Thule Vertex 5 Bike Hitch Rack

Comments about Thule Vertex 5 Bike Hitch Rack:

This product is well made and does what it was designed for very well. It isn't designed to allow tilt when loaded but might be done if a very small clearance to open a hatch is needed. If fully loaded with 5 adult heavier bikes (150lbs) this would be a load to hold, tilt a little and then lift back into place. Do so with care if you attempt this (2 people minimum). If you need full rear vehicle access when fully loaded, you need a side swing mount made for that.

The use of 5 bikes can be done with some planning and careful placing. Bikes with rear racks and other features will eat up valuable room in successfully figuring this out. It can be done but they will be packed tight. Less than 5 bikes are a breeze. You will need to decide just how close to the mount the first set of cradles are. Closer gives you move room for other bikes but when packed tight, bikes are going to rub here and there.

The cradle mounts all work well, easily, quickly and reliably once you realize the mechanics of how the straps work best along with the anti sway vertical mounts. Loading on the 5 bike rack is the only place I have a real negative with using this rack. It has nothing to do with the mount but just the extra effort it takes to place the first bike over the ends of the longer arms and then move it all the way up next to the base of them. They are long and you must work around them. It is the required nature of the rack to have long arms for fitting 5 bikes. This is nothing bad just some extra effort. If the first bike is a heavier bike (better placement is up close to the mount) and those mounting it are not that strong, it might be easier with two people. Once past the first and second bike, loading is easy.

It is best to plan your loading before starting and to place the cradles about where they need to be. By design they do not move easily. Once in place with a bike they are pretty solid. To move them unloaded takes some twisting and rotating to slide them a little at a time. It is more difficult to do this if you already have bikes on the rack.

Before the 5 bike model, we began with the 4 bike version when we had changed cars and had to change mounting abilities. The price seems steep at first but then you see how the product works so well and remains solid over time. The 4 bike rack we have has been in use for a year now and continues to work as when new. All the hardware and moving parts remain solid Our son, an enthusiast, took it over and it remains on his small car all the time and is used many times per week for local and long haul carrying.
If you regularly carry 4 bikes, the 5 bike version is a good choice. If 90% of your load is 3 bikes or less, I prefer the 4 bike version as it is just a little easier to load the first bike and then the arms do not extend as far behind the vehicle which could be a concern for many urban parking situations when they are raised.

Our use of the 5 bike version is on a Volvo XC90 SUV. That model has a split rear hatch with 2/3 being the window and door going up and 1/3 being a tailgate. We are lucky with that in that both will just work with the rack in place and unloaded. With bikes on it, a road bike just barely allows the hatch to open still. With a mountain bike, the bars are wider and just block the hatch from opening. If only 4 bikes it can be loaded so this is avoided by moving the bike closest to the mount outward a bit. THIS IS NOT THE DESIGN intent. Full size hatches aren't going to open. We are just lucky with that on this car and it might work with others like the split hatch on mid 2000s Ford Explorers and perhaps others similar in design.

When loading a bike with no top bar the accessory for putting a temporary top bar works very well. If you are talented workshop person you can make one. If you aren't and have to carry a bike like this regularly, buy this even if you use another rack. We recently carried a Specialized Ladies Cruiser bike. It is very upright and tall stem bike and using the bar from seat to stem still resulted in the front wheel being very low. This temporary top bar then went from seat to one of the forks and worked well in that position. If you are going to have a bike that will be low to the ground, mount it first on the rack so it will not suffer from being mounted at the end so far from the rear axle so best avoiding a chance of dragging it.

The 5 bike mount is a heavier piece of equipment to hold and while only needing a simple bolt into the receiver pin area with a wrench provided, we prefer to just leave it on the vehicle all the time.

It also works as a great work stand when other things are available.

Summary:
* Great product, expensive price but glad for the quality of it after regular use after a year. (on a vehicle all the time out in the weather)
*Holds 4 bikes easily, 5 with care in packing and some puzzling over how best to fit things
*Once familiar with the mechanics easily moves out of way when unloaded
*Holds bikes securely
*Design of cradles and straps works well.
*Works well with our SUV XC90 and our midsize V70 Wagon.

