Thule Apex XT Swing 4-Bike Hitch Rack
With anti-sway cradles and 7 in. of space between bikes, the Thule Apex XT Swing 4-bike hitch rack provides superior bike protection, and it swings away for unobstructed access to the rear of vehicle.
- Swing-away design offers convenient access to the rear of the vehicle, even with bikes attached; easily opens and closes with the pull of a pin
- 7 in. of space between each bike prevents bike-to-bike contact
- Compact cradle design accommodates a wide variety of bike sizes and frame styles
- Anti-sway cradle extensions offer superior bike stability and fold away when not needed
- Ratcheting cradle straps quickly secure bikes to the rack
- Arms fold down easily when rack is not in use
- Integrated cable locks bikes to the rack (lock included)
- SnugTite stinger offers quick, tool-free installation and locks the rack to your vehicle (lock included)
- Fits 2 in. hitch receivers only
- Load capacity: 140 lbs.
Made in USA.
| Best Use | Cycling |
|---|---|
| Number of Bikes | 4-bike |
| Max Weight Per Bike (lbs) | 35 pounds |
| Extension Compatible | No |
| Hitch Receiver (in.) | Fits 2 inches |
| Bike Mounting | Hanging |
| Bike Attachment Point | Frame |
| Trunk Access | Side Swing |
| Integrated Lock | Yes |
| Weight | 42 pounds |
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Fell off the truck and destroyed two bikes
Fell off truck destroyed two bikes. This rack rocks back-and-forth quite a bit. Even when we tighten up the knob, sadly, we have the one that fits the small insert and also the 2 inch I think this is a design error. Do you need to tighten up a wedge to keep this bike rack from rocking, the metal which attaches to the end of the insert one of the screws broke and the other screw fell out this caused the bike rack to fall off the back of our truck and then drag to miles. We had bungee cords holding the rack to the truck, so it did not end up on the freeway possibly causing an accident , the rack looks ugly now and needs some repair. The bikes are also very damaged one bike, needing new handlebars, and headset and seat and the other bike, needing a new rear rim and see. Luckily they were not expensive bikes but one was a classic collector item I have a rally, and that was written around , England is what the neighbor tells me . this particular style rack should be recalled as the bolt broke, causing the failure of this rock and falling off the truck the design should be made to fit only a 2 inch specifically insert or the smaller insert which some cars have, but not a combination rack we will see if Thule repairs this for us perhaps set us up with a new one as it worked well for quite a few years until it got dragged behind the truck. Luckily, we had bungee cords holding it to the truck and it did not end up on the highway killing someone if Tool it takes care of us. We will change our review, noting our satisfaction , we have been using this rack successfully since 2015. It originally cost us $450 from REI on sale which is no small chunk of money.
Unit broke and pinned our bikes to the ground
I was so excited to be able to purchase this item from a Thule authorized dealer. We had packed up our four bikes: 2 Electra cruisers, 1 Diamond Back (lightweight) mountain bike, and 1 kids Huffy bike. We were able to finalizing the mount and about to take off on our vacation. Unfortunately, as soon as we swung the swing closed, all the bikes started to literally fall down and were pinned to the ground. It looks like the elbow swinging metal and plastic part broke! WHAT?! We had to pry the bars off and use wire cutters to snip off the plastic ties as those were all compromised and being pulled because of the way the unit broke. Fortunately the bikes are ok and so grateful that this did not happen while we were driving or at our destination. We would have been so screwed and mad. We were able to get a refund as we purchased this from a reputable distributor. We had high hopes and so bummed that our trip was taken without our bikes.
Broke on first trip
We purchased this rack for our mountain bike trips, and were excited about the swing component so that we could still access the back of our car. The swing arm has a hold-open lock. The first time we used the swing arm to access the trunk, a piece of plastic fell out of the hold open lock, and we couldn't press the release button to fold the arm back in. We opened a support case with Thule 80 days ago and provided pictures. Thule's first response was at 70 days requesting pictures (that we provided initially). They have not responded again. We've been loyal Thule users with roof racks, bike trays, and cargo carriers, but it's time to switch brands. The poor quality is not worth the price on this rack.
