My Favorite Bike Rack: Thule Raceway Platform

Spring is officially here and that marks the end of the skiing season (which we really didn't have much of, sadly) and the beginning of warm weather adventures.

In my case, that spells miles and miles of mountain biking. This is my second season and I have lofty ambitions of going on a section of the Flume Trail in Lake Tahoe, which according to this website that I'm checking out, is a badass 24 mile ride with a 1,500 foot elevation gain.

But I digress. Yes. The bike rack.

This rack is a bit on the heavy side as far as investments on outdoor gear goes, but when I weighed my options, this, by far, proved the most promising. I graduated from those cheap bike racks that strapped to the trunk of your car and I ended up with scratches and peeled paint on that car. The bikes also wobbled dangerously and driving long distances on that thing caused a lot of anxiety. So I vowed to not make that mistake ever again.

This Thule rack, on the other hand, is solid as a rock. I didn't want the additional expense of getting a hitch installed but I also wanted a tray. This rack attaches to the trunk (in my case, the hatch) and a tray folds out to hold the bike by its tires. This means that even when you're driving 60-70 mph, sometimes on winding mountain roads, the bike stays put. We transported two bikes up the mountain once and when both are clamped down properly, no contact between the two bikes occur at all.

The rack is made of quality, ruggedized parts and it is pretty obvious that much diligence was taken to engineer it. Despite the multiple times we've taken the rack off and on, toggled it between vehicles, it never chips the paint off or leave scratches on our vehicles. The rack also has a great system of locking the bikes to the rack with clamp that locks with a key.

And because it's meant to withstand weight and windspeed and such, it is but natural for the rack itself to be substantial in weight. Which I find to be a challenge if I needed to install the rack on my car without an extra pair of hands. And another limitation is that this rack is meant for non-carbon bicycles, and if you had an expensive full carbon bike, I suppose you knew not to use a rack like this anyway.

For more information on the Thule Raceway Platform 9030, click here. I bought mine at REI where I was able to cash in on some REI rewards and because these guys don't come cheap, it might not be a bad suggestion to do the same.

#adventure #gear #cycling