Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer
installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Rating: 
22 reviews
Code: THARB53
Retail:$149.95
Price:$134.95
Shipping Weight: 7 pounds
Shipping Special
Attach these premium, aluminum bars to Thule roof-rack feet to create a sturdy, stylish, roof-mounted rack that is supremely quiet and aerodynamic. Pivoting endcaps let you easily slide on T-slot-mounted accessories.
Features:
Specs:
Shhhhhhhhhhh...
Thule's AeroBlade bars are designed to be among the quietest, strongest, most aerodynamic load bars on the road. The low-profile, arced shape of the bars couples with the unique WindDiffuser stripping to produce a bar that is so quiet you'll forget you even have a rack on your car. Many factory and aftermarket roof racks produce an annoying whistle that can only be quelled by adding a fairing to your system. Not only is a fairing unnecessary with the AeroBlade, but adding one would actually make it louder and less aerodynamic.
WindDiffuser Technology
A built-in T-track sits along the top of each bar, near the front. When no accessories are mounted, the included WindDiffuser rubber stripping covers the slot. (You can also cut the stripping so that it can be placed in the slot around any carriers or accessories that are mounted.) The rubber strip serves to keep dirt and grime out of the T-slot and provides a little scratch-resistant cushion for any mounted items.
The unique aspect of the WindDiffuser, which comes standard with the AeroBlade, is the ribbing. This textured surface disturbs the air flowing over the bar, tripping it to create turbulence. The result is less wind noise, little or no annoying whistle, and a more aerodynamic rack. In fact, the AeroBlade has been shown to produce 90 percent less sound energy than the elliptical Thule Aero bars, making them the quietest load bars in the industry.
Aerodynamic Design
Thule took a note from the manufacturers of high-performance cars, such as Ferrari and Maserati, and designed the AeroBlade with a Kammback (or Kamm-tail) style. This crossbar does not have a full-length teardrop-type tail; rather, it is cut off, leaving a square end at the rear of the bar. The aerodynamic effect is essentially the same as it would be if the bar continued into a full teardrop shape. Air continues to move over it in a streamlined fashion, flowing along the bar as it would if the tail were complete. Because there is no tail, though, the bar is smaller and weighs less.
Strong, Durable Construction
The Thule AeroBlade load bars are constructed of extruded aluminum to ensure an extra-sturdy roof-rack system. During the extrusion process, metal is shaped to form a complex design on the interior of each bar, as seen in the cross section of the AeroBlade. Each fold adds to the overall strength and rigidity of the bar. This process creates crossbars that are primarily hollow but still reinforced for added strength. The result is a bar that can withstand more than 800 pounds of force, yet weighs so little that it takes up only a slight portion of your load capacity.
Installation of Thule AeroBlade Crossbars
To install your crossbars, use the included SmartSlide measurement system. This molded material lines the bottom slots of each bar and is scored and numbered to directly correspond with the instructions included in your custom mounting kit. By covering the bottom slots, around the feet, the SmartSlide manages to further reduce noise and eliminate whistlingas well.
SwingBlade Endcaps
Mounting accessories on your roof-rack crossbars has never been easier. With the AeroBlade you can slide accessories into the T-slots without having to wrestle off an endcap. Just pop the SwingBlade up and swing it out for instant access to the top slot.
Video of Thule AeroBlade Load Bars - Aluminum - 53" - Qty 2
Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer
installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Today we are going to take a look at the Thule AeroBlade crossbar. The AeroBlade is available in 4 lengths, 43 inches, 47 inches, 53 inches and 60 inches. The AeroBlade is Thules quietest, strongest loadbar. On a vertical load test it can sustain over 800 pounds of force. It also managed to decrease the drag force by 55 when compared to the Thule Rapid Aero cross bar. On the top is a rubber wind diffuser that sits inside the T-slot. The wind diffuser helps control the air flow to keep noise down. It produces 13 decibels less noise than the previous Thule Rapid Aero bar. The slight bow in the center of each bar helps to ensure a sturdy, custom fit roof rack. Like the Rapid Aero bar the AeroBlade has a T-slot for attaching accessories. What is different about this system is the end cap. The end cap does not need to be removed in order to mount or remove accessories. It will swing up and out of the way to allow access to the T-Slot. Once you have installed or removed whatever accessories you need in the T-slot, close the end cap and your ready to go.
