Carbon Unit

Thanks, it is too bad the way that the Thule grabs the front wheel. That is pretty much a deal killer for me. I can't want any marks or scratches on my bikes caused by the rack.

Carbon Unit

Thanks for the feedback, I very much appreciate it. I do have one more question. I have been reading all the reviews I could find comparing the Saris Cycle-On and the Thule T2. Well, I noticed that the Saris is about a 17" wider than the Thule. Have you find the larger size of the Saris to be a problem. If it isn't I will go with the Saris. I like the latching mechanism on the Saris better than the Thule. Athough, the tilt option of the Thule would be nice.

Carbon Unit

By the way, one observation that speaks to the customer service level of Thule and Saris.

Saris has their toll free customer service number listed on their website. With Thule, there is no phone number listed. You need to email them.

Carbon Unit

Update on this Thule T2 Vs Saris Cycle-On debate:

I called Thule today. They didn't recommend the Thule T2 to carry carbon fiber road bikes because the T2 makes contact with the brakes or the front fork. They recommended that I go with a roof rack, which isn't really want I want to do. In this case, the Saris Cycle-On is the only option if I want a plateform rack.

So it looks like the Saris is the clear winner here.

BillyBob1

I don't like to hear that. I bought the T2 specifically for my carbon road bike. I looked again at their literature and it says nothing about not using it for carbon bikes. I agree about not liking the butting up against the front caliper. My first read of the instructions, I thought, was to keep it an inch away, and then in another place to butt up against the front caliper. I called them and they said butt up. Oh well, time will tell. It is well built and I like it - so far my bike likes it too.

Billy

Carbon Unit

I was thinking that you can wrap something around the front brake to protect it from any possible damage. I am really surprised that Thule doesn't want to do more to satisfy the road bikers. It is a large and growing population of cyclist.

Here is a an email I received from Thule's tech support today. I pasted their response below. They do not recommend the T2 for carbon bikes or road bikes.


Question Reference #080807-000003
---------------------------------------------------------------
Summary: I am interested in the Thule T2, but I have a road
bike. I noticed that all o...
Product Level 1: Hitch Mount Carriers
Category Level 1: -Unknown-
Date Created: 08/07/2008 01:28 AM
Last Updated: 08/14/2008 01:12 AM
Status: Solved


Discussion Thread
---------------------------------------------------------------
Response (Olivier Thibodeau) - 08/11/2008 05:46 PM
Hello,

When using the T2, the arms will have to come in contact with front brake or fork for it to be stable on the wheel.
Also, we do not recommend putting road bikes and/or bikes with carbon frames on a hitch bike carrier. we recommend putting those bikes on a roof rack with one of our accessory bike carrier for roof racks. The best for you would really be a fork mounted bike carrier for the top of the car such as the Echelon or the Peloton.

Customer (Bruce Darby) - 08/07/2008 01:28 AM
I am interested in the Thule T2, but I have a road bike. I noticed that all of the photos of the T2 always have mountain bikes attached. Mountain bikes usually have disk brakes. My concern is that the T2 will make contact with my front brakes and carbon fork.

Can the T2 be used in a way that the hold down arm doesn't come in contact with the front brake or fork?

If the T2 can be used with a road bike, can you send me a photo showing a road bike and how the arm attaches to the front wheel?

Thanks,


However, I think I found a rack that will do exactly what I want from a company I never heard of. The company is Raxter and they make a rack that will hold any bike including tandems and recumbents, has a small foot print, holds the bike by the wheels, is sturdy and easy to load and weighs 32 lbs. This is the rack I think I will buy.


Here are a few links on the raxter racks:

https://www.raxterracks.com/index.html

https://www.mtbr.com/cat/accessories/...361_98crx.aspx

https://reviews.mtbr.com/interbike/ra...demonstration/

https://www.mtnbikeriders.com/2007/10...w-raxter-rack/

https://www.mtnbikeriders.com/2008/05...ike-extension/

johnny99

I have a Saris Thelma and am happy so far

Carbon Unit

I think the Saris thelma would be a good choice. The only issue I had with it is that will not work for a 29er mountain bike which may be my next bike. For road bikes I think the Thelma is probably good.