Good enough product that when son took over our 4 bike version we bought the 5 bike model for our use!

NCS

Comments about Thule Vertex 5 Bike Hitch Rack:

Great bike rack. I bought the rack as I wanted the flexibility to transport a variety of bikes.
DH bikes - I've only managed to get 3 downhill bikes on the rack, as they are quite bulky. It is rated for 160 lbs though, so you can get 4 on. Some of the shapes are pretty awkward to get on and tie down though.
Road bikes - very easy to put on.
Cross country MTB - similar to DH bikes with their awkward shapes if they are full suspension, but I haven't found a shape that won't go on.
It's a really stable rack at a great price. There's no point in buying the more expensive one (Apex I think) unless you are taking your rack on and off all the time.

Comments about Thule Vertex 5 Bike Hitch Rack:

The set up and installation couldn't have been any easier. Tis unit slipped right into the 2" hitch and was just about ready to go out of the box. All you need to do is add one screw at the base and add the straps. You're done! We mounted 4 bikes on and the bikes were rock steady. I also used a ratchet strap to keep the front wheels from swaying.

The only thing I wish it had was a means of locking the bikes to the carrier . Not a major problem but would be a nice addition for the money paid.

Comments about Thule Vertex 5 Bike Hitch Rack:

I paid a few extra dollars to have the adjustment feature of allowing the bike rike to recline back in order to open up rear tailgate on SUV which is nice option. I bought the 5 rack version however there is no way to get 5 adult road bikes on without jamming them together and potentially ruining the bike. This was a bit of a dissapointment. However there aren't very many times we have to take 5 bikes so it worked out. OVerall very satisfied with the purchase.

Comments about Thule Vertex 5 Bike Hitch Rack:

Rack is sturdy and solidly made. It fits nicely in a 2 inch square tow hitch. Adult male bike fits nicely and is very secure. Stable when traveling - rubber straps are easy to use. Nice added strap to keep wheels from spinning and serve as a back up to keep bikes on rack.

Accessing trunk is difficult to extremely difficult when bikes are on rack - depending how many bikes are on the rack.

Costly accessories - a lock that should be included to lock the rack to the car. The lock is $40 and includes many of the parts that come with the original rack - a real waste or resources. Female adult bikes or girls bikes - with no crossbar under the seat require an adapter at $40 each - which really doesn't fit small bikes and is difficult to open and close around bikes.

Had some homemade adapters made 4 for $5 they seem to work well for bikes without the crossbar.

Holders on the bars of the rack are so big that getting bikes (especially kids bikes) on and off takes a long time, muscle and creativity.

We are a family of 5 with kids 10, 6 & 3 and thought that a 5 bike rack would be perfect. While it works,
it takes a long time to load and unload the bikes - time we'd rather spend riding.

Comments about Thule Vertex 5 Bike Hitch Rack:

"Tilt-down design with Hitch Switch™ quick-release lever allows arms to fold down when not in use and tilts carrier away from vehicle for fast rear vehicle access."
That sentence in the description is poorly worded. It should make it more clear that when bikes are on the rack, you cannot access your rear lift gate. We have a Honda Pilot and with the rack on, you can't open the rear hatch. I'm just thinking on a long road trip that this would be a huge hassle to take the bikes on and off any time you want to access something back there.

Comments about Thule Vertex 5 Bike Hitch Rack:

Bought this for use with 4 mtn bikes, and I'm glad I spent the extra [$]. The extra room is nice. The top tube on my ll yr old daughter's bike is at a much sharper angle from horizontal than I thought, so I didn't by the adapter in store. This combined with the small size (13") meant I couldn't secure the front cradle on the top tube as instructed in the manual. This caused a little concern about the stability of that connection, but after 200 miles of everything from 80 mph interstate travel to bumpy mountain back roads her bike and the other 3 had not moved an inch. The rack is very sturdy and well bit. The sales associate in the Brentwood, TN store recommended it over the Yakima, and I'm glad I followed his lead.