Thule FastRide Roof Mounted Bike Rack

Easier to get your bike on the roof
This model has a built-in front axle that makes it easier to put your bike on the car and go. The axle part must be tightened, but it does have a built-in torque wrench and will “click” when you have it tight enough. This is much easier than the other Thule model where the axle is a separate piece that you must put on your bike, then put on the roof rack. When you remove your bike, you then have to take that part off and risk misplacing it or getting your hands dirty if you have been riding in muddy conditions.

Elegant solution, still a little fiddly
Purchased a used one on Amazon to save money. The previous buyer had graciously included all the hardware in ziploc bag, which was much appreciated :)Instructions were not included and ended up not being needed; everything fits together with very little guesswork required. I’m going to be using this on the aero bars that came with my Forester, which do not have the Thule groove, so I’ll be using the clamps. When you go to put the clamps through the plastic housings, there’s one spot where they’re certainly meant to be used, and another that would almost certainly cause catastrophic failure. The difference is how much “meat” there is that’s supporting the force of the clamp. When stored, off the car, up and out of the way, it’s good to let the clamps dangle from their secondary position, but when installed on the cross bars, care must be taken to ensure you’re putting the clamp in its clamping position. Again, no manual, just me guessing that using the part where there’s very thin plastic is NOT where to clamp it to the vehicle when traveling down the highway at 70 MPH with a $6000 bike up there. Could be wrong.I did not expect to have to purchase an add-on to carry a through-axle bike… it says right on the box it carries drop out and through-axle bikes, but the part needed to carry a through axle bikes will set you back an additional fifty bones. Irritating, but that’s the bike industry for ya.On the whole, it’s a neat product. It won’t be as easy to use as a hitch rack, but carrying a bike by its top-tube is SO “Department Store”. I’ll update this review once I’ve actually used the thing, but initial impressions put my doubts at ease; I was concerned that the solution to securing this carrier to rails that don’t use Thule’s channel would be hokey, but it seems quite robust. Nice, hardened hardware used. The cam over latch seems pretty sturdy and the thread pitch helps ensure you get the perfect tightness without over-tightening. It does not feel like the latch will up and un-latch itself. I do not intend to buy the locking kit to go with it.Once the thing is assembled and the pieces are in place, it can be installed to the car and removed from the car in about a minute. Very cool. You can store it up in your garage’s rafters with the rack rails wen you’re not using it :)Why not five stars? Does not include the part needed to carry modern bicycles with through-axles, and they instead used it an an opportunity to charge their customers $50 for a piece of cast steel and some plastic spacers. I figure I saved about that much by buying it used, so it’s a wash, but still very Thule of them.

Best rack around
Excellent, easy to setup and use. I have used others and this hands down is the best. Very stable for LONG road trips

Love it
Not much more I can say about it except that I wish that it did cost as much as it did. It’s very sturdy, easy to load and unload.

This is my second Fastride roof rack. Thule just makes great racks. It works for both my mountain bike with a beefy fork and disc brakes, as well as my road bike. The bikes go on and come off quickly. It requires two lock cores – one to lock the bike rack to the bars and the other to lock the bike to the rack. I recommend this rack if you prefer a fork mount carrier.

Excelente

Velo