Good Rack W/ Learning Curve
I bought this rack last summer, and unfortunately, we've only got to use it a few times with 3 bikes (that was perfect). This summer we upgraded my youngest to a bigger bike that had to go on the rack. 4 full size bikes took a long time to load. Once I put the puzzle pieces together the rack worked great. Sits well on the back of my Yukon. I could open the back window without the bikes getting in the way, and the swing are worked but is really heavy and required some carefulness that the bikes didn't swing around and hit the side of the Yukon. We've now taken 4 long road trips with 4 bikes and the rack has done a great job.
It's Thule, it should be high quality, right?
As mentioned before, this is not really a 4 bike rack. Under the best circumstances, with smaller bikes, it fits 2 comfortably, and if you have 3 on there, expect lots of scratches on the bikes. I traveled with 3 bikes over a 2-day trip covering 15 hours. We have to stop every 45 minutes or so to readjust the straps as they kept popping open and the bikes would bounce around and in a few cases, actually came off the rack. We had to stop and buy heavy-duty cables to tie it all down, which defeats the purpose of the rack. The plastic box covering the swing hinge snapped the plastic around the screws, making it flap open. Moving to a tray model and unfortunately, I've lost trust in Thule so will try a competitor.
Oddly poor design
This rack checked the boxes I was looking for: hitch rack that could move out of the way of the trunk on my Outback, with 4 bike capacity for less than a mortgage payment. However, there is one big design flaw that is a total deal breaker... the main bolt cannot be tightened enough to fully secure the rack. I don't think it's a safety issue because there is an additional locking pin. But every time you hit a bump, speed up, or slow down, there is a very loud "CLUNK" sound that reverberates through the whole car because the whole rack is shifting back and forth on the loose bolt. A shorter bolt, a spacer, there are a number of ways this could be fixed, but why is it like this in the first place? It's honestly confusing. I thought mine was defective, but I went back to the store and the demo model was exactly the same. Not specific to this rack, but hanging style in general.... you're probably not going to get 4 bikes on this thing. I spent a lot of time trying every combination of my 2 adult road bikes and 2 kids bikes, and there is just no way.
Fundamentally does not work
I think the whole concept here is just flawed. The swinging action is supposed to allow you to access your hatch while it is mounted (and even loaded with bikes!l but in practice, it is a pain to do when it is empty and nearly impossible to do when loaded. Given how weights and cantilevers work, I don't think this is really a solvable problem. Also, even when empty this thing has a small metal tongue that sticks down and scraped on every driveway I went across, even unloaded. Felt like I was driving a lowrider and was so bad when loaded with bikes that I would have to aim for wide driveways that allowed me to take them at angles.
Great rack!
I’ve had this rack for a few months, it stays on my car 100% of the time. Some of the negative reviews confuse me because I think the rack does exactly what it’s designed to do. With any Thule defect issues I’ve had with any products, Thule has always stepped up and corrected the issue in a timely fashion, they just require proof of purchase. So far, I’ve only had to load 3 bikes, but it worked like a charm. I love the functionality of the swing arm, giving me access to my trunk while loaded with bikes. Our other car has the traditional Thule fold down rack. It works too except when we have bikes loaded. I would highly recommend this rack if the features meet your needs.
Had high hopes
Was SUPER excited for the potential functionality of this product. Unfortunately, the T-release handle was broken on the first one we assembled in the store. Needs to be a stronger C-ring. So, we assembled another one which worked as expected until we swung the arm out the first time loaded with 4 bikes. The T-release handle came off again AND the small release button would NOT release under the tension of a loaded rack. Needless to say, that button broke and now will not lock the rack out in an extended position. The housing around the extension release button prevents us from inspecting the failure, but I suspect the components just can’t handle the tension put on it from a loaded rack. Planning to return and at least try another comparable rack.
Updated rack
This was an updated replacement for an older Apex swing we had that was having issues with the hitch attachment slipping. The new version has several improvements, the most notable being the way the swing mechanism can lock in the open position when you access the back of the car (Toyota RAV4 in our case) The newer model seems to have a more secure hitch attachment (we have used it on a 2600 mile toad trip so far), and the new strap system is much improved. Both racks can be “fiddly” to align for locking into position when loaded but it is difficult to see how this could be remedied considering the high torque of the loaded rack in the open position.