Transporting bicycles is never simple, especially if you have more than one. A big enough vehicle can accommodate a bike with the front wheels removed. However, placing two bikes inside a vehicle is more challenging and often impossible. This can be a challenge even in modern pickup beds that are five feet long.
There is something about bike racks that captures my interest. I can’t explain it. I’ve had roof racks and cargo boxes on cars and SUVs, and I’ve had various hitch-mounted racks on my SUVs and pickups. I guess I think of them as functional accessories. Judging by the various racks and cargo boxes I see on all kinds of vehicles, I am not alone. But my family and I are avid bikers and skiers, so I do get them with a purpose in mind.
My first hitch-mounted rack was a Thule four-bike hanging rack. It was good, but did not work well for some smaller bikes. I then moved on to a Yakima FullSwing. That rack was unfortunately damaged in a rear-end accident, but it did prevent damage to my car. The other person’s insurance was unwilling to pay for it at first, however. I then moved onto a Saris platform rack, which was great, if heavy and of some slightly low-cost components, but that too was damaged in a hit-and-run, but it too prevented damage to my 4Runner.
Thule Verse 2″ Description:
The Thule Verse rack is designed for a two-inch (2”) hitch receiver, but a 1.25” version is also available. It holds two bikes upright, with a maximum weight of 60 pounds each. The bike wheels must be between 20 inches and 29 inches in diameter, with a maximum tire width of five inches.
Bikes are attached by an adjustable arm on the front wheels and a movable wheel cradle with a strap for the rear wheel. The arms keep the bikes secured vertically, and the rear cradle secures them longitudinally. Additionally, there is a semi-integrated cable lock for the bikes.
This rack has a more rugged design than typical bike racks. It is intended for vehicles that will venture on non-paved trails or do some light off-roading. Once mounted into the hitch receiver, it has the added benefit of high clearance, which increases the departure angle compared to other racks.
Assembly:
As shown in the video, the assembly was rather easy, even for one person. The main section of the rack is attached to the vehicle’s hitch receiver. The design makes it almost impossible to assemble it incorrectly. IKEA-like instructions are handy.
All the components are of rather high quality compared to other racks I’ve had before. Only the endcaps proved to be tricky during the installation; I didn’t show this in the video, as I thought I had installed them properly, but I had to take them off, align them, and hit them hard to clip them in. But once they were in, they weren’t going anywhere.
Next:
In the next video, I will show how to mount a bike onto the rack and how to install it on my Bronco, which has a spare tire in the back. The rack required an extension and introduced some sway, which was obviously not an issue with the rack itself.
Pros and Cons of the Thule Verse 2″:
- Easy to assemble
- High quality
- Easy to load bikes
- Very stable
- Built-in locks
- Heavy
- Pricey
- Bulky once removed from the vehicle