Thule Trunk Bike Racks Review - 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek

Review of the Thule Trunk Bike Racks on a 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek

Today on our 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek we are going to be test fitting the Thule Gateway XT 2 Bike Rack, part number TH 9006 XT. We already have a bike installed on our rack, let's go ahead and take a closer look at some of the features. The bike attaches to the bike rack by three points of contact to your bike's frame, we have two straps up top here as well as a strap off to the side here, which acts as an anti-sway strap, so it's not swinging back and forth while you are driving possibly hitting the bike rack or the bike in front of it. Let's go ahead and take that off. It's always good practice to reinstall your straps after you take them off so they are not flapping around while you are driving, and so you don't lose them while you are driving. Next I'm going to give you some measurements to give you an idea of how much has been added to the car after the bike rack is installed. I'm going to be measuring from the hatch here - out, from here it looks about 21 1/2 inches. Now these arms do fold down for close quarter situations such as parking.

And to do that you have these knobs here that flip out, turn to the left to loosen them up, and just shake them out. And you can see these teeth here, in between this gap and you just let it come down to where you need it to be, and then you simply tighten it back up. And there you go, we will repeat the same process for the other side. Now we will go ahead and do that same measurement again, with them folded down right at about 13 inches. Now this bike rack attaches to your hatch or your trunk using six points of contact. We have these two rubber coated hooks up top, then you'll have one to each side, and one underneath the hatch here.

They tighten down by these cam buckle levers, and then you just have to tie off the excess. We have two pads, one to protect your rear windshield and one to protect the bottom part of your hatch here. Now when using this, you cannot use your rear windshield wiper blade. And to make it fit to your vehicle, if you look here know that the numbers are going to be a little small, but this is the fit dial. And it varies from vehicle to vehicle, but for the 2014 Subaru XT Crosstrek you are going to be setting it at 8.

And there you have it for the Thule Gateway XT 2 Bike Carrier, part number TH 9006 XT on our 2014 Subaru XT Crosstrek. Here it is on our test course. We will start by going through the slalom, and this is going to show us the side to side action which simulates turning corners or evasive maneuvers. Next we are at the alternating speed bumps which we'll see the twisting action, this will simulate hitting a curb, a pot hole, or driving over uneven pavement. Finally we have the full speed bumps where we will see the up and down action, which is just like driving out of a parking lot, garage, or driveway.