Thule unveils the Epos bike rack
Thule’s bike rack answer to the burgeoning bigger bike-tyre conundrum
Swedish bike transport and luggage specialist, Thule, has launched a new towbar rack called the Epos. It is designed to offer owners flexibility when transporting multiple bikes – and should work well with really big bikes.
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Configured to carry three bikes of any discipline mountain bikes, gravel bikes, e-bikes or road bikes, Thule’s industrial designers have been masterful at packaging the Epos. Its adjustable fastening and bike securing mechanisms include Thule’s patented bike arms, which work with wheel sizes from 16- to 29-inches in diameter.
2023 Thule Epos bike rack studio, by Thule
Recognising the trend towards larger tyres, especially on e-bikes, the Epos loading wheel grooves are oversized. One of the issues with legacy bike racks is their comparatively narrow loading grooves, which often don’t accommodate large casing tyres, 2.6in and wider.
The Epos has loading grooves shaped to fit 3.2-inch wide tyre casings. And if you want to transport a fat bike, there's an accessory strap for those winter snow exploration rides, which expands tyre mounting capacity to 5in of casing width.
You can fit really big bikes
2023 Thule Epos bike rack folded, by Thule
Mountain bikes have grown much longer over the last few years. Progressive geometry trends have proven the value of longer-wheelbase bikes, which can become incompatible with older bike racks.
Thule’s product team has cleverly futureproofed its Epos bike rack, which can carry a bike with a maximum wheelbase of 1350mm. And that is enormous. Even radical geometry mountain bikes famed for their vast wheel wheelbase measurements, such as the Pole Stamina size K3 and Geometron G13 Longest, will fit on the Epos bike rack.
But what about weight ratings? The Epos bike rack has been engineered to carry 60kg of total weight. Its loading grooves can individually carry bikes up to 30kg, which should cover most production e-bikes with some mass margin to spare.
Thule is renowned for its ergonomics and Swedish sensibility regarding industrial design. The brand’s patented telescoping bike arms are easy to fold into Epos bike rack’s base structure between the wheel grooves, when not in use. These bike arms are adjustable and feature a pivoting head, making it possible to mount bikes without the risk of frame-to-frame contact.
Tailgate access is easy thanks to Thule’s smart tilt system, which is effortless to use, even with a fully laden bike rack.
The price is £880 for the two bike rack and £970 for three bikes.
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3 comments
BuzzRack at less than half the price.
The image in the piece of the car with the bikes loaded on that contraption driving on that forest road just makes me sick.
I'd expect this kind of gushing prose from the manufacturer.