Thule Easy Fold XT

[ronr]

i Know there are people on this board who use this rack, please tell me the real story about them. I’ve heard everything from it’s the best rack in the land to horror stories of them falling off vehicles and smashing bicycles into a million pieces. What’s the real story? Thanks

 

[E-Wheels]

What’s the real story? Thanks

They are really good
I’ve had my Thule (not the easy fold) now for 2 years
If I had to I would buy again as these are really solid, easy to use and a very reliable carrier
The fold down feature of the carrier allows access to the cargo area, even with the bikes on

 

[Alaskan]

Solid, Convenient, durable, easy to use. Two years of regular use including two 3,000 mile trips to California and back from Bellingham, WA.

 

[smorgasbord]

Part of what holds the bikes are arms that you configure. For the second bike, the arm has to pass through the first bike.
You can see them in this video:

For my Luna Apollo, the battery fills most of the triangle so I think I'd have trouble threading the second arm through. And then with a carbon frame, you have to be careful not to hurt the frame (Thule sells a special clamp thingie).

Note in the above video that he doesn't demonstrate installing a second bike. I suspect you'll have the interference issues with the first bike when rolling the second bike up the ramp (I have this issue on my 1UP). Also, storing the ramp means tilting the ramp with both bikes mounted, which can be really hard to do with two heavy e-Bikes. Even Court's EBR review doesn't show a second bike being mounted, and he mentions "struggling" with the arms.

If you're only carrying 1 bike, then there are a lot of really good racks. If you're carrying 2 heavy eBikes, then I don't think there's any really good solution out there, just some barely tolerable solutions. I'll admit to being picky, but at these price points shouldn't I be?

 

[bob armani]

i Know there are people on this board who use this rack, please tell me the real story about them. I’ve heard everything from it’s the best rack in the land to horror stories of them falling off vehicles and smashing bicycles into a million pieces. What’s the real story? Thanks

I agree. I have read reports of contact points cracking and breaking during transport with these racks. In addition, when the owner did follow-up with a claim with Thule, they were basically ignored with no recourse. I am led to believe they are not reliable and made with sub-standard components, and are way over-priced. One of my favorite racks out there is the 1UP-USA rack made of quality materials. IMHO!

 

[Alaskan]

First hand warranty report - I had a problem with one of the clamp arms on my easyfold. A phone call to Thule and a replacement was in its way to me the next day.

Anonymous "I've heard that" or "people say" reports don't carry much credibility these days.

 

[YTOUY]

Solid, Convenient, durable, easy to use. Two years of regular use including two 3,000 mile trips to California and back from Bellingham, WA.

View attachment 57635

Thank you for sharing your real world experience. I received my new Thule Easyfold XT2 and am looking forward to hauling my very heavy Stromer.

 

[Sierratim]

We've had our Easy Fold for over a year now. We haul 2-50lb ebikes with it. Connects to the car with a solid clamping mechanism. Bikes are secured with 2 wheel straps and a frame clamp. The rack is well balanced with 2 bikes and can rotate away from the car by pushing a foot lever allowing access to the rear cargo area. The rack folds up when off the car and is easily wheeled into storage.

With the folding ramp, I can load both bikes by myself. The first time we used it we did need to load the bikes a couple of times to get the best fit on the rack. Once positioning was worked out it goes quickly. As others have said the 2nd bike's frame clamp arm does need to go through the frame of the first bike. I can see where this would be an issue for some styles of bikes.

Recently ordered the extended folding ramp to make one person loading even easier.

We did have one of the knobs on a frame clamp fail. It was replaced quickly without any issues.

 

[Deacon Blues]

I had this rack for a couple of years and was happy to sell it.
Mounting one bike was fairly easy, but mounting two bikes was a pain, trying to snake the pivoting arm through the bike frames and working the clamps to line up with the bike frame and at the same time making sure the two bikes didn't make contact with each other.
Also, I could never understand why Thule didn't have some way of locking the two halves of the base supports together in the folded position. I ended up using a bungie cord to keep them from flopping around.

