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Customers most agreed on the following attributes:
from VA on 2/28/2008
This works great with the Spare Me bike carrier. It does stick out from the back of the jeep a good bit. It is easy to load but thick skis could be a problem (not an issue for me).
from Boston on 2/6/2008
Beware of the rubber supports. If your gear has sharp edges, it will cut through them on the first trip. Be careful parking with it on too.
from Boston, MA on 2/3/2008
Attached to the Thule SpareMe Bike Carrier, which was attached to the rear-mounted spare tire of my Jeep Wrangler. Installation was fairly simple.
Have so far used once to carry 2 pair of skis on one side and 2 snowboards on the other. Putting them in and taking them out was easy. Drove on some bumpy country roads as well as for several hours at highway speeds with no problems.
Perfect solution for a vehicle such as mine that cannot use a standard roof-mounted rack. Jeep sells a Mopar ski rack that mounts to the spare tire and can hold 4 pairs of skis, but cannot hold snowboards.
from Colorado Springs, Co on 1/6/2008
I had absolutely no problems installing this on the 956 Parkway 4-bike carrier.
It is easy to use (I've used it for three sets of skis) and works as advertised.
I did find you cannot put poles in it.
I didn't need to use the rubber straps to stabilize the skis in their mounted positions.
The lock knob is very easy to use with gloves or mittens on, and doesn't loosen even if you forget to lock the knob. Locking the knob allows the knob to spin freely, but won't loosen the screw to allow removal of the skis, so it is important to screw it in tightly before locking the knob, or else the skis may not actually be "locked in".
from Collinsville, CT on 1/2/2008
I couldn't find it written anywhere that it would work on my Thule Spare Me spare tire mounted bike rack. So I called EMS and they said it would.
They were right. It's a little tricky to mount since the instructions aren't written for the Spare Me. It attaches to the bike rack, and comes off easily with the one lockable bolt.
People said it's heavy, bulky, and hard to store. But it's all that for a reason, and I don't think I'll worry about my skis anymore. I have thicker skis, and it will only hold then one at a time for a max of 3 pair.
It probably took 30 minutes to install, and will take another 30 minutes to be able to use the bike rack again.
from Falmouth, Maine on 1/31/2007
I have a medium size sedan and would not recommend it on a very small car. The unit goes over the bike racket making the entire item fairly heavy. I like the traler hitch method of transporting my skis and bkikes, as it fits any vehicle that has a trailer hitch. I purchased adapter to move between my car and truck
Very nice overall.
from boston on 1/29/2007
getting too old to climb to the top of my suburban...this talgate option for bike rack works as advertised. Very, very easy to use. Only con is the new style skis my daughter bought have a large middle section and i was only able to put her skis in 1 at a time and not back-to-back. instead of 3 pairs on one side I only could put hers plus her girlfeinds pair on one side. 2 snowboards back to back worked great on other side.
from Cincinnati, OH on 1/3/2007
Great way to convert an existing bike carrier to a ski carrier. Its well built, as you would expect from this brand. It is a bit big and bulky, but I don't know how you get around that with this concept. It seems like a lot of steel, just to hold my one pair of skis on the back of my hard top Jeep... but I don't want to drill the top of my hardtop. The next challenge is where to store it when not in use on the Jeep.
The rubber holding strap does seem a bit tight, but I imagine that will loosen a bit after a few uses. It seems to hold tight to the bike carrier and not let the skis move around. So I like it a lot!