T2 Pro XT/XTR Hitch Bike Rack

For the last 12 years or so I had been using an Allen Sports 645RR rack on my 2011 Jeep Wrangler JK Sport. It's been fine, but I had a couple of issues. 1) it was a hanging style rack, so bikes would swing around, 2) it supposedly held 4 bikes but you could never fit more than two on there without them crashing around into each other, and 3) my fiancee's step-through frame was a huge problem to put up there. Plus I'm kind of particular about keeping a decent looking bike, and the hanging rack has a LOT of rubbing points that I had to neutralize with cloth bits and bungee cords. It was all very tedious and time consuming. So I decided to do myself a favor and buy the T2 Pro XTR. The installation instructions are minimal, but you'll get there after going over it a bunch of times. It's not too bad when you look at it as a whole: 1) Put the center bar into your hitch receiver. 2) Attach the first crossbar with four screws and washers 3) Attach the second crossbar with four screws and washers 4) Install the two wheel baskets with 4 screws each 5) install the wheel straps and end pieces with one screw on each side 6) install lock cylinders. That's really basically it. But yeah. The instructions could definitely be better and/or easier to read. The good news is that you can call Thule during business hours and ask your stupid questions (which I did), and a friendly and helpful person will happily walk you through whatever dumb thing you did. Shout out to a guy at Thule named Jeff that helped me out and was really a pleasant guy to talk to. I'd almost forgotten what great customer service looked like! Now let's talk about how great this rack is. First of all, the wheels are great. This is much heavier than my old rack, and while you can lift it, at my age I'm all about the shortcuts, and being able to wheel this thing around the garage is excellent. The hitch mount is basically perfect, the pin auto-locks into the hole and there's a knob to tighten the fit inside the receiver so that the rack doesn't rattle or wiggle around. While I am wary of plastic in general, especially on something that will spend a decent amount of time in the Florida sun, the plastic components like the wheel baskets and other parts do seem well made. Locking down a bike takes seconds, which is HUGE considering it used to take me the better part of 20 minutes to put up two bikes with my old rack. Now, a few words for the Wrangler owners, and probably at least some owners of other vehicles with rear-mounted spares: On its own, this rack will NOT fit on a Wrangler with a stock-sized spare on the tailgate. It's REALLY close -- in fact, it does fit at first (just barely) until you install the wheel baskets. And that puts it over the edge so you can't fold the rack up into its vertical position when not in use. You can find all of the sizing information and documentation on their website, but the upshot is that the rack needs a minimum of 6.3 inches of clearance when folded up, measured from the hitch mounting hole (where the pin goes in) to the outside of the spare tire. Unfortunately, on the Wrangler the stock spare tire extends a bit over 8 inches past the mounting hole. You can buy a Thule hitch extension, but it's $80 and the minimum extension is 7 inches. It's probably fine, but I wanted something that would minimize the gap between my spare tire and the bike rack when it's folded up. So I ended up going with the MaxxHaul extension which only cost $32 and had an extension of 5.25 inches. I oriented it to lower the hitch receiver rather than raise. Looking under the Jeep, even lowered 4 inches the hitch is still about equal with the lowest hanging parts of the undercarriage. Lowering it in this manner also allows better (not perfect, but better) access to the tailgate by tilting the rack away. You can't open it wide, but you can open it part way and it's a lot better than you'd be able to do otherwise. So that's my recommendation if you have a tailgate-mounted spare (but measure yourself first, other cars may have different measurements!) Final note, if you do need a hitch extension, the rack's locking hitch mount will be locking to the extension, not to the car. So if you want security, you'll still need to buy a locking pin to connect the car to the extension.

I love this bike rack. Used it several months now. High quality materials. Great design. Assembly took about 30 minutes. Can load two bikes in under a minute… unloading is faster. Solid hold, very stable. Bikes do not move. A little expensive but not as much as replacing a bicycle or two.

We wanted a bike rack that was short to protect the bikes from rubbing each other. This rack does that plus it is good for more than one size tire if you have a different kind of bike other than the fact that it is very heavy and very big. It goes on the vehicle relatively easy, the bikes go on relatively easy, and it secures the bikes well enough to feel confident on the road. If we need to get into the back of the vehicle, it tilts down to allow us access .

Very sturdy rack, bikes feel very secure. Heavy for lifting, like the wheels for moving it around. Built in cable locks are too short to be useful, another 6” and they would be great.

I’ve used Thule products for many years so when it was time for a 2” hitch mount rack, I didn’t hesitate to purchase this. It comes well packaged, with clear assembly instructions. Assembly is quick with the included tools, although I used my own torque wrench to make it a little faster. It’s not 100% clear in the instructions, but you need to use the included blank key to install the lock cores. The hitch mount mechanism is stable and secure once locked. The bike trays are easily adjustable for different wheelbases. The wheel arms securely clamp to the tires, just know that this isn’t designed for bikes with full front fenders installed. My only complaint is with the integrated bike lock cables. They are short, so I’m only able to wrap it around the front wheel. It’s not long enough to wrap through the frame and wheel. I will be using a longer locking cable as a secondary means of security. I never leave my bikes unattended for very long, but it is a concern.

This is our third bike rack and even though it is pricey, I would totally recommend it especially for heavy e-bikes. I had my e-bike on our first rack and the bar came down while I was driving and my bike fell off. Luckily I was going very slowly and it didn't totally ruin the bike. The second rack was a cheaper Thule and it wobbled so much that I was fearful that the bikes were going to come loose. It broke so we ordered this heavy duty one. I love that the bar comes down over the wheel. It really holds any kind of bike secure, including my step through. I don't have to have the cross bar to keep it on. The rack has wheels so you can roll it out to the hitch. It is very heavy duty so I have no concern whatsoever that our bikes are going to fall off. It folds up nicely and I love the locking features. It is a bit heavy so my husband has to put it on the hitch, but I LOVE it!

Excellent bike rack! I have the older version from 15 years ago that would not fit a fat tire bike. I did try to upgrade my old rack with a new tire cradle, but the arm would not extend long enough to lock bike into place without letting air out if the tire. This is a major upgrade! No more ratchet and bolt to lock into hitch. Major upgrade to lift and decline the rack with an easy handle rather than a difficult lever. A retractable cable that locks to secure bike to rack instead of locking the arm. Easy assembly with Allen wrench and screws provided. Wheels on rack to easily roll around for storage. Prior I bought a bike rack from U haul (big mistake). Anything that requires a strap to be inserted into hatchback is piece of junk. Although I'll admit it is much cheaper. You get what you pay for.

Reasons to Avoid the Thule T2 Pro XTR Platform Hitch Bike Rack 1. **Low Clearance**: The rack sits too low for most sedans, increasing the risk of damage when driving over bumps or inclines. 2. **Short Locking Cable**: The locking cable is too short to securely loop around the head tube of most bikes, making it less effective for theft prevention. 3. **Flimsy Locks**: The locks feel cheap and often require a struggle to insert the key and secure the rack properly. 4. **Vulnerable Locking Knob**: If you accidentally hit the bottom locking knob, you're in trouble—replacement parts can cost around $400, leaving you with a significant expense. It’s surprising that Thule hasn’t addressed these issues, as they indicate a lack of thoughtful design in a product that should be reliable.