I hate Thule

So I've been doing some mountain-biking lately up at the Pinckney Rec. Area (aka "The Poto")... enough times that I've gotten aggravated with taking my bike apart to fit it in the trunk, so I went shopping for a bike rack for my car.

I didn't think I wanted the permanent-ish roof rack, since, with gas prices what they are, who wants decreased fuel economy? And Acura tells me that they don't sell a hitch for my TSX, and for the 2004, recommend NOT installing a hitch of any kind. Looking under the bac of my car, I understand what they mean - I can't figure out where one would mount anything. So I resigned myself to a trunk rack. Goofy, clunky, and potentially paint-damaging, but it seemed the only option. At local shops, there was Thule, and Saris. Saris supposedly doesn't fit the TSX, so I went with the Thule #978 "Easy Rider".

What a piece of shit.

If it's not the goofy assemblage of aluminum tubes and nylon straps that pissed my off, it's the shitty hooks that are supposed to grip the edge of decklid to stabilize the rack, or it's the retarded little rubber-strap bike-hold-downs that I can't believe will last very long. What's even worse is that it holds the bike so high and so far away from the car that it flaps in the breeze somethin' fierce. If I try to strap the wheels together to hold the front wheel straight, the bike becomes a sail and the bottom tips out in the wind like crazy. If I leave the rear wheel loose to tie the frame/front wheel down so it doesn't flap, the rear wheel spins alarmingly fast in the breeze (when I got home, the mounts had shifted so the bike was now at an angle). And that was driving really peacefully (under the speed limit) for only 30 minutes. There's no fucking way I would drive this rack cross-country with my gear on it.

I mean really... doesn't anyone at Thule product-test these before selling them? For example, get a focus group of 20 off-the-street Joe Schmoes (or, since they're Swedish, Josef Schmøë), hand them prototypes, and see what they say. What they would have told them is that these racks are... well, they're shïté.

Luckily, I only paid $80 for it, so I'm not completely depressed about the purchase. And realistically if I drive out to a trail with others, it's the only way I can transport more than one bike in my car anyway. But seriously, if you are looking for a rack and plan to use it often, just go with the full-on roof rack (i.e. good ole Yakima), spend the money ($400-ish), and be done with it. You'll be glad you did.