Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I bought this a little over a year ago to replace a Swagman XC Cross-Country. The unit is much heavier than the Swagman but much more sturdy- an understandable trade-off. I initially found it awkward to use and difficult to load the bikes. The biggest problem was that the release lever for the center post was so stiff it could not be released with one hand thus making it very difficult to fold down to remove the inner bike. Over time it loosened up and I became accustomed to using the rack and grew to like it. The reason for the 2 stars is that the paint on both our bikes have been damaged by the rack. The rubber hook covers that are supposed to protect the tube dried and cracked allowing the metal hooks to rub against the bike tube. We have a lot of money invested in our bikes and find it hard to believe that Thule can't come up with a hook cover that lasts more than a year. I would warn anyone that owns this or a similar Thule rack to check the condition of the hook covers. unfortunately it seems Thule does not sell these covers as replacement parts- will try to contact them and update.