 

[Nova Haibike]

i Know there are people on this board who use this rack, please tell me the real story about them. I’ve heard everything from it’s the best rack in the land to horror stories of them falling off vehicles and smashing bicycles into a million pieces. What’s the real story? Thanks

As someone who has been on the selling end of racks (Thule, Yakima, and various trunk rack brands), many seem to be designed by Rube Goldberg. I can appreciate that it is difficult to engineer racks that will fit many different vehicles and bikes, but they often fail in the ease-of-use category. Improperly secured racks or bikes is the primary reason why people have their cycles end up on the road, so-to-speak.

 

[Sierratim]

I had this rack for a couple of years and was happy to sell it.
Mounting one bike was fairly easy, but mounting two bikes was a pain, trying to snake the pivoting arm through the bike frames and working the clamps to line up with the bike frame and at the same time making sure the two bikes didn't make contact with each other.
Also, I could never understand why Thule didn't have some way of locking the two halves of the base supports together in the folded position. I ended up using a bungie cord to keep them from flopping around.

Ours don't flop so sounds like they fixed it.

 

[Jimbo08]

I have personlly used and sold racks from most of the big and small names. . All have highs and lows, and you often get what you pay for. Most manufacturers been good for any warranty we have had to process. Right now my favourite for a Como and a Vado, both with fenders, is the Easyfold.

 

[Deacon Blues]

Ours don't flop so sounds like they fixed it.

The platforms clicked into the upright position, but they could still be moved back-and-forth 5 or 6 inches. A small bungie cord fixed the sway, but it would have been nice if Thule had designed some way of firmly locking the two platforms in place.
Do your platforms have much movement in the up position?

 

[Sierratim]

The platforms clicked into the upright position, but they could still be moved back-and-forth 5 or 6 inches. A small bungie cord fixed the sway, but it would have been nice if Thule had designed some way of firmly locking the two platforms in place.
Do your platforms have much movement in the up position?

I'd call it minimal. When the platforms rotate up they click past a detent that helps keep them upright.

 

[bob armani]

First hand warranty report - I had a problem with one of the clamp arms on my easyfold. A phone call to Thule and a replacement was in its way to me the next day.

Anonymous "I've heard that" or "people say" reports don't carry much credibility these days.

Good to know Richard. When I get 1st hand knowledge directly from the user, that does surpass the credibility of said reports.

 

[Camac]

I've had my Easyfold for 3 years now, used twice a week, no problems. Have done some 5 or 6 hour drives, 2 ebikes up, no problem. Any 'reports' of a bike falling off would indicate that the bike wasn't loaded/secured correctly. Securing a bike is idiotproof. Securing a second bike just takes a second or two to work out where the stay goes.
When folding the platforms up a 6 inch piece of velcro from your wifes sewing cabinet holds them together.

 

[Ron from BC]

My main gripe with the XT2 is that recently the longer arm is almost impossible to remove from the bar it clamps onto. I used to be able to just pull on it which exposed the clamping mechanism and allowed it's removal and replacement but now I have to use a hammer and a piece of wood to bang on that spring loaded part which has to pulled away

Anyone else encountered that may have a solution.....lubrication?

 

[TNEP]

Forgive me if I'm stating the obvious but the further you open the clamp for the bike end the further the travel on the other bar end and it detaches very easy

 

[Ron from BC]

No problem it's a good idea to ensure that the proper method is being used first but yes I am doing it the right way, I've been putting our bikes on the rack for 18 months. It used to work just fine but not now, I did chat to another owner on a local trail who was experiencing the same problem and also couldn't figure out a solution.

 

[Alaskan]

I have the problem as well. A flat screw driver twisted in the joint works to pry it loose, then a spray of WD40 occasionally will keep it from seizing up again.