The underside of the bar is a measurement slide. You dont have to measure anymore, just follow the slide and the instruction. Adjust the slide to whatever measurement you need for your particular setup. Thule also includes rubber stripping to fill in the gap and help keep noise down on the underside of the cross bar. The AeroBlade bars are also designed to fit all of the current Rapid Foot Packs. It will fit the Rapid Crossroads feet part number TH450R, Rapid Aero Feet TH400XTR, Rapid Tracker feet part number TH430R, the Rapid Traverse part number TH480R and the Rapid Podium part number TH460R.
Next we will show you how to set up the Thule AeroBlade bar to install on your vehicle. We will flip the bar over and remove the end caps from each side. We will take our foot and slide it into the track on the underside. You can check the fit instructions to figure out where you need to get the measurement slider to get the foot in the correct position. Once we have our foot in place we can go ahead and reinstall our end cap. We will repeat the same proceedure on the other 3 feet and then we will be ready to install it on our vehicle. Now we are ready to go ahead and mount them on our vehicle.
We will position our crossbars on top of our vehicle. First we want to make sure the overhang of the crossbars is even from side to side. Then we will make sure we have them set at the same spot on either side of the vehicle so that the bars are running perpendicular to our factory raised side rails. Once we have our crossbars into place we can go ahead and begin tightening it down. The Rapid Crossroad feet use a rubber coated steel band that wraps around our factory side rails. As we tighten the foot down the foot locks onto our side rails and it also secures the AeroBlade bar into place. We will move back and forth from the drivers side to the passenger side as we tighten down to make sure the crossbar tighten downs evenly. Once we have the front crossbar in position we can go ahead and install our rear crossbar. We will place the rear bar into position and then like the front we will check to make sure the overhang on either side is even and we will also measure from the center of our front bar to the center of the rear bar to make sure the bar runs perpendicular to the side rails and it runs parallel with the front bar. Once we have the crossbar into position we will go ahead and use the same tightening procedure we used with the front bar.
For this application Thule recommends the 43 inch long AeroBlade bars you can use bars that are longer if you need to carry more, but keep in mind the general rule of thumb is not to exceed the width of your side view mirrors. Now that we have our AeroBlade roof rack installed we are ready to take it out for a test drive. And that does it for the Thule AeroBlades.
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Average Customer Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars (22 Customer Reviews)
by: MikeL09/15/2012
Is this review helpful?
Excellent engineering, installation was very straight-forward. Once installed, the aero design had very little wind noise. I used it to carry our camping gear as it allowed us to use our new car to go camping.54814
by: Alfredo C.07/27/2012
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High quality of material and workmanship. Installed in less than 1 hr on my 2010 Volvo V70 XC with factory side rails. eTrailer proved to be a vendor I would not hesitate to recommend. I opted for free 5-7 day ground delivery ; however thew order was upgraded to 3-5 at no additional cost.49562
by: Kris09/29/2012
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Thanks!!! 56101
by: Matthew K04/16/2012
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Easy install, great product! 1-10 We rate it a 9.5! 37332
by: Robert C12/11/2012
Is this review helpful?
