# Trunk Mounted Bike Rack - Thule Raceway 3 or Raceway Platform



## jpaschal01 (Jul 20, 2011)

I need to get a trunk mounted bike rack. I've narrowed my choices to the Thule Raceway 3 or the Thule Raceway Platform. I narrowed to these because 1) Thule is the only company that makes racks that will fit both my wife's and my car and 2) I prefer the design of the raceway series. What are the benefits and drawbacks of each; top tube mount vs platform mount?


----------



## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

Swinging handlebars & tires is the main reason I would go with platform mount.


----------



## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

No opinion on those racks, but I've never had a problem with swinging handlebars or moving wheels with a top-tube rack - couple of bungee cords and all is stable.

Are you sure those are the only racks that will fit the two cars? I have a couple of Saris Bones racks, and I've not yet seen a car they couldn't adjust to. I've used them on hatchbacks, wagons, and several trunk shapes. But maybe one of your cars is very unusual.


----------



## jpaschal01 (Jul 20, 2011)

JCavilia said:


> Are you sure those are the only racks that will fit the two cars? I have a couple of Saris Bones racks, and I've not yet seen a car they couldn't adjust to. I've used them on hatchbacks, wagons, and several trunk shapes. But maybe one of your cars is very unusual.


I've done the fit test on the websites for Saris, Yakima, and Thule and the only company that makes racks that they say will fit both of our vehicles (2009 Acura TL and 2009 GMC Adadia) is Thule.

I'm leaning towards the regular raceway 3 rack because it is so much lighter. The platform version has online reviews saying it dented the cars because it is so heavy. Shipping weight is in the neighborhood of 48 pounds!


----------



## jpaschal01 (Jul 20, 2011)

I went ahead and purchased the Thule Raceway 3 last night from my LBS. I actually went in to look at the Raceway Platform that I had seen previously and see how heavy it really was. It was HEAVY and I wasn't comfortable with that much weight on my trunk pluss adding the weight of the bikes. 

When I got home, I unpacked the Raceway 3 and it was really easy to work. I was able to put it on my car the first time in about 10 minutes. It won't take anywhere that long next time. The cable system they use (insead of ratcheting straps) is so good. I highly recommend!


----------

