Summer in South Africa is the best time to ride bikes. Long days, warm-to-hot weather and an abundance of world-class mountain bike trails and gravel routes. And that’s why it’s imperative to have your bike with you no matter where you travel this Festive Season. Here’s our comprehensive guide on various bike carrying solutions to suit your circumstances.
Paid partnership with Thule South Africa
You could shop around and find a wide range of bike-carrier brands. Or you could just save yourself time and stress and begin with Thule, which is the world’s leading quality bike carrier brand and by far the most popular bike-carrier brand in South Africa. You pay a bit more than with most other brands, but you get the best designs, excellent safety standards, exceptional durability and unmatched after-sales back-up.
Not all racks are ideal for all bikes. With the expansion of mountain biking sub-categories to Trail or Enduro bikes and eBikes, which are heavier, have longer wheelbases and wider handlebars, Thule has designed certain models to be suitable for these bikes.
No matter what your vehicle is and your bike type, Thule has a bike-carrying solution for you. Here’s a look at the different options:
TOWBAR MOUNT
Towbar platform racks (where your bike stands on the rack) are the most popular because of the ease of use and high level of stability. A towbar is the obvious prerequisite. If you’re going to be doing a lot of travel with your bikes, fitting a towbar and purchasing a towbar platform rack is a good investment. All the Thule towbar platform racks below have a bike clamp lock and a rack lock to the towbar. It’s some security, but we are still in South Africa, so be mindful of this when travelling and parking.
Thule EuroWay G2
Ideal for everyday use, the EuroWay G2 comes in two-bike or three-bike options. It’s light and folds flat so you can store it easily. It comes standard with lights and number-plate holder and has a foot-pedal tilt for boot/hatch access.
Ideal buyer: Rides gravel bikes or marathon/XC mountain bikes.
Price: R14 999
Thule VeloCompact
Ideal for everyday use, the VeloCompact comes in two-bike or three-bike options. It’s light and folds flat so you can store it easily. It comes standard with lights and number-plate holder and has a foot-pedal tilt for boot/hatch access. The wheel mounts are adjustable for longer bikes. The three-bike version is able to convert to a four-bike carrier with the Thule Velocompact fourth bike adapter.
Ideal buyer: Rides marathon/XC mountain bikes or Trail/Enduro bikes. Can also accommodate an eBike if necessary, but not a first-choice for eBikes.
Price: R18 999
Thule VeloSpace XT
Ideal for everyday use, the VeloSpace comes in two-bike or three-bike options. It’s light and folds flat so you can store it easily. It comes standard with lights and number-plate holder and has a foot-pedal tilt for boot/hatch access. The VeloSpace is designed for a heavier load and has longer wheel trays and extra-long wheel straps for bigger bikes and wider tyres. Both the two-bike and three-bike version are able to use the Thule VeloSpace XT adapter, which enables the carrier to carry an additional bike.
Ideal buyer: Rides Trail/Enduro bikes, Downhill bikes or eBikes.
Price: R23 999
Thule EasyFold XT
Ideal for everyday use, the EasyFold comes in two-bike or three-bike options. It’s light and folds to be super compact. It comes standard with lights and number-plate holder and has a foot-pedal tilt for boot/hatch access. The EasyFold is designed for a heavier load with extra-long wheel straps for bigger bikes and wider tyres.
Ideal buyer: Rides marathon/XC mountain bikes or eBikes.
Price: R23 999
Thule Epos
The Epos is the ultimate rack for all types of bikes. Detachable arms found on most racks are replaced with telescopic, rotatable arms that are fixed to the rack. This allows for multiple bike securing options and the carrying of any bikes. It comes standard with lights and number-plate holder and has a foot-pedal tilt for boot/hatch access. The Epos is designed for a heavier load and has longer wheel trays and extra-long wheel straps for bigger bikes and wider tyres. It makes bikes exceptionally easy to load and unload.
Ideal buyer: Rides any bicycle!
Price: R32 999
Read our review of the Thule Epos here.
Thule HangOn
The HangOn is a towbar mount rack that is not platform in design. It carries the bikes by hanging them and comes in three-bike or four-bike options. It folds flat for easy storage and fits securely to the towbar via an easy-to-use coupling. The bikes aren’t as secure as they are on a platform rack, but it’s a good option for those with a limited budget.
Ideal buyer: Rides marathon/XC mountain bikes or gravel bikes.
Price: R3 999
ROOF MOUNT
Thule ProRide
This iconic roof-mount rack secures the bike upright with a claw-like clamp for the frame and wheel-holders with incremental fastening straps. It’s pre-assembled and can be moved from one side of the roof to the other quite easily if needed. It can also be fitted to the lid of a trailer.
Ideal buyer: Rides marathon/XC mountain bikes or gravel bikes.
Price: R4 999 (excludes the roof rack system required for your particular car)
Thule UpRide
This roof-mount rack secures the bike upright with a clamp system that holds the front wheel and a rear-wheel holder with a ratcheting fastening strap. It’s pre-assembled and can be moved from one side of the roof to the other quite easily if needed. It ideal for bikes with unusual frames or if you want no bike rack contact on a carbon frame.
Ideal buyer: Rides marathon/XC mountain bikes or Trail/Enduro bikes.
Price: R6 999 (excludes the roof rack system required for your particular car)
REAR-DOOR MOUNT
Thule ClipOn
This rear-door mount rack uses a unique snap-on system for easy attachment and removal. The ClipOn uses the hanging-style method and is ideal for station-wagon and hatchback vehicles and folds for efficient storage.
Ideal buyer: Rides marathon/XC mountain bikes or gravel bikes.
Price: R3 499
Thule ClipOn High
This rear-door mount rack uses a unique snap-on system for easy attachment and removal. The ClipOn High is unusual in that is uses the platform-style method usually found on towbar-mount systems. It raises the bikes high up so that the rear lights and number plate of the vehicle are visible. It’s ideal for station-wagon and hatchback vehicles and folds for efficient storage.
Ideal buyer: Rides marathon/XC mountain bikes or gravel bikes.
Price: R3 499
Thule Outway Platform
The Outway Platform is a rear-door mount rack that has a platform. The platform is raised, which ensures the rear lights and number plate are visible. It has a firm carrier hold and vehicle protection with twin hook attachment and rubber protection pads. It’s not universal, so check with Thule first to see if it’s appropriate for your vehicle.
Ideal buyer: Rides marathon/XC mountain bikes or gravel bikes.
Price: R12 999
Thule OutWay Hanging
The OutWay is a hanging style rack, but with an integrated anti-sway system to reduce the risk of bike-to-bike and bike-to-vehicle contact. The OutWay rack folds flat for easy transport and convenient storage.
Ideal buyer: Rides marathon/XC hardtail mountain bikes or gravel bikes.
Price: R11 999
Thule Spare Me Pro
The Spare Me Pro is a hanging-style bike rack specifically made to fit onto a rear-mount spare wheel. It offers bike protection and stability with Stay-Put cradles and detachable anti-sway cages.
Ideal buyer: Rides marathon/XC hardtail mountain bikes or gravel bikes.
Price: R6 999
For the full range of Thule bike carriers in South Africa, click here.