Arrived at my door in three days.Esy to put together. I recommend you order the locks.61198
by: Steve D05/22/2012
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This is my first Thule roof rack. Very happy with the product, including ease of installation. The aeroblade bars are very quiet. I haven't noticed them yet. Also very happy with the overall shopping experience with etrailer.com. In addition to their prices being some of the lowest I could find for this product, the delivery of the product was very timely, and their communication via emails was outstanding. I will definitely be purchasing more products from etrailer.com41363
by: Andrew12/27/2011
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Best bars on the market!! Easy to attached to the towers due to the engineered slot on the bottom of the bars. I did not see a drop in my MPG after installing the bars, city or highway. There is no wind noise up to 55-65mph and the some wind noise after that range, nothing major though. The only time that wind noise is really noticable is when it is really windy before driving.28742
by: Jason S.12/18/2012
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Follow correct assembly and you will have no issues! Unfortunately, that was not me and I learned by trial. Was it all my fault? Well some of it was, but the instructions at times were not as clear. For example, it was unclear where to measure 10 inches back (side or center) from my windshield as to how far the bars should sit. At first I measure from the center, but that was clearly incorrect as I reviewed videos on line of the bars being measured from the side. Then I heard howling and whistling and thought, hmmm, maybe I should install the rubber into the top and underside, even in the sliders -that did the trick! The instructions were not clear that I had to do that either. So, live and learn. Bottom line: if I went on-line and viewed videos of the installation first, I would have gotten it right the first time. I suggest you do! As per the quality of the item. It is truly top notch, light and sturdy and I am extremely pleased with my purchase!61755
by: Eric B.06/03/2012
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Excellent service and product from first order to final assembly. Class act all around.42554
by: Marco Delano12/22/2011
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I Installed this on my 2009 GMC Sierra within 20-30 min tops. Lot's of you tube video's to walk you through it. The product can support my two 14' kayaks now on top of my truck. My bed is a 6'-1/2" bed, so they would have stuck out more then 7' out the back. Which these roof racks, it holds them secure in place. I ordered them from etrailer on the Tuesday before Christmas, and 2 days later they arrived in the mail UPS ! Great service, highly recommend them ! 28597
by: Kara smith12/27/2012
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Customer service is on point. And product is pretty good too!;) so glad I order from etrailer.com62019
by: John H.10/07/2012
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Fits great, installation was easy. 56605
by: H. Kim03/29/2012
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Recently I bought Thule roofrack system through etrailer. Not only they have the best price on the market but also provide fast/free shipping. They also notified me the status of order.. Not just under the name of "customer service", I did get emails from each person handling the stuff at their specific process points - receiving order, shipping etc. Nice addition to good product. Very satisfied35489
by: Ed Schulz05/24/2013
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The product was delivered on time and is of the highest quality.81887
by: no name01/24/2013
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Nice bars, strong and I like the rubber inserts on the top which will do well to keep things such as plywood or other such items from slipping. Currently have a Yakima ski rack attached and everything seems to work well.64081
by: Bob T08/24/2012
Is this review helpful?
This product seems to be a great improvement over the standard Thule load bars. They are much quieter and the aluminum won't rust over time. The only reason that they don't get five stars is that aligning them is a little difficult due to the feet hanging up in the tracks when positioning them. 52795
by: Randy08/08/2012
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Quiet, quality is excellent. 50986
by: Scott P05/31/2013
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Perfect fit on my '08 Prius. Easy to attach to feet and look great on the car. Only have one bike mount so far but will see what else I can attach. Thank etrailer!82685
by: Rob W.03/27/2012
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Product arrived as specified. Manufacturer assembly instructions are not the easiest to follow. Used the rack this past weekend and everything worked excellent. These bars barely make any additional wind noise even at 70 mph.35252
by: anthony c.09/24/2012
Is this review helpful?
you guys shipped my order for the volvo crossbars in record time. I thank you for the quick turn around time. The rack is as great as your promo described it. I was able to install on my car in less than 30 mins without any tools except my hands. It is the first silent set of bars I have ever owned, and I have had many of them for different vehicles over the years. Thank you again for the quick TAT. A.55640
by: Bill W08/03/2012
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I bought a set of Thule Aero Blade cross bars and bases for my 2002 Toyota Avalon. All parts arrived in only 3 days! The installation was very detailed and the Fit-Kit for my car was perfect. No issues with the installation following the instructions with the Fit-Kit!50462
by: Lou K05/19/2012
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Easy fit for my FJ Cruiser and they look great.41018
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