When we bought a pair of mountain bikes, we quickly realized our old bike rack wasn't going to cut it. It worked well enough for our road bikes, but it didn't hold the wider mountain bike tires as securely as we wanted. We needed something that could handle both styles of bikes without constantly making adjustments.

Since bike racks are kind of expensive, we spent quite a bit of time comparing options before making a decision.

Interestingly, this wasn't actually the rack we intended to buy. We originally chose a smaller, less expensive model, but after discovering a manufacturing issue during assembly, we returned it and decided to step up to the Thule T2 Pro XT instead.

First Impressions

The first thing we noticed was the weight. At just over 50 pounds, this rack is not light. It took both of us to lift the box into the house, but once we opened it, assembly was surprisingly straightforward. Within about 30 minutes, it was mounted on the Crosstrek and ready for its first trip.

A Great First Test

Our first outing with the rack was a road trip to the Alabama Hills, which turned out to be the perfect test.

The drive north along Highways 14 and 395 is often extremely windy. Combined with several miles of rough dirt roads, it gave us plenty of opportunities to see how well the rack actually held the bikes. The answer was... remarkably well.

Even in strong crosswinds and over washboard roads, the bikes barely moved. At one point, we drove through a dip that caused the rack to scrape the ground. The sound made us cringe, but the built-in skid plate did exactly what it was designed to do. It protected the rack, and we drove away without any damage. After more than 500 miles on that first trip, we felt confident we'd made the right choice.

Features We Appreciate

The tilting mechanism has become one of our favorite features. A handle at the back of the rack lets us lower it with one hand, making it easy to access the rear hatch without unloading the bikes.

Loading the bikes is equally simple. The front wheel is secured by a ratcheting arm while the rear wheel is held in place with an adjustable strap. Once everything is tightened down, the bikes feel extremely stable.

One small tip: don't over-tighten the rear wheel straps. They hold securely without much force, and tightening them too much only makes them harder to release later.

The rack also includes integrated cable locks for both bikes and a lock that secures the rack to the hitch. We use the built-in locks whenever we leave the bikes for short periods, although we'll add another lock if we're leaving them unattended for longer.

Living With It

When the rack isn't carrying bikes, it folds upright against the back of the Crosstrek. We notice a little movement and occasional rattling over bumps when it's empty, but that's never been an issue once the bikes are loaded.

The weight is probably the only real downside. Moving the rack on and off the vehicle takes a little effort, but that same weight is part of what makes it feel so solid on the road. Compared to our previous rack, the difference in stability is night and day.

We've now used the Thule T2 Pro XT for everything from local rides to long road trips, and it has been completely reliable. It securely carries both our mountain bikes and road bikes, gives us easy access to the rear hatch, and has handled rough roads, strong winds, and thousands of miles without any issues.

Sometimes spending a little more up front really is worth it. This has been one of those purchases.

Update (May 2023): We bought this rack in 2019, and after four years of regular use, it's still hauling our bikes to trailheads all over Southern California without giving us any reason to replace it.