Saris Thelma 2-Bike

Very functional rack with one exception... I find the plastic pressure detents for keeping the wheel arches away from the body when the rack is empty are not strong enough. Under the right conditions, they have worked their way forward and rubbed up against the paint of the rear hatch... this happens only if you happen to drive the car a bit without the bikes off and in the "folded up" position. Should be a simple fix, but an important one. Nothing worse than having the paint rubbed off your new vehicle because of a bike rack. Please fix!

Bikes fit great and seem very secure while travelling (other racks I've used dont seem to secure bikes as well). Also, you dont have to wrap the frame in cloth like i have with other racks (some press on the brake cables and can scratch the bike) since there is no frame contact.

This is a great bike rack. It holds the bikes securely without touching the frame. It is easy to load and unload the bikes. My only complaint is that I can't open the rear lift gate on my Subaru Outback when both of the bikes are on the rack. I would highly recommend this bike rack, it is well constructed and it is easy to use.

I have owned Thelma for 4/5 years, travel a lot and think this is the greatest rack ever. Couldn't have made a better purchase.

Great rack. Easy installation. Good for smaller cars. I have Chevy Cruze. No rattling while on highway. Bikes will move a bit when driving but will not hit eachother. I use my saris bike lock and type around them to prevent it. You could use straps if it bothers you. I haven't though. Holds my mountain bike just fine. I have not takin it on long trip yet. Should be fine

I bought this rack two years ago when I started riding and its still intact and working flawlessly. I own a Mazda 6 and it's light enough that I never remove it. I bought a Saris threaded locking pin that has also been on the car for two years through rain snow and really bad weather and it still locks and unlocks like new. The rack has a little more play then I'd like but I see it as the flex being exerted on the rack instead of the bikes wheel thus allowing the wheels to not be damaged when the wind is strong as the bikes will spay back and forth. I have had a 26 lb all mountain bike with 2.2 tires and a 35 lb downhill bike with 2.6 tires on the rack at the same time and although I had to let the air out of the front tire of the DH bike I drove for 2 1/2 hrs at 80mph and back. The rack never gave be a single problem. The paint on the main frame of the rack is holding up great and the rest of the rack is strong flexible plastic and is holding up great also. My only complaint with this rack is that the straps are a little to short but manageable. If this rack ever wears out I will probably get the same rack because it's AWESOME,EASY AND DURABLE!! And not super expensive. A couple other great things about this rack is that it literally only takes 15 seconds to load a bike up and you don't have to take the wheel off, clamp anything to the frame or mess around with skewer type locks like roof racks. My personal favorite things about this rack is that while everyone's bikes are leaned against a tree or there vehicles once they get it off the rack, this rack allows you to unstrap the bike and get ready while leaving the bike standing upright on the rack and then snatch it off at the last moment and take off. Forget to lube your chain or tighten something before a ride(as i have done)? leave the bike on the rack standing upright unstrapped ready to go while you go over all your bolts and lube your chain (rack also allows you to spin the crank while still on the rack)and then off you go. everywhere i go people walk over and ask 100 questions about the rack and tell me how cool it looks and how easy it seems to use once they see me unload/load my bike. I was once told it looks like something from mars! Want to bring your car through a car wash but have the rack on the back? I personally keep an electric impact gun (im a mechanic) with a 19mm socket to remove the threaded lock bolt. as i said i own a Mazda 6 and i am able to tightly fit the whole rack in my trunk with all my gear helmets and everything els in my truck shut the trunk and off i go through the car wash. The rack also comes with a 2 inch receiver adapter that only takes a min to attach with an allen bolt. I own 26in and 29in mountain bikes and a road bike and the rack accommodates all my bikes with no problem . sometime putting two bike on the rack is a little tricky trying to avoid handlebar/seat contact but a little bit of finesse usually gets the job done. Overall the price, design and user experience on this rack is great!! i definitely recommend this rack. if you are a DH rider or ride really heavy bike with wide tires i would look at another rack.

This rack is easy to use and is well designed. I would recommend it to anyone.

We've had our rack for about three years. It has really held up. Once you have the hitch, this rack is so easy to use! We don't forget how to install the rack or how to mount our bikes after a long winter, and no need for extra bungee cords. It just works. It is easy for a short 60 year old to mount her bike! Recently, I've had to be putting a wheelchair in and out of the back of our Prius while the bike rack is still on the car and it is so easy to swing it down to open the back and swing it back up. We've driven our bikes to the east coast and back no problem.

I was at the Veloswap looking at this bike rack and literally 3 people walked up and told me they loved this rack. I thought the vendor must have bought them all beers! :) I got a really good deal. It is so lightweight that I don't feel like I'm losing on gas mileage. Occasionally I have a hard time lining up the pin that secures it in the upright position. Unfortunately, I backed into a fence and cracked the bottom tire holder, but it still holds my bike since the tire strap is in the upper piece.

