The Thule 599XTR Big Mouth Upright Rooftop Bike Rack is a roof-mounted bike rack that is designed to carry bikes in an upright position with both wheels still attached.
The designers’ primary objectives were to ensure stability during travel and provide protection for the bike’s finish. Thule products go through numerous tests to ensure safety and durability in various environments so it is built to last.
This bike rack is designed to be easy to use by rolling the bike onto the wheel tray, clamping the bike with the self-adjusting jaw, and tying down the wheels to the wheel tray.
This straightforward loading process reduces the time of installation and promotes quick and efficient travel.
Thule 599XTR Big Mouth Upright Rooftop Bike Rack Features:
- The products dimensions are 58 X 11 X 3.5 inches.
- It has an automatic self-adjusting jaw that clamps onto the down tube of the bike frame.
- It is only compatible with round bar, Thule rack systems, and select square bars.
- It has a slider mechanism to grip the frame that stabilizes the bike.
- The bike capacity only holds one bike.
- It can fit bike frames up to 3 and 3/8 inches in diameter .
- It can fit tires up to 2.6 inches wide.
- It can be set up on either the standard passenger side or on the drivers side.
Thule 599XTR Big Mouth Upright Rooftop Bike Rack Pros:
- It is designed to speed up the loading process by making the steps short and easy to understand.
- The jaw clamp is lined with rubber to protect the bicycle frame finish and prevents your bike from being scratched during transit
- The wheel tray is compatible with various bikes such as road and mountain bikes.
- With the Big Mouth Upright rooftop bike rack, consumers have full access to their trunk.
Thule 599XTR Big Mouth Upright Rooftop Bike Rack Cons:
This product has many positive aspects that make the consumer’s life easier when preparing for a bike trip. However, there are a few key things to keep in mind when deciding to buy this product.
It is important to determine if you have the correct hardware for this product before buying it. The puzzlement over installation causes a few problems if you don’t know what it is that you are buying.
This product does not come with certain parts that might be considered essential to the prospective buyer. This is important to note because despite being listed as sold separately the exclusion of these parts may be a deal breaker for certain customers. The following issues are listed below.
- The One Key lock cylinder is sold separately and without it the bike rack the is vulnerable to theft.
- The rack needs to be mounted on a Thule rack system or other round bars. Consumers with factory racks need to buy the Thule Ride-On Adapter or modify their racks themselves if they still want to purchase this bike rack.
- The end caps often fall off during travel
Consumer Feedback:
This bike rack has four out of five stars and most of the feedback is fairly positive. Many people who like this rack system prefer bicycle racks that are roof mounted because it doesn’t inhibit trunk access.
Most of the issues with this product have to do with its inability to fit all factory rack systems. This problem forces the consumer to either buy a separate compatible adaptor or modify their racks themselves.
They do sell the adaptor for $14.95 if the consumer is willing to buy it separately. However, this might deter possible customers who are looking for a bike rack that has all parts sold together.
Another issue previous customers brought up was the fact that there was no lock to secure their bike. Thule does sell a lock separately for $59.95 if the consumer is set on buying it.
Assuming the consumer is simply looking for a functional product with a reasonable price and doesn’t mind buying the lock separately then this might be an appealing choice for them.
If the consumer has the right racks to mount this then it would be a good buy. It functions properly and has very few negative reviews. The most common response to this product was that it was a great product but it needed a few modifications to meet the expectations of its customers.
The confusion about whether or not the Big Mouth Upright Rooftop bike rack fits on certain racks should be carefully analyzed before buying to reduce dissatisfaction with this product.
The bike is securely held in place without damaging the finish and is simple to load and unload making it ideal for even the most avid bikers.