JayC

The Thelma is a piece of crap.

https://www.bikeforums.net//showthread.php?t=302899

Carbon Unit

Yeah, I know you had bad luck with the Thelma and I asked the Saris people about the problem you had with the wheel holder bending. They acted as if they never heard of such a thing. They tell me that they have been really reliable. Is there any possibility that the issue you had with your Thelma rack was a fluke and wouldn't likely happen again?

The owner of my bike shop has a Thelma and he hasn't had any problem with it, but he probably isn't driving in heavy winds.

Anyway, I am not going to buy a Thelma. As it stands, my first choice is a Raxter and then the Saris Cycle-On.

BillyBob1

As I said, I have a carbon road bike and their literature that came with the rack specifically states the arm for the front wheel should be placed 1 inch in front of the front caliper. That is what I have done and it works fine. One additional thing that one could do is to affix the rim of the front wheel at the bottom to the rack with a bungy or strap, similar to the strap they provide to affix the rear wheel to the rack. I also went to the Thule site and didn't find the T2, but what looks like a new rack? I didn't spend any time with the site so I may be way off.

Billy

paul_858

You should add a column for which one most readily supports locking of the bike to the rack/hitch.

BillyBob1

I re-read my post above, and also re-read the literature and indeed the literature states under warning that the arm must come in contact with the caliper or fork - so I was wrong. Have no idea why they didn't put the warning in the next sentence after the part about 1 inch from the caliper? Just Dumb. Anyway I think it works without a problem. I am sure there is a fix if you don't want to get up close and personal to the caliper, but I haven't thought that through yet.

Pugsly

I have the T2, great rack - and I have a carbon road bike. I dunno what the Thule CSR was telling you, but to say that the T2 is not a good rack for road bikes in general and carbon bike specifically seems way off base.

bsyptak

It's called CYA. But having to call, email in Thule's case, tech support to learn this instead of it being prominently listed in the literature as a "feature" is pathetic indeed. Still I can't believe Thule didn't do an extra 10 minutes of engineering and design an over the wheel arm that doesn't have to contact the caliper. That's just plain stupid engineering. It's a Chevy instead of a Toyota. I hope that Yakima comes out with something similar (their current products lack), as I've always preferred their design and quality to Thule.

The Raxter or any other rack (Yakima and the Saris unless I'm wrong) that has straps that go over the rim won't work if you have carbon wheels. I realize that carbon wheels are not that popular, but you can hardly buy a non-carbon road bike anymore.

I'd still say that the Thule is closest to being able to accomodate carbon wheels and frame. They just need to work on a better arm that doesn't touch the caliper. Maybe two arms, one in front of the fork and one behind to prevent left to right movement.

My $400 goes to the first company that spends longer than an 8 hour work day coming up with a design that works for everything from a bmx bike to a std mtb to a road bike to a 29er. Can't touch the rims. Can't touch the frame.

aicabsolut

I think Thule is saying that all the hitch racks aren't ideal for carbon frames, since they all make some contact with the frame (at the fork, top tube, wherever). I have a Thule hitch rack (not the T2, but one of the top tube holders), and the rubber straps and cups keeps the paint in pretty good shape compared to most. Yeah, if salt or dirt is on your frame, the swirls in the clearcoat could be worse. It can also be hard to keep the bikes from rubbing on each other, especially with compact frames and varied handlebar widths. I'd maybe go with the T2 in the future just for ease of fitting different kinds of bikes and there's no need for a lot of extra steps like wheel straps.

I park in a garage, and so not having to worry about remembering when my bike is on my car outweighs any mild cosmetic blemishes that I get on the frame from a hitch rack.

JayC

Since the Raxter was mentioned in this thread, I wanted to link to my Raxter review just in case anyone is interested in that rack.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=468484

PaulRivers

Was just curious if anyone had any newer updates on the T2 vs the Cycle-On - I know bikerumors.com mentioned that Thule keeps making minor update to the T2, wondered if anyone had any recent experience with the latest versions of either rack (does the T2 still rub your fork?).