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Premium, powder coated steel hitch bike rack offers hassle-free bike loading with fold-up anti-sway cradles and ratcheting straps. Cradles are set 7" apart so bikes won't become tangled on the rack. Includes locks for bikes and rack.
Features:
Specs:
Note: This dual-arm rack reduces the need for a bike frame adapter bar (sold separately) to mount a children's, women's, or alternative frame bicycle. However, to mount certain bikes or to keep your bike level on the rack, a bike adapter bar may be required. Most step-through bikes, dual-suspension bikes, and small children's bikes will require a bike adapter bar.
This premium, powder-coated steel hitch-mounted bike rack lets you transport 2 bikes on the back of your vehicle. It has fold-up anti-sway cradles and ratcheting straps that make it easy to load and unload your bikes. The cradles are set 7" apart, so there's enough space between your bikes to prevent them from becoming tangled on the rack. It also has an anti-rattle hitch pin and integrated cable with keyed-alike locks that secure your bikes to the rack and the rack to your vehicle.
Folding Dual Arms with HitchSwitch Lever
The Apex XT dual arms that provide your bikes with excellent support and ground clearance during transport.
The upper HitchSwitch lever lets you fold the arms down when not in use.
HideAway Anti-Sway Cradles
The Apex XT has HideAway anti-sway cradles that secure each bike twice along the top tube and once along the seat post or downtube. This reduces rocking to help eliminate bike-to-bike and bike-to-vehicle contact. The soft rubber cradles rotate around the arms to accommodate your bikes' frames. Each cradle is set 7" apart on the arms, so there is more space between your bikes when compared with many other hanging-style racks. The added space helps prevent your bikes from becoming tangled on the rack.
The cradles have grooves on the surface that prevent your brake and shifter cables from getting pinched.
Durable, dual-molded ratchet straps hold your bikes firmly in place on the cradles. You can remove the lower straps and fold the cradles up against the arms to make it easier to slide your bikes onto the rack.
Tilting Rack with HitchSwitch Lever
The rack tilts for easy access to your vehicle's rear cargo area. Just pull up on the HitchSwitch lever at the base of the rack, and lower the rack into position. When you're ready to go, lift the rack up until it snaps into place with an audible click.
The HitchSwitch lever is located right behind the base of the mast. This makes it easy to reach with one hand and steady the mast with the other.
The knob at the front of the shank lets you quickly and easily install the rack. Just slide the shank into your hitch and turn the knob until snug. The knob deploys an anti-rattle wedge in the shank to help take play out of the hitch connection. It also sets the integrated SnugTite hitch pin into place, securing the rack to your receiver.
Complete Security for Bikes and Rack
The Helium Pro includes One-Key System locks to secure your bikes to the rack and the rack to your vehicle. The integrated cable lock threads around your bikes' frames and inserts into the lock at the end of the left arm. The cable stores inside the mast when not in use.
The lock on the hand knob secures the rack to your vehicle. The hand knob will spin freely when locked so a would-be thief can't operate it to remove the rack from your hitch. The locks are keyed alike so you can use the same keys for both locks. Additional One-Key System locks (sold separately) let you make all of your Thule products keyed alike.
Hitch Compatibility
The rack works with both 1-1/4" and 2" hitches. To use it in a 1-1/4" hitch, simply remove the adapter with the included Allen key.
