( 6 reviews )
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Posted: May 27 2009
I read for several days reviews of the Thule bike carriers over the net and also watched some videos of the different racks. I decided for the Criterium because of the sleek design. I'm comparing it with the Side Arm for example, which obviously you don't need to take the wheel off. Another thing that I liked is that I didn't need any other accesory to attach it to the factory rack of my Toyota RAV4 2006. Even though you enter your car model and everything at Thule's site, it still appears a need of some adapter, but you don't need one, check the manual so you can see the way it attaches. Installing it was VERY easy. Just a couple of minutes assemblying it and some other to install it. I also purchased two lock cylinders that were installed in less that 3 minutes. Overall I recommend this rack as the best option for the roof. It looks great, getting the bike on and off is FAST, attaching and detaching the rack (in case you need to) is fast also and no maybe no need of any adapter.
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Posted: May 7 2009
Great racks, easy to put on and take off. Great way to put up bikes without having to remove the front wheel. 4 stars only because 1) rough directions re: flipping the rack to a driver side mounting configuration, 2) was missing one little barrel nut with one of the racks when it arrived - Amazon couldn't help except telling me I could return the whole rack for a new one. Thule was great and helped me once I could contact them, but the process meant my wife and I were cramming one bike in the car while we waited for the spare part in the mail.
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Posted: Apr 24 2008
I wanted a rack that could directly mount to my Toyota Sienna (2003) and my RAV4 (2006) factory racks- the large clamps on this unit allows for this and provide a solid, stable mount without additional hardware. I also wanted something that didn't require the removal of the front wheel, and this also fit the bill. I was a little skeptical at first because the main mount seems a bit flimsy, but when you lock it down, it works and my bikes remain motionless, even with my bikes which are all 61cm road bikes. The Thule locks are easy to install and provide a small level of protection for when you really need to leave your bike- as with any of the bike rack locks, I wouldn't leave an expensive bike unattended for too long because the locks probably wouldn't slow down a bike thief too much. I'd definitely recommend these to anyone looking for a rack, especially for those with factory racks with crossbars that this unit will fit. It will save you about $300 in additional hardware.
