I have the Thule XT2 Easyfold 933 and my Homage and Focus Thron2 only work for me if they are placed on the outer track. Both bikes at the same time is not an option. With the growth of ebikes, this style of rack would work better if the height of the rail was adjustable (Thule please note.). My previous Nevo did not fit as well the Homage.
The easyfold 932 is only about 20” from the aluminium (top surface) deck to the top of the frame, is the 933 any higher? The other thing I note is that the rail or bar on the 934 which is at least 24” tall and looks like it would be interchangeable with the 931 or 933 rail, isn’t in Thule’s spares catalog, grrr!
To test the difference in the height of the 932 (not 931 as I thought I had) - I went and borrowed a 934 (XT3) and whilst its a much more cumbersome carrier, it accommodates the homage much better than the two bike carrier. Rather frustratingly, the back carrier rail looks identical and therefore interchangeable on both racks, very annoying that you cannot buy it, at least according to my local dealer, grrr! Note the grab bars sit dead level and the jaws grip at the perfect angle on the seat stem. Not sure how much over my towbar nose weight limit it will push the total weight being carried, but it’s only another 6KG in total I guess.
Seems to be the same. My 933 is 20.7".
I can see that your grab arm doesn’t seem to look as angled as mine does in the same place with the 932 and the Homage on the outer track, how odd. No matter how I try I cannot get both edges of the jaw to clamp to the seat stem at all, only opposing upper and lower jaws (one each side, very iffy) due to the steeper angle I am seeing. And yet, from aluminium base to top of rear rail is 20.5” exactly, or 17.5” from the top of the black mount it is secured through. We shouldn’t need to resort to homemade mods, Thule should simply sell the alternative rails separately. It’s a bit like the way R&M won’t supply bolts and spacers so you can use the drinking bottles in their intended loc without a rack fitted. You might be able to make out that I have the bottle mounts fitted (both sides) without a rack, quite successfully, just bought longer bolts on eBay And used the RM supplied spacers. I can see from your photo that you appear to have the grab bar up on the flat of the rail and the clamp as low as possible on the stem, but I don’t think I can get my wife’s bike in the inner track quite like that. I’m going to have another look at mine tomorrow to make absolutely sure. Thanks all
I tried again to be sure today and I'm definitely not able to get a happy position on the 2-bike carrier I have (Thule 932), the back rail is just too short, making the angle too great for the jaws. My Homage has a 54cm frame so that could be an additional factor here. My front wheel is only just on the carrier deck, which isn't ideal either. I'll have one last go at Thule on Monday before I buy a 934 rack, to see if they will supply the XT3/934 back rail separately, but don't hold out much hope. Will let you know the outcome, thanks again all of you
I have checked with Thule via their support ticket system and received their official response this morning - “I am sorry, but we do not supply that part separately“. This is short sighted by Thule and will result in people doing their own mods in my opinion, like getting their local engineering firm to fabricate a new one. The lack of adjustment in the rail height will lead to some people being forced to use the carrier with a poor grip on their bicycle frame. If Thule make the unboltable rail in two different sizes, why not make them available separately.
I have now had several conversations via email with Thule support, all sorts of excuses about not supplying structural parts of their carriers that could be misused. I suggested that they could supply it as a dealer only upgrade, but all that followed were more excuses, common sense just doesn’t exist anymore it seems, just the company mantra.
I have ridden 1000km on my 2021 Homage Rohloff. Easing off the pedals when shifting is straightforward and soon becomes something that you do not think about. The Kiox shows a quick screen of the new gear selected. Changing two or three gears at a time is just as easy as changing one gear.
