Thule 513 Domestique Bike Rack Mount

This rack is ok when the bikes are loaded but the design is poor on many levels. First and foremost, the skewers will not secure without a bike in place, and thus must be removed to prevent damage to the car. Second the rear strap is so stiff that it is difficult to route through the rear wheel. Also the front end is not stiff enough and the bikes don't feel as secure as other racks I have used. Thule admits that this is a design weakness, but offered no solution

2011 Subaru Outback

Installation was very easy but I do have some thoughts/concerns. First, the baseplates that they provide with the rack are shaped funny....as in, there are lumps and shapes in locations where the plate comes in direct contact with the factory crossbars. This leads to less surface contact between the plate and the crossbar. Doesn't really seem to be an issue in function, but I thought maybe something was wrong at first. Another issue is with the skewer lock - I do not like this design. Even though you are supposed to set the tension once and then be able to load and unload the bike without thought from then on - this is not the case at all. I have found that I need to tighten and loosen the adjustment nut to simply create enough tension to hold the fork, and then to even be able to remove the bike from the rack. The first time I removed it, it grinded some surface carbon off of my fork. It shouldn't be so difficult for a system you're supposed to set and forget. And lastly, there's no real way to secure the skewer lock when there isn't a bike mounted. It floats back and forth enough that it makes a good bit of rattle (by hitting the roof rack) when you hit a bump, cross railroad tracks, etc. It simply doesn't "lock down" when not in use. Poor design, in my opinion. I did take a 4 hour trip with a bike loaded and it seemed to work well enough, but the above mentioned flaws definitely take a higher rating away for me.

2011 Subaru Outback