Thule Bed-Rider Locking, Aluminum 2 Bike Carrier - Truck Bed Mount

Video Transcript for Thule Truck Bed Bike Rack Review

Today we are going to review part number TH822XT from Thule. This is Thules bed rider. Also the TH593, the Wheel-On, and also part number THBR1. This allows you to carry bikes in the truck by removing the front wheels of the bikes and the forks get clamped into place onto the rack. The bicycle rack as stocked comes with two wheel mounts for your bicycles. However you can add a third bike if you like by using part number THBR1. This fits a variety of different bed types. This is fully expandable so you can make it short or wide as you need it. Basically it twists into position and then you can lock it down and you will not have to worry about it being taken out. The fork mounts themselves come with quick release levers and this bike rack comes complete with all of the locking cores needed for the fork mounts and the bike rack itself. 00:53

Lets install this bicycle rack on the truck and show you how it works. First we will show you how it adjusts for different sized trucks to change it to a mini truck or a full size truck like we have here. You push down on the little button and then you expand it as wide as you need to or make it as narrow as you need. When you have the rack in place you twist the whole rack to expand it. This is the end that actually does the adjusting. I will spin it so you can see that there is a bolt inside and when you twist the rack it expands out. To loosen it just twist the rack the other way and it threads back in and you can take it out of the truck bed. You can spin it to your desired tension and once you have the tension set you realign the hole with the clamp, clip your handle into it, and then lock it in place. 01:38

Next we will show you the fork mounts and where you can see the forks of the bike will fit. Here and here. You can see how this clamps down just like a regular skewer on your bike except this has a built in lock for security. When you crank the handle down you can see how it gets tighter as it clamps on to the bike. Next we will show you a feature that we get some questions about from customers and that is what is the deal with the little rubber sleeve here. Basically this rubber sleeve is a bushing that lets the fork mounts clamp on to the bar right here. Since the rack is made up of two pieces that slide together the clamps are designed to go around the larger of the two halves. So the sleeve takes up the gap so you can fit it on to the smaller half. The rack comes with two sleeves just in case you want to use two on one side or if you want to add another fork mount to it. Lets install it into the bed of the truck now. Just find a spot where you would like to install the rack. Put one end down and then we will go to the other side. Make sure the sliver is up to make it easier to go down. Once you have it sitting there twist the rack to build up more tension and make sure you have this hole facing up so you can put the clamp down and lock it into place. The way this works is that when you clamp it into place and lock it down you can not spin the rack and take it back out of the truck. 02:53

While we are talking about locks here we will show you where the lock core goes into the skewer right here. There is a little plastic cover on the side. We will pop that out and install the lock core. We will push it from the back and then take the lock core and the core key. You can then tell it is a core key because it does not have any grooves in it. Just simply push it into place and hold it while you pull out the key. You will have two of these so you can repeat the same process on the other fork mount. Also the bicycle rack comes with this tool here that fits with the security screws that clamp the fork mount on to the bar. As an added measure the rack adds security torque screws that have a pin in the middle so you have to use the special tool that comes with the rack. You can also use this tool to loosen the fork mounts and slide them side to side on the rack to your liking. Then you just tighten them down. Lets add a bike to them now. We will load our bike up. First we removed the front wheel and put our forks into the skewer into the rack. Then just like the front skewer on your wheel tighten them down a little bit and use the clamp to clamp it into place. Then you can use your key to lock the bike to the rack and everything is secure. 04:05

Our bicycle is ready to go but what about the wheel. Remember part number TH593, we will use that part to carry our wheel. It is very simple to install. Just put it on top of the rail and the four carriage bolts that come with it. Two in the front and two in the back. Next we can put the strap on the bottom. These wing nuts will hold everything together and clamp it to the bike rack. The fork that holds the wheel can be adjusted. You simply just loosen this wing nut here and you can rotate it whichever way you want it and we will just go straight vertical for our demonstration. Tighten down the nut and we will just put our wheel into place. This long groove gives you plenty of room for different sized wheels. Just let it sit down until the tire hits the bottom and then clamp the wheel into place like you would on the fork of your bicycle. Now you have got one bike loaded on. We have got room for two more so lets add another fork mount. We are going to install part number THBR1 also from Thule. These are the components involved. This is the wheel mount right here, the clamp that goes around it, and if you are using the narrow part of the rack it comes with its own bushing for the clamp. Of course the hardware and a tool to assemble everything with. We will take the clamp and put it right there on the bottom and then the fork mount will slide into this groove right here. We will use the side with the three bolt holes going into it and then just the two bolt holes on the outside. Then we will add our flat washer and then our bolt will thread into the clamp on the bottom. Tighten the screws down and in just a few minutes we added a third bike to our rack. That will cover it for part number TH822XT, the Bed-Rider from Thule, also the TH593, the Wheel-On, and also part number THBR1.