The rack is heavy and awkward to lug around. The wheel cups are not clipped in and open and close when you pick it up and move around. I have a very small garage and its takes up a lot of room when stored. I was finally able to hang it from a hook. Stupid to have to use a wrench to secure it to hitch every time you put in on - I use it approx. 4 times a week. When flipped close the large plastic cups for the front wheel are not secure and bang on my bumper. Wheel straps are somewhat cheap and difficult to strap and unstrap. I regret the purchase.

This carrier is used to carry two road bikes and/or 1 hybrid. Easy to put the bike on; however, the straps are very poor, considering the cost of the product. I plan to put on secondary straps when carrying the bikes. My road bikes are too valuable to only used the supplied straps.

Excellent rack. Easier to use than others. I like it enough to upgrade to a new one to get the newer design. The only suggestion I have is for a way to lock the trays in storage/rack up position.I don't trust that the trays won't swing out and hit my car bumper.

It doesn`t get any easier than the Thelma 2! The dealer installed it within 40 minutes and it has been a snap to use...not too high to lift on heavier hybrids and safe for delicate carbon fibre roadie. Folds up quickly and snugly to trunk when not in use. Got the hang of it right away compared to many other models and brands I checked out (and Thelma was less expensive than most too!) Good idea to also get the lock as this rack would be tempting for someone to steal, it looks that good :-)

Was easy to install and use. Can put it up in low profile position easily.

I think a person actually tried Thelma on a vehicle in real world conditions while developing it, due to its great performance (all my other rack systems did not seem to have this real world quality). Due to its light weight I wasn't sure it would be stable at freeway speed (I have a heavy foot). To my surprise it was more stable than my roof system (by another company) at real world speed 65-75mph. I had plan to keep both racks and compare Thelma with my old roof system, but after my first use, my old roof system was removed from my car and was sold. There are only three thing that keeps it from being perfect. First, I had to add 1 fender washer (1.25 x 3/8) between receiver and tilt shroud to make the fit tighter. Second, I had to add 1 thick nylon washer(5/8 x 3/8) to 3/8 bolt and nut, so the tilt covers would not rattle above 65mph. Third, the tab on the upper front wheel holder need to be larger to hold better when layed flat for folding up next to vehicle. And a added plus is my wife is able to easily load her own bike (second reason the old roof system was sold so quickly). It is nice to see a quality product "Made in America".

Fast shipping. Nothing touching the frame. Easy to load bike after long rides. Great service and warranty sold the rack.

I love to meet people and ride and I wanted a bike rack that would not damage my bike. I really like how it easily attaches to the tires and keeps my bike from rubbing up against other bikes. I have not found anything I don't like.

I ride 2 - 4 times a week and drive 10 - 50 miles to my ride start. The rack's fantastic. I feel totally safe keeping my high end carbon fiber frame bike on it or my low end mountain bike on it. East to put in and remove and EXTREMELY easy to put bike on. I've received many questions from folks in paring lots about the rack and I love showing off how great it is. Probably the only rack that will fit well on a Mazda Miata!

FYI, I purchased our thelma 2 and raved over your product nearly 3 years ago ('10). Our thelma 2 is also being used to haul around my new "used" custom Mukluk. With drilled Darryls and White bros cf forks, it weighs 32 lbs. The front tire (husker du) inflated to 8 lbs of pressure, partially fits into the front tire "loader" when opened to fit a 29er wheel and the rear tire (surly larry 3.8) rests on the rear tire rest. Both wheels are fastened to the rack with stretchable black diamond snow ski straps (2 each). For a longer or rougher surface haul I'll switch to some heavier duty straps from the hardware store). If there is a 'next' thelma design revision, one might consider both front and rear tire plastic hardware to be wee bit wider (and longer wheel straps) but I thought I'd let you know that your sweet, little thelma is the most versatile rack on the planet fitting our road bikes, 26" wheeled-mtbs, downhill units, 29ers and even a fatbike (nice not to have to remove the front wheel and throw a muddy, icy and snowy bike inside our escape hybrid)! Now there is never a season that the Thelma isn't on one of our vehicles here in Colorful Colorado. thanks from Dave and Linda.

The Saris Thelma 2 Bike Rack was the biggest pain in the rear to even put together much less use it on my 4runner. You need a wrench, not that that's a big deal but, no where does it say that you'll need a wrench to put it on and off your hitch. The straps are not permanently attached to the rack, it was very unstable once I FINALLY put it together and put my mountain bike in the cradle. I was so frustrated I decided not to keep it and it was another pain to take the thing apart. I have a Saris Bones rack that I've had for nearly 7 years and that rack has been a dream...never an issue, and that is why I decided to go with Saris again. The Thelma hitch rack I would not recommend EVER. Sorry Saris!