Transporting three modern full-suspension 29er mountain bikes by road is a challenge. Slacker geometry means longer wheel bases, wider rims mean more burly tyres and then there’s the various suspension design configurations that put the rear shock somewhere in the main frame. We pointed the Thule Easyfold XT bike rack at this challenge. Here is how it fared.
We travel a huge amount with at least two and often three mountain bikes. Two full-sus 29ers on a three-bike rack is normally a cinch, especially if they have dropper seatposts. Loads of width and attachment options. But just add that third bike and any sparkle in your personality is extinguished faster than a conscienscious load-shedding operator.
We’re not keen on loosening handlebars and removing seatposts to transport bikes. Bike racks are designed to carry bikes and therefore should be able to do so without modifications…
The art of successfully positioning three full-sus 29ers on a three-bike rack where there’s no contact between the bikes has led to TREAD Crew departure delays by as much as 30 minutes. When its your own bikes you steadily work out the best configuration, but we seldom have the same bikes so sometimes require a couple of attempts to see which configuration is best.
So when we first received the Thule Easyfold XT3, our lives immediately started to improve.
The name Easyfold really is appropriate. The Easyfold XT folds up very easily, which makes it easy to fit and remove from your towbar and easy to store. It has wheels on the one end and a handle on the other so you can just roll it if you don’t want to carry it. Because we have been the victims of theft, we actually remove and store the rack in our Toyota Rav4 boot when riding at a trails park. It folds pretty much in half and can also fit in a small car’s boot.
The updated/current model of the Easyfold has increased space between the first and second bike loading spots. This is great for eBikes, which are wider than regular bikes, but also useful in general as it gives a little more width. The third bike spacing isn’t as generous, but it’s still decent. The distance between the wheel holders has also been increased to be able to comfortably fit bigger travel bikes and eBikes, which tend to have slightly longer wheelbases than ‘regular’ bikes.
The rack comes standard with three different length removable arms to enable each bike to be secured to the rack via the bar above the towbar. The Easyfold XT’s bar is a little higher than those we have experienced before from Thule. This gives you more options on which to secure the arms and we pretty much never found it impossible to attach all three arms to this tube. However, we did ask Thule about the Bike Arm Extension, which is a short arm with frame clamps at both ends. This allowed us to secure the outside bike to the middle bike when necessary. This removes a fair bit of puzzling as to where to send the long removable arm through to the main bar. A really useful accessory, which needs to be purchased separately.
The Easyfold XT 3 also comes standard with longer wheel straps. This is incredibly important because in order to fit three full-sus 29ers on the rack, you need to position one forward, one back and the other one forward. And you can only do this with longer wheel straps. Thule’s adjustable pump buckles also make tightening and loosening the wheel straps low stress and without losing any skin on your fingers and thumbs!
Note: This Bike Arm Extension doesn’t come standard with the Easyfold XT3. It’s an additional R850 to purchase.
Another superb feature of the Easyfold XT 3 is that it has a Smart Pedal Tilt, which allows you to drop the fully loaded rack down with simple push of your foot. This gives you access to the boot without having to remove the bikes, something that’s very useful on long trips. It’s not a new feature, but man, it’s clever and much appreciated.
And probably the most under-rated feature is the easy-to-fit towbar coupling which uses an ergonomically kind mechanical handle to allow you to secure the relatively heavy rack to the towbar on your own. And remove it when done. It also comes with rear lights and place for a number plate. These are actually required by law in South Africa, but the additional lights really is important for safety and respect to other road users.
Overall, the Thule Easyfold XT3 has made transporting three full-sus 29ers almost a pleasure. Certainly easier than any other rack we have used. We still need to add in a piece of cut pool noodle at times to prevent the second and third bike from rubbing. If only they could make that distance the same as that between Bikes One and Two that problem would be solved! We may have surpassed the recommended bike weight limit of 30kg at times, but haven’t had any issues in this regard. As always, Thule pricing is on the high end, but as we have come to experience over the years, the quality is superb and well worth the investment.
SUMMARY
The Thule Easyfold XT 3 has been updated to accommodate bigger travel bikes and eBikes and it does so really well. The foldability makes a large rack highly portable and very practical. The quality of the product is superb and, as with all things Thule, comes with excellent back-up service and spares.
PRICE: R22 000
MORE INFO: Click here.