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars (42 Customer Reviews)
Premium, powder coated steel hitch bike rack offers hassle-free bike loading with fold-up anti-sway cradles and ratcheting straps. Cradles are set 7" apart so bikes won't become tangled on the rack. Includes locks for bikes and rack.I love it! It is so easy to use and it isn't that heavy. I really like that I can leave it on and still access the back of my Forester. We go biking all the time and this just made it that much easier to get to the trails. 803595
Love it but the straps could be better. 659698
My Thule bike rack 9024XT arrived last night. My first bike rack. It was exactly as described by etrailer's web site and Carol, the sales rep who I talked to. Assembly and mounting was so, so very easy and only took a few minutes. I would buy this bike rack again hands down! Highly recommend!! 770278
I have owned this bike rack for only a year. Used very little thus far. First time after Winter to load bikes. Ratchet that the strap feeds into came loose and had I not had two auxiliary straps around the bike frame and hitch post .... my bike would have flown off and possibly onto a car behind me on the freeway. I am sick thinking of the damage or loss of life that could have caused. Should never happen with an almost new bike rack that cost $3[XX].00. I am done with Thule. Cannot take the risk of strap failure. 775675
Excellent product. Well made, heavy duty, tilts away from rear hatch allowing access to the back of the car (Lexus RX350) without removing the bikes, or the rack if no bikes are loaded. Easy to install, load and lock. Thule isn’t cheap but it’s worth the price. Great service, as always, from eTrailer. 795989
Great fit Great Product. 636920
The 24xt is easy to install and store. At 30 lbs it still seems heavier than I wanted but anything lighter would probably not ride as well. Very pleased with product. 628256
Etrailer was so very helpful. I needed the bike rack for a trip on a certain date. They had to backorder the item and worked hard to get the item to be by the time I needed it. They do a great job. 897687
We were expecting 'easy installation'. However, the instructions that come with the Bike Rack are very vague. I attempted to call your office two times but both times I was on hold for at least 15 minutes so I gave up. I spent more time on-line searching out any instructions I could find. Finally I found the mini-videos that showed installation details that cannot be viewed from the instruction manual. I wish you had provided directions to the on-line instructions which are so much more clear than the booklet that comes with the bike rack. Then this morning I went to back my car up and the rear bumper emergency sensor system on my 2017 Prius kept braking the car. After doing some more research, I am learning about disconnecting that safety feature on my car when the bike rack is attached. Again, I wish etrailer had given me a heads up about this issue. My rating relates to the installation instructions and assistance. I suspect I will be happy with the rack once we get it out of the driveway. 894520
This is my second items purchased from etrailer. Supper fast shipping, excellent customer service. Installation was quick and easy. I highly recommend this product to anyone. THANK YOU etrailer I will definitely shop here again soon. 884630
Never had a rack before. Heavy and awkward to store when not in use E trailer people were great! Helpful 883912
I like it however I expected more from Thule. The bikes slip off the pad easily, even when clamped down tight. Getting two bikes on is a balance, the space is tight. Most recently, when I go to take the bikes off, the clip on the clamp has flipped making it much harder to unfasten and take off the rack. The rack is heavy too! I can manage it myself but you have to get that square peg into your hitch just right while at the same time making sure the bar is out of the way. It's a good rack, it works but not overly impressed. 829986
Excellent product and easy to set up. I was tired of the racks that you have to use straps and hooks if your not careful enough, you can scratch your vehicle. With this hitch rack there is no way to do that and you can even lock your bikes if you have to leave them there while travelling. I loved it. 825613
I like the ease of removing and replacing the bike carrier without tools, just a key. Only qualification: Beware do not leave the staps on the bike carrier. I can only assue they were stollen. Put them in your locked trunk. 815617
This rack is excellent. Easy to install and easy to get the bikes on and off. We bought the adapter bar for my bike (women's). We live in the city and wanted a rack we could easily take on and off and store in the cargo area of our Renegade. This rack fits perfectly! The tilting function is worth spending the extra money so that we can still access our hatch back. Also etrailer is a great company. The rack came quickly, well packed, and they opened the rack box and put the other parts we ordered inside the rack box to cut down an waste from extra shipping materials. We order all our racks and related gear for toting our skis and bikes from etrailer. 812361
The product is exactly what I ordered. It's a great design and well built. It arrived one day ahead of the promised date 805187
Review from a similar Apex XT in Hitch Bike Racks
Happy to find it in stock. It took a couple of hours to assemble both the rack and the tram. Looking forward to many years of use! 850725
Review from a similar Apex XT in Hitch Bike Racks
