitch receiver. Make sure your car has a 2″ hitch or an adapter before buying this rack. Now here’s the tricky part: the rack is bolted into the hitch. The bolt goes through the hitch and threads into the rack. It is very easy to improperly align the bolt and the threads, thus ruining the bolt/threads. I almost did this. Just be careful lining everything up. The bolt should thread with little resistance. If the bolts is in slightly and you are having trouble tightening it, take it out and check to make sure the threads are not boogered up.
Do not underestimated the convenience of a swing out rack! This is worth the extra $100 to $150 you pay for this rack. The first time you leave something in the back of your car you will be glad you have this feature. Enjoy.
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Best rack I have bought
We just did a long trip to Utah on the family mini-van and this rack was perfect, traveling with kids was very convenient to be able to open the mini van back door without needing to unmount the bikes. The only issue, as with all racks other than roof racks, is that the bikes can scratch a lot , I removed one of the bike supports to convert it in a 3 bikes rack instead of 4 bikes. That way i was able to protect better the bikes, doing this I avoided the bikes touching each other. I have a rav4 with roof racks but I just ordered a hitch for it to use this rack as well on it, this way now I can carry 6 bikes securely on my car on group weekends rides and enjoy friends even on the ride to the trail and load gear on the back of the car without dismounting bikes every stop to pick up a rider
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Thule 4-bike hitch mount rack
Bike rack is very user-friendly. I love that we can open the back of the vehicle while bikes are attached…huge plus! Much more convenient than a roof rack. Highly recommend it. It’s worth the price.
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