Thule Velocompact 13-pin Platform Towbar Bike Rack Black/Aluminium 3(4) bikes

Thule dose quality stuff, and this one is not exemption. Solid, well build, quick to set.I’m very happy with the product

Beautifully made, cleverly designed and simple to use. Not cheap, but the best never is.

For such a reputable company as Thule, a little more money spent on the instruction details wouldn't break their bank. The step where you come to drop the rack onto the tow bar involves some adjustment by turning a knob left or right (+ or -). It is not explained very well what the purpose of this is actually for, yet it appears to be quite a key step, as far as quality of fitment on the tow bar is concerned. So Thule, come on, please give us some 'details'. After fitting the bike rack to the tow bar, I activated the operation of the foot pedal to see how the rack tilted. Well I didn't expect it to come towards me with such speed and force- whacking my cheek bone as I tried to get out of the way which left me with a bruise. If I had kept looking head on, it would have easily have broken my nose. So after sitting down for a bit, we then decided to load 2 Raleigh E-bikes on to it, which as quite straight forward. My wife's is a low step frame and I thought I had to purchase an additional arm adaptor to secure it to the bike rack, but to my delight, this bike rack comes with a connecting arm which is designed for low step bikes. So I put my wife's on first, then mine last. So away we went, driving cautiously and smoothly. About 3 mins later, (periodically looking in my mirror to make sure all was ok in the back), I thought I witnessed the bikes leaning backwards more so than when we left. I stopped the car and got out to check, sure enough, the U- shaped frame (that bikes are attached to) was moving, yet the frame was bolted in place (weird). So we went back home (slowly and carefully) got the bikes off the rack and disassembled the U shaped frame from the bike rack then -refitted it. This time no movement. I'm not sure why / how this happened but the U shaped frame couldn't have been properly engaged- so make sure that when you engage the U frame that it is fully in position and check it doesn't tilt forwards or backwards. When installing the U shaped frame you screw on a big turning knob and then afterwards a small hex fitting. When using the Allen key to turn the hex head fitting, the more you turn it, the less room you have to push in the Allen key and you may think there is a problem, but there is not. So we got the bikes back on the rack , drove for 15 miles without any issue and enjoyed our bike trail. It's a very sturdy piece of kit has quality written all over it, but it is very expensive , too expensive to be honest and if it wasn't for my wife persuading me to by this make/model, I may have went for another brand at about £150 less. I suppose when you think you have about £5k worth of bikes being transported , its maybe best not to skimp on quality.

I’ve been sceptical of tow ball racks for ages but finally took the plunge. Wow this rack makes life so much easier than before!Initially I had to take the time to work out which bike goes where, especially as we have big mountain bikes which have awkward frames. This took me about 45 minutes to work out but after getting it right and taking a few photos, I can fit the carrier to the car and put the bikes on in 5 to 10 minutes.The carrier is super solid on the tow ball.The bikes are super solid on the carrier.The tilt function is brilliant and allows loads of room for boot acces.I have wide bars but there is loads of room between them and the car boot so no need to rotate them. However it is necessary to put some padding between frames in certain places otherwise you could end up with some rubbing or paint damage.My only observation is that the arms could be a inch or so longer to give a slightly better reach if fitted at any angle other than at 90 degrees from the cross bar of the carrier. This would also allow for slightly better bike spacing too.

You just knwo when it is Thule it is going to be brilliant, out of box very easy to assemble, fitting to car is so easy, adjustable arms and light pods make it easier to store as well. Love it.

This rack is easy to use and looks great, folds up nice and small for storage. Only issue was the straps aren't long enough for anything over a large size bike however the longer strap that sell combats this issue!

I bought this bike rack brand new, when I assembled it though and connected it the right light didn't work. There is no option to contact the seller. No contact from the seller and Thule is asking me to contact Amazon. Very bad customer service for a product which costs almost £600.

This bike rack is so easy to use, it simply drops onto your towbar, push the handle down and it will lock into position then use the key to lock the handle in place. Because it is not high from the ground bikes are not to bad to put on the rack. Once bike is on the rack there are simple click straps for locking the wheels on and then a bar that will connect to the top of your bike frame, use the key to lock that in place. It is also a tilting rack meaning when your bikes are on the rack just tilt it towards you and let it rest, this allows you to enter the boot of your car. Cheers