I initially purchased a 4 bike platform rack (it was a different brand than Thule), but unfortunately there were defects and I couldn't use it. etrailer.com was excellent about returning it for a refund. I would definitely use etrailer.com again for the great customer service. After a lot of additional research, I decided to purchase the Thule Apex XT 5 bike hanging rack. I needed something that could hold 5 bikes. Here are my thoughts: The Thule Apex XT arrived in one box and did not require many parts to assemble, so assembly was super quick and easy. However, the instructions are pictures only and my only minor issue was the key locks/plugs were not explained very well in the instructions. You have to use a control key to insert and keep the lock where it is supposed to go, and then you can use the locking keys that actually lock/unlock it afterward. Once that was clear, it was pretty much assembled. Compared to the platform rack, this hanging rack takes up much less space, is lighter, and easier to hook up to your hitch. The assembly was much easier/quicker also. I liked the simplicity of this rack. It fits either 1.25 or 2 inch hitches and the knob used to tighten the rack in the hitch is excellent. No tools were required. Just turn the knob and it expands the rack inside the hitch to fully tighten it and eliminate wiggle/rattle. There is a bar on the side of the rack that snaps into the hole in the side of your hitch for additional security. I have a 2 inch hitch and so didn't have to adjust anything, however if you have a 1.25 inch hitch, you'll have to slightly modify the rack first, which is covered in the instructions. I tried to wiggle the rack after fully tightening it and it felt very solid. Then you can use the key to lock the knob and after that the knob will just turn, but not actually loosen the rack. I thought this built in security feature was great. The rack can be tilted or lowered away from your vehicle by simply using one lever near the base of the rack. Again, super simple and easy to use. You can't lower the rack away from the vehicle if the bikes are on it, unlike some platform racks, but that is something I'm willing to live with for the smaller size and ease of use for this rack. The hanging arms are super easy to raise/lower by using one lever on the top of the rack. Inserting the straps to secure the bikes was also very easy. Each bike is secured by 3 straps. The rack has a built in cable to lock your bikes to the rack, which uses the same key. I really like that feature as well. When not in use the cable slides inside the main body of the rack. I tested this rack with a men's fat tire bike and it fit great. You will likely need an adaptor bar if you have kids bikes or step-through bikes, etc. and plan on using all 5 spots. I also tested it with a kids bike and was able to get it on the rack fine, but the issue without having an adaptor bar for these smaller frames, is that it raises the rear tire higher than normal, which would then bump into the handle-bars from the previous bike on the rack---making them not fit. So, prepare for that, but there are plenty of adaptor bars out there for reasonable prices and the overall total cost will still be less than most platform racks. After assembling a large 4 bike platform rack (at least until I ran into the defects), this hanging rack really impressed me with it's small, easy to use size and simplicity. These are not recommended for carbon frame bikes, but if you want something for non-carbon frame bikes that could actually hold enough bikes for the whole family, this is a great option. It also takes up a fraction of the space in your garage that the platform rack would. If all you have are carbon frame bikes, or only need a 2 bike rack, then I'd go with a platform rack. I plan on using this for family bike trips when I'm not using my carbon frame bike and when I need to be able to hold all 5 bikes. My garage space was also very limited, so this rack solved that problem as well. I will have to add to my review after using it for much longer since it is brand new, but so far looks and feels like it will last a long time. I'm very happy with this purchase and would recommend it to others. 797684
Review from a similar Apex XT in Hitch Bike Racks
Excellent swing rack! I can open both rear doors of my 2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. I couldn’t be happier. 704166
Review from a similar Apex XT in Hitch Bike Racks
Received the product in good condition and install was quite straightforward. The rack is solid and the fact that all critical points allow for adjustment and tightening via knob vs needing tools is indeed a plus. It fits snugly in my receiver and tightens down for zero movement on our Subaru Ascent. I’ve yet to load bikes but I can already tell its much better than our previous Saris rack. There was only one install issue - make certain you place the right locking mechanism into the proper lock. I don’t know why but it uses two separate keys - and the single key lock is the one that goes into the hitch receiver knob - and the instructions were slightly ambiguous on cautioning for that. Overall it’s heavy duty and should last year’s. 663208
Review from a similar Apex XT in Hitch Bike Racks
Assembled the rack today. I haven't used it for any trips yet. It is very difficult to get the two major pieces to align so the bolt can be installed. I was finally able to get it to work. 704128
Review from a similar Apex XT in Hitch Bike Racks
Easy assembly. Solid product. You get what you pay for. Easy operation. Great seller, fast shipping. 663414
Review from a similar Apex XT in Hitch Bike Racks
Regardless of received the wrong item at first time. I notified etrailer and they sent the free return label for returning the wrong item and they shipped the correct item the next day. For a quick response and for this reason I gave it a 4 1/2 stars for customer services. I would recommended etrailer and I would shop at etrailer again in the future. Thank you for taking care of this matter so quickly. 864992
Review from a similar Apex XT in Hitch Bike Racks
I called the Etrailer to place an order and spoke with Dena W, who was very helpful letting me know the part is on backorder but will ship soon as it’s available and two weeks later I received the Thule Apex xt5 bike rack. Dena also helped out with getting the Thule bike adapters which I need it for certain bikes. Very pleased thanks to Dena! 856963
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