Today well be demonstrating the Thule Gateway two bike carrier with adjustable arms, part number TH9006XT. This trunk mounted carrier transports up to two bicycles. It has hold fast cradles and a patented fit dial mounting system, making it very affordable yet having high dollar features. We will begin our test fit by setting up the bike rack according to the fit guide found within the instructions of the Gateway. With our bike rack set up we will place it on top of the deck lid and using the two top straps well hook it to the deck lid just behind the rear window. We will then go ahead and snug the nylon straps down just to help us hold the bike rack in place.
In each of the strap locations we will take one of the hook and loop straps. We will use these to tie up the excess nylon strap which will give us a nice, clean, finished look. We can then move down to our side and bottom strap where we will hook one end to the side here at the deck lid right next to the taillight and the other to the bottom of the deck lid, right above the rear bumper cover. We will then snug those down. We will then snug that strap down and move over to the other side, repeating the same procedure.
Now that we have all six attachment points in place we can go ahead and work our way around the nylon straps, tightening them down, securing our bike rack to the vehicle. Now that our bike rack is secured we will go ahead and wrap up the nylon straps and secure them back to themselves. We will now move out here to the arms. Each arm is independently adjustable. We will simply undo the cinch lever where we will then unscrew it which will allow us to move the arm.
When we get the arm into a suitable location for our vehicle, we can then tighten down the bolt and cinch the lever back down. We will do this on both sides, making sure that both arms are parallel with each other. Now that we have both arms out we can move onto our cradles. These hold fast cradles with advanced grooves and detachable anti-sway arms or no-sway cages will gently cushion the frames and accommodate cables for proper bike hold. They hold the bike in three points and prevent swaying as well as bike to bike contact.
The heavy duty reinforced straps maximize cradle hold strength. You will also notice that the cradles will rotate as well as move back and forth on the arms to allow bikes of various frame shapes. We will now go ahead and undo all the straps where we can then place our bike into the cradles and bring the straps around, securing the bike to the bike rack. For demonstration purposes, were going to go ahead and load our bike on the outermost cradles, although when loading your bikes, it is a good idea to start with the cradles closest to the vehicle and work your way out. We will now go ahead and show you the nylon strap that the bike rack comes with that we can use to further secure the bike to the bike rack, or to secure the wheels and tires, however the strap seems necessary. With that done, our bike is on the bike rack and our bike rack is secured to the vehicle. We will now go ahead and take it down the road and see how it performs. That completes our demonstration of the Thule Gateway two bike carrier, part number TH9006XT.