Saris Thelma Hitch Bike Racks Review - 2014 Ford Fiesta

Review of the Saris Thelma Hitch Bike Racks on a 2014 Ford Fiesta

Today on our 2014 Ford Fiesta we're doing a test fit of the Saris Thelma 3 Bike Rack Platform Style. That part number is SA4239B. We have a bike on our rack. I'd like to show you a few features here. How our bike is held down, see that we have a wheel cradle. It has a strap that is actually holding the tire down in its place.

Toward the back here, small cradle wheel. It's actually got a strap also to hold the back wheel in place. How we disengage that, press the button there, pull on our strap, pull it to the side. Then we come to the front and do the same. Push the little button there, push it out, and push it off to the side.

All right. Now we're ready to take off our bike. We're going to set this to the side. I always say, if you have any straps please replace them so they don't get damaged or lost. We'll do that first. I'll do the back one, and I'll do the front one.

All right. Now, the thing I'd like to show you here, with this wheel cradle we have 2 sets of wheels. We have a standard set of wheels, but if you click it here, it'll move back to the spot, actually can fit a wheel up to 29 inches in diameter. Just remember that. To bring it all the way, completely down, press again and you can fold it all the way down. When the bike rack is in this position you can actually get in and out of your hatch, like so.

If you need to put anything in or take anything out, you have plenty of room. Now this also has another stow position I'll show you in a minute. We're going to take a few measurements just to show you what we added overall to our vehicle. I'm looking here, we added 36 inches. Now the closest spot to our bike rack, showing right at here, that's 4 inches. Our ground clearance, I'm showing approximately 8 inches. Now, I want to show you this other stow position. It actually folds up. It's a pin and clip down here. Want to remove that and you can let it just drop down. Grab our bike rack, pull up, always replace the pin and clip so it can stay in the spot. Overall the distance has change. Also, closest to your vehicle has changed too, so we'll take another measurement here. I'm looking at approximately 10 inches. Now I'm looking at one of the wheel cradles, the closest spot I'm showing is actually a inch and a half. Just keep that in mind. Now this is equipped for 1 1/4 or 2 inch hitches. Today we're using a 1 1/4. This does come with a anti-rattle bolt and pin so that'll keep off that play as you're riding down the road. That's it for our test fit on the Saris Thelma 3 Bike Rack Platform Style. That part number again is SA4239B on today's 2014 Ford Fiesta. Let's see how it does on our test course. Here it is on our test course. First is the slalom area which simulates side-to-side action like turning the corners or evasive maneuvers. Next are the alternate speed bumps which show you the twisting action like hitting a pothole, road debris, or hitting a curb. Finally we're at the solid speed bumps which show you up-and-down action to simulate a parking garage or coming out of your driveway.