I am 6ft and have a 54cm 2021 Homage with Rohloff. Firstly, in my experience it’s a great bike, but it’s not an easy bike to mount safely on a tow bar carrier, so keep that in mind if collecting it from your supplier by car. As already said, after a few hundred miles changing gear suddenly becomes second nature. Just like any bike, you can get caught-out in the wrong gear at the foot of a sudden slope, but unlike most bikes you can change to whatever gear you want if you have to stop. It’s quite a different riding experience to a derailleur, you have to try it extensively I think to see if it suits, and you probably won’t be able to try enough until you buy it. I bought the bike for its spine saving comfort and the Rohloff for it’s low maintenance. If you are intending to have a dropper post on your bike, make sure you try one with a dropper post before you buy, or make sure there’s enough seat post sticking out of the seat stem to accommodate your choice of dropper. At 6ft you should have about 5 inches of stem protruding from the frame, if your legs are about the same as mine, but of course we all vary. 5ft 11 inches tall is probably the minimum height any rider of your bike can be once a dropper is fitted (with dropper at full height) and I definitely do recommend a dropper.
try
1up-usa.com will show you great rack, far better than Thule and their engineering is excellent
FYI, Nancy and I live in Bellingham and have made two winter trips to San Diego and back hauling our Homage and Delight Mountain down the coast on a Thule Easyfold. Your experience matches mine to the extent that there is indeed just one position/arrangemene of the bikes that is sufficiently secure to safely transport those bikes on that rack.I haven’t contributed for a while. It’s been a busy summer on my motorcycle rather than the Homage although I have managed to get almost 1000 kms on the bike.
I am really enjoying the Homage. It’s an overall excellent bike with very few shortcomings. The only issue for me is the weight and size of the bike particularly when it comes to transporting it and my wife’s Nuvo 3 on our Thule XT rack.
As others have said it’s a real chore to load two big bikes on the rack. In our case the bikes just fit in one specific position. The arms of the Thule aren’t quite at the right angle but they do work and lock successfully.
We had planned to transport the bikes down to California this November for the winter ( if the Border is open.....) but have decided against it. It’s a two and a half day 1500 mile trip.and I just don’t feel confident enough on the rack set up and the chore of unloading and reloading the bikes at the overnight stops. We could leave the bikes on the rack overnight (sans battery and Nyon) but I recently heard of an incident where e bikes, the rack and the car where damaged in an attempted theft.
We decided to buy bikes in California and I thought we would get an early start by ordering them now for November deliver. Turns out I was way too optimistic and, as many have discovered, there’s almost nothing available. We didn’t want to spend as much as we did on the R&M bikes ( not that any where available) and we’re looking for reasona priced mid drive step through bikes preferably with suspension and fat tires.
We liked the specs of the Caonondale Adventure Neo bikes and started looking for either the Neo 1 or 2. in a large and small size. Two days and many phone calls and voicemails later (several of which were never responded to) we learned that all the 2021’s were long gone and the provisional delivery date for a new Neo 1 or 2 is August 2022
We finally found some Neo 3’s at REI and hastily purchased them. The are a bit under specced ( Bosch Active line motors. 400 wh batteries and so so Shimano components) but a lot better than not having a bike available for the winter. I suspect we can fairly easily trade them in or sell them next year if we find they are not meeting our needs.
I am a few years older than you and although I haven’t had the health challenges that you have (I hope you are still on the mend ) I do struggle with loading and unloading the bikes. My ailments are relatively minor including arthritic hands and knees and a a ongoing lumbar disc issue. I have done the Vancouver to Palm Desert trip a total of 26 times and have learned to dislike it and the thought of wrestling with the bikes a total of six times in three days is very unappealing.
The video is very professional and inspirational, great part of the world too I’d say. Assuming the two-bike version of the Thule rack is similar to the U.K. version (apart from the lights), the 2021 Homage must have quite different geometry to the one your wife has or something else is very different somehow, because I couldn’t mount my Homage on the front slot of my 932 easyfold, the clamp was nowhere near in the right place. I wonder how tall the bar that holds the clamping arm is from the deck of the rack, interesting different experiences. I am a bit younger than you and Peter, but I prefer to use the ramp, can’t risk another hernia, luckily my heart appears to be not too bad so once I’m on the bike I’m much better than I am on my feet, because they aren’t great at all. Many happy miles ahead to you and your good lady.
