Thule easy fold XT

• The presenter initially chose the Thule easy fold XT but found that the rails were too small to hold the tires properly
• The straps provided with the rack were not long enough
• The presenter had to buy additional straps
• The front hook of the rack would rub against the front fork of the bike, causing damage
• The rack was set up for two bikes, but the presenter only needed it for one

“The very first bike that I picked up was the Thule easy fold XT bike rack. The bike rack cost about a thousand dollars and I didn’t care because I loved a lot of the features that it had. But when we actually put my bike on it, the rails where the tires sit seemed too small. Plus, the straps weren’t long enough for it; you were gonna have to buy those additionally. Well, I was just coming to get my bike and bring it back up, so we did put the bike on that rack and take it from the bike shop. And I went right back to REI to get another one that would fit the bike better. I was able to trade it in for a Thule T2 Pro.”

Thule T2 Pro

• The Thule T2 Pro had bigger baskets to accommodate fat tires
• However, the hook that connected to the bike’s front tire would rub against the front fork
• The presenter tried different methods to prevent the rubbing, but nothing worked effectively
• The rack was designed for two bikes, but the presenter only needed it for one

“Here was the problem that I found out when you connected it to your bike – it has a hook that hooks down on the front tire. And for that, some people have to take their front fender off. I like to change my bike up where I have the fender on sometimes, sometimes I have it off. And I was able to hook it onto the front tire and cinch it down. But no matter how I positioned it, it would rub against the front fork on my bike. Another issue I had with the Thule T2 rack was that it was set up for two bikes, and I only had one. So, I would constantly have to work my way around the second one to lift the 73-pound bike onto the rack to get it on there.”

Harbor Freight motorcycle rack

• The presenter returned the Thule T2 Pro and bought a motorcycle rack from Harbor Freight instead
• This rack was able to hold 400 pounds and cost around $130
• The presenter modified the rack to lower the tires for better stability during travel
• The rack does not allow the tailgate to open and does not raise up from the hitch area like typical bike hitches
• The rack provides an easy and quick way to load and unload the bike
• The presenter chose not to use the ramp that came with the rack because it was not needed

“I decided to return the Thule bike rack and go ahead and get one at Harbor Freight. Now, their bike rack is a motorcycle rack. It’s going to hold 400 pounds, so I ended up buying one from there. It was about $130. I just wanted to be able to keep my fenders on and not damage the bike while I’m traveling with it. This one was super easy to put together; there’s not much to it. But one of the issues that I had was that I wasn’t able to sink the bike into the rack because it didn’t have any pins that you could make adjustments to. So, I took it back the next day. I decided to start searching on Amazon for different motorcycle racks that would hold one bike, one e-bike, motorcycle, whatever. And I found one.”

“I still have very little money into it, and that wasn’t really the concern. I just wanted to be able to travel with this thing the way that I want to travel with it without it doing any damage to the bike. Now I didn’t have to make any adjustments to the pins over here on this side. And the neat part is I can have the bike either way. So, a lot of the times I travel with my battery and my bike, I know, but that’s just how I do it. It’s how I like it. I never had an issue with that. In mind, I can either have the bike with the front facing the passenger, or I can switch it around and have it where it’s facing the driver’s side. It just depends on how I throw it onto the rack.”

Installing the ECOTRIC 500lbs Trailer Hitch

• Slide the rack in and match it up to the second connector.
• Use a bolt to tighten it, which prevents it from vibrating and wobbling.

“That’s where your bolt goes in and tightens up and what that does is it pushes it next to the side of the actual hitch which keeps it from vibrating and wobbling.”

Benefits 

• Ideal rack for the speaker.
• Doesn’t require modifying bike fenders.
• Provides flexibility to have fenders on or off.

“For me, this rack works best…I want to have the ability to have them on or have them off without having to modify them at all.”

Recommendation for a budget rack for single bikes

• A simple and easy process.
• Affordable option for those with one bike.