I'm thinking about purchasing a Thule 961XT - Speedway bike carrier that is a strap-on. I don't have the hitch on my vehicle (which is 2006 Ford Escape) and I hear it can be pretty expensive to have one installed. What are your suggestions on this bike carrier? Get it or keep looking??|||Getting a reasonable quality hitch installed on your Escape shouldn't run you more than $200 US all told (parts and labor).
Personally, I prefer the roof mount racks, because I'm always worried someone will either 'bump' my bikes if they're on a hitch mount, or that they are simply easier to get at from a thief's perspective.
Depending on the type of bike you have, I'd suggest trying either 599XTR (Bigmouth) for a disc-brake, full-suspension mountain bike or 589 Velo Vise (Fork Mount) for a single-suspension MTB or road bike.
The Bigmouth basically grabs the downtube in a clamp, and allows you to rack the bike without removing wheels. The VeloVise requires removal of the front wheel, and clamps the fork onto a lockable skewer.
The other major problem with a trunk mount like the 961XT is that there's no really good means of locking the rack itself to the vehicle. All a good thief needs to do is cut the straps, and move out with the rack AND bikes. Easy to do, if he's got a pickup or a van ...|||hitch mount is the only way to go in my opinion. arent those Escapes big enough to throw a bike in the back???
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