Has anyone used this rack with a kid's bike? Looking for a roof rack for a 16" bike.
288395
The Thule side arm grabs bikes from a 20"-29" tire size, if you were looking to get a kids bike up there the 599xtr Big Mouth is a good option. The Big Mouth grabs on to the frame of the bike as opposed to the front tire.
288396
The side arm will only work on 20-29" wheels. You may have luck with the Raptor Aero or the Thule Criterium and that may work. Kids bikes are always tricky.
288397
The Sidearm is recommended to carry bike with wheels fro 20"-29". For kids bikes, I would look at the Thule 599XTR BigMouth or Yakima Raptor Aero.
288398
Hi Vernon,The side arm will only work on 20-29" wheels. As suggested below, the Bigmouth 599XTR or the Criterium 598 are good alternative. Thank you for the inquiry and have a great day!
288399
Thank you for your question. Unfortunately the Thule 594XT Sidearm rack will only accommodate wheel sizes from 20"-29". For wheels smaller then that we would suggest a fork mount bicycle rack like the Thule 527 Paceline.
2218123
Yes. I have 2 boys. We put 2 Mongoose Bikes and an adult bike and they fit with no problem.
2218125
It will hold kids bikes, however, it may take some creativity to fit it on the rack. For example my sons crossbar isn't long enough to cross both supports. I just have to rest the wheel instead. The bike is a little slanted, but it stays put just fine.
674929
I've found it to be reasonable. I load a Giant Escape 2, two kids 24" MBs (a Diamondback Lustre and a Magna), and a ladies Schwinn Ranger 2.6 MB. With the exception of my bike, all the others are female frame style, so I use top tube adapters (1 Yakima and 2 Allen Sports) for them. I don't think it would work without the top tube adapters. I won't say that loading up 4 bikes is 'quick and easy', but it can certainly be done and in the end the bikes fit fine and are secure on the rack. I was a little bit surprised at how much 'bounce' I get on the rack with 4 bikes loaded, but after talking to some other folks using both Yakima and Thule racks, it seems that this is typical. It's not excessive, just more than I expected. I've been very satisfied. The zip strips makes securing the bikes quick as well. I'd definitely recommend it!
1510246
Yes. I've uploaded photos of our setup with a 20, a 16, & two 12s, as well as a photo with showing how I have the bikes aligned in the brackets. I had trouble at first until I realized that the bikes need to have the fork and hub resting on a specific side of the bracket (the side with the gentler angle) so that the tires rest on the bottom of the rack, not the ground. The instructions don't make it obvious, so I didn't realize at first that I had things wrong. I eventually resorted to analyzing the photo on Amazon, to see how the rack was supposed to work. My 5 year old has no trouble putting her bike on the rack and the bikes are always out of the way now. Yes. I've uploaded photos of our setup with a 20, a 16, & two 12s, as well as a photo with showing how I have the bikes aligned in the brackets. I had trouble at first until I realized that the bikes need to have the fork and hub resting on a specific side of the bracket (the side with the gentler angle) so that the tires rest on the bottom of the rack, not the ground. The instructions don't make it obvious, so I didn't realize at first that I had things wrong. I eventually resorted to analyzing the photo on Amazon, to see how the rack was supposed to work. My 5 year old has no trouble... » Read More Yes. I've uploaded photos of our setup with a 20, a 16, & two 12s, as well as a photo with showing how I have the bikes aligned in the brackets. I had trouble at first until I realized that the bikes need to have the fork and hub resting on a specific side of the bracket (the side with the gentler angle) so that the tires rest on the bottom of the rack, not the ground. The instructions don't make it obvious, so I didn't realize at first that I had things wrong. I eventually resorted to analyzing the photo on Amazon, to see how the rack was supposed to work. My 5 year old has no trouble putting her bike on the rack and the bikes are always out of the way now. « Show Less
1172509
I have this exact one and I don't think a standard bike rack would work! I just put it in the back of my pick up. Great bike!!!
919399
I haven't found an adapter small enough to fit a 16" girl's bike. Let me know if you do--has to be one out there. The adapters I have do fit 20".
581539
I use the Topeak Explorer Bike Rack but it appears that all of them are acceptable; you need to have the "track" underneath the bag so you can slide it on securely and the attachment crossbar to hold it in place. From the pictures, it appears that all the MTX frames offered on Amazon have these two features.
1579720
The U-bolts fit under your cars rooftop cross bars and the wheel clamps attach to the tire rails. Make sure all bolts are secure. Raise the wheel clamps over the front tires (only) and close down the wheel clamp securely. I've used mine a couple of times with two bikes on the roof of my SUV and will be doing it again in two weeks for a 13 mile ride around the Cades Cove Loop in GSMNP. You don't have to be an engineer to figure this one out, it all fits together nicely, is very light weight and our two bikes have traveled up there at 70-80 mph without problems. Good luck, have fun.
75451
It will not hold five full size bikes...and your kids bikes need to be pretty small to get five bikes on the rack.
63926
We used this rack with an adult mountain bike, 2 adult beach cruisers and a child's bmx. We drove from phx to San Diego and it worked fine! Just use a couple extra bungee cords or straps to keep them all together!
652321
No sure about the rugged version but I fit a 29er MTb on the bottom and a 54in road bike on top. Sure it would fit kids bikes. I did attach it to the wall with the provided strap.
699433
Yes and it didn't work. Too low to the ground and I was hitting the tires on the ground when I drove through gutters. I bought a Swagman with the bend in the neck where it comes out of the receiver hitch. It raises the bikes up and they don't hit any more plus it's a all designed and constructed rack. I love it.
829127
We have two electra townies that work fine on this rack. But we do use some extra padding so bikes don't rub together.
829129
We have 2 adult size mountain bikes. One being Aluminum and the other Steel. The rack accomodates them very well.
912005
I have the same rack, all I did design a longer stinger to allow room for the bike rack. This rack is on my motorhome ,I use the Velcro straps then rap a cable lock around bikes and the ladder and holds well. The mount for my rack 2"x21/4" with a 3/4 bolt to crank it down. Jim ..jimgil.@aol.com
297935
My daughter had a 20" bike and it fit just fine. She just recently upgraded to a 26" and it fits as well. She is 8 years old. My wife did a trip to the Everglades and the rack was able to hold 2 20" kids bikes and hers as well. The rack fits on both SUVs and small cars as well. Hope my response helps!