Thule Helium 3 Bike Hitch Carrier
by jaxrolo on February 9, 2010
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User Reviews
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| Thule Helium 3 Bike Hitch Carrier |
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| Manufacturer: Thule |
| Customer Rating: |
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| List Price: $329.95 |
| Sale Price: $341.95 |
| Availibility: Usually ships in 2-3 business days |
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| Buy Now |
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Product Description |
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The Thule 970 Helium 2-Bike Hitch Mount Rack is a hassle-free rack that offers optimum security, protection, and convenience for your bikes at almost half the weight of other racks. Made with an ultra-lightweight, high-grade aluminum alloy, the Helium is up to 40 percent lighter than steel bike rack counterparts--and just as strong. For simple installation and removal, the Helium is equipped with an easy-to-use, tool-free Stinger Swinger mount with a tightening knob that attaches to 2- and 1.25-inch hitches. The Helium 2-Bike Rack features close spaced T3 cradles that easily adjust along the bike support arms to accommodate different bike styles and sizes and to position the bikes as you choose. The support arms are set closer together so that children's, women's, and full-suspension frames all can be accommodated. Offering optimum protection for your bike on the road, the T3 cradles are rubberized. When the rubber cradle straps are secured, the cradle tightens to the support arm, and an integrated No Sway Cage prevents the bikes from swinging into each other. Designed for convenient and easy installation as well as everyday use, the Thule Stinger Swinger Mount attaches to 2- and 1.25-inch hitches with a tightening knob that does not require any additional tools. The rack has a Hitch Switch quick-release lever to lift the rack away from the rear hatch for access to the back of the vehicle and another quick-release lever lowers the rack's arms for easy transportation and storage. Offering maximum security for your bikes and the rack itself, the rack's quick-release hitch knob has a locking feature that is key matched to the integrated locking cable that secures the bikes to the rack. Specifications: - Holds up to three bikes
- Ultra-lightweight
- 40 percent lighter than Thule's steel counter part
- Constructed with high-strength 6061-T6 aluminum
- Close spaced cradle arms accommodate kid's bikes, women's frames, and full-suspension bikes
- Fold-down bike arms
- T3 cradles
- No Sway Cage
- Integrated locking cable
- Hitch Switch quick-release lever
- Stinger Swinger hitch adapter
- Accommodates 2- and 1 1/4-inch hitches
- No-tool installation tightening knob
- Locking knob locks rack to receiver
Manufacturer's Warranty
Limited lifetime warranty
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Product Details |
- Bike arms conveniently fold down when not in use with Hitch Switch lever. (2" & 1.25" receiver)
- Maximum bike stability ¿ T3 cradles and No Sway Cage
- Fully Locking ¿ Integrated cable lock and locking knob
- Simple - no tool - installation to receiver
- Hitch Switch quick-release lever for rapid rear vehicle access.
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Video Reviews |
 No video reviews found for this product.
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Customer Reviews |
 great device |
| Review Date: August 1, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Claudio S. Ribeiro, |
it was very easy to assembly and to mount. The disapointment was that for carying a woman's bike need to order a separate part from Thule
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Best Bikerack ever made (thus far)
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| Review Date: August 23, 2009 |
| Reviewer: K. Conover, Carnegie, PA United States |
Over the past 40 years, I've either owned or regularly used about 10 different brands and types of bikeracks. While I can't give this rack five stars due to one minor problem, it is by far the best bikerack I've ever used or even heard about. I have it on the back of a 2006 Scion xA. (Did have to get a hitch put on the Scion, but this is very much worth it to be able to use a rack like this rather than some sort of a strapon kludge.)
As with all Thule racks (compared to several competitors), the stretchy rubber straps that hold the bike on the bikerack are easy to use, indeed even better than an older Thule rack I have on my Land Rover. (For instance, the Softride rack we have has straps and posts that are much more difficult to use.)
The posts that stick out the back are close together, so mountain bikes and kid's bikes fit on easily, without having to use the lower post of the bike as one of the attachments to the rack.
It really is light, though quite sturdy - you'll notice this especially when you pull up the little latch to let the rack come down so you can open the back of your car, or tilt it back up with one finger.
The integrated lock cable (locks with the same key that locks it into the hitch) is an elegant design. One cable comes out of the (as you look at it) left horizontal post, and another cable, with a lock on it, comes out of the top of the vertical post (yes it has a little cover on it to keep rain out of the lock, and the one in the horizontal post has a little keeper to keep it in place when not in use). You simply lock the two of these together (they're really quite short) over top of the bikes. This won't save your front wheels from being stolen, you might want another cable lock for that.
My only complaint is that, when I wanted to spread the saddles on the horizontal bar apart a bit to better accommodate three mountain bikes with lots of stuff on them (handlebar extensions, etc.), it was very, very hard. I do 250 pushups every morning and I couldn't get them to move by using my hands. I tried to use a large pair of Channelock pliers, which scraped up the saddle but didn't move it hardly at all. I then used an oil filter wrench, the type that has a length of nylon webbing that you wrap around the object (the saddle in this case), attach a 3/8" socket wrench. I twisted the saddle around the horizontal bar 2-3 times while gradually moving out or in as the case may be. That's really a minor problem, I figured I'll do this once and then never move them again.
Everything else in the installation is a snap. Everything is well-engineered, and you'll find lots of little details where Thule's experience and engineering expertise show - many incremental improvements over earlier Thule racks.
If I had to give this rack a grade using the US grading system, I'd give it an A-. I would give most of the other Thule and Yakima racks a solid B or B-, and some of them, like our Softride rack, a C+. And I was pretty happy with my Thule rack before, so this rack really raises the bar.
Final impression: best bikerack ever, if you just need to carry 3 bikes. Highly recommended, and worth getting a trailer hitch put on your car just so you can use it. |
Nice rack, but unable to adjust the cradles into position
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| Review Date: February 2, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Ian Fyfe, San Francisco, CA USA |
| I have just bought this rack through Amazon and installed on my vehicle. It seems really nice, lightweight, and well made. However, out of the box the cradles for holding the bike top tubes are rotated out of position by 90 degrees. According to step 9 of the fit guide the cradles can be rotated and shifted on the bars to accommodate different bike geometries. Similar to another reviewer, I am completely unable to adjust the cradles into position. I am a 200 pound male who rock climbs weekly, and am unable to rotate or move the cradles even a fraction of an inch using my full body strength. I have a tech support email into [...] asking for help, but if this cannot be resolved soon I will be returning for a refund, and probably go with a Kuat instead. |
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Tagged as:
bike,
carrier,
helium,
hitch,
thule
