Thule T2 or T2 Pro?

[chgofirefighter]

Hey guys, can't tell much of a difference between these 2 bike racks. Wanted to purchase a Kuat, but its just too damn costly for my taste. Came across a bike rack for ebikes called, Hollywood Sports rack, but looks kinda cheaply made.

My understanding is that Kuat is made entirely in China and the Thule is not, Thule is about 80% American made, so needless to say that I need to support my American made products. So which one of the 2 above?

The Thule T2 cost about $370 vs $549 or less, more less like $459 on Amazon~ So what's the verdict?? I am will be using it on a Jeep Rubicon...

 

[chgofirefighter]

You have a Stromer ST2 with fenders, right? You do not want a rack with an arm that grips the tire where you have a fender. You either move the arm down low, where it has a tenuous grip, or remove the fender to make this kind of rack work. The Kuat and Thule T2 use tire arm grips that are incompatible with fenders.

I bought a Thule EasyFold 9032. Expensive. Doesn't fold up on the vehicle very well, but does come on and off easily. Securely holds two ST2 bikes.

I had a Hollywood rack once upon a time. It was cheaply made. Wouldn't recommend it for ebikes due to their weight.

I also have a Thule Apex Swing bike carrier. For a single Stromer it could work. For two bikes the weight of the Stromer and the thick down tubes cause issues with physically loading and unloading. But if you can load and drag wet fire hoses, you may not have a problem with this model. It folds up nicely on the car.

Thule is a Swedish company. Quality products. Yakima is the American bike rack manufacturer.

Thanks the easy fold is quite expensive and I've looked at it at the bike shop. The bike shop sales people informed me that the Thule would be a good choice but I also notice the arms on the Thule which secures the tire and I was like, hmmmm.... maybe this is not the best option.

That's why I decided to post an inquiry on this forum before making the jump. Also, the Hollywood rack appears to be cheaply made and a not good product. In the future I'll be getting another Ebike for the trails and off-road so I need a good quality built bike rack and I may need to go over my budget to do so.

Oh and by the way, thanks for the compliment about dragging hose, etc but I do more heavily involved task than that single process but I appreciate the humor in it...

 

[jason330i]

hello. definitely want to make sure your fenders won't interfere with the rack arm before buying.

but if you do get a thule, it is definitely worth it to get the Pro. more features and better built. in older versions of the regular T2, there were issues with part of the rack coming loose.

Yakima holdup would also be a good alternative.

 

[smitty]

Hey guys, can't tell much of a difference between these 2 bike racks. Wanted to purchase a Kuat, but its just too damn costly for my taste. Came across a bike rack for ebikes called, Hollywood Sports rack, but looks kinda cheaply made.

My understanding is that Kuat is made entirely in China and the Thule is not, Thule is about 80% American made, so needless to say that I need to support my American made products. So which one of the 2 above?

The Thule T2 cost about $370 vs $549 or less, more less like $459 on Amazon~ So what's the verdict?? I am will be using it on a Jeep Rubicon...

Check out: (Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

American made and the operation is slick from the videos I have seen. What also impressed me is that it is the only rack I found that was for a single bike (can be added onto for additional bikes if desired). It folds up against the rear door/bumper but best of all it comes completely assembled and ready to go right out of the box AND it easily folds back up and can be carried in its box in the back of your vehicle. Fender rollers are available for a nominal price and they might be persuaded to include them with the rack if asked? You need their heavy-duty model to support the weight of a Stromer. Shipping is inexpensive by comparison. There a couple of good videos of the operation on YouTube

 

[Streumer]

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