For a long time I have drastically needed to upgrade my bike carriage ability. Previously a long-term user of Thule’s roofbars for bikes, since going full time in the electric bike reviews world, that hasn’t cut it for transportation of anything bar a few svelte electric gravel or road bikes. Step in the Thule Epos ParkSecure, a brand new two or three bike carrier system from the Swedish veteran in transportation; I had to get one for review. Actually, I had to fit a tow ball first, and I’m glad I did.
Now typically we don’t do many gear reviews on Cycling Electric, dedicated our focus almost exclusively to electric bike reviews. However, because we are fully immersed in the electric bike lifestyle, having certain pieces of kit can make the experience so much more fluid. An example is the Remco digital bike lift, a saviour of my back in the workshop during bike preparation. The Thule Epos ParkSecure has already had that marked impact on my life too, so it felt worth a written review.
From £1,319 | View offer (Three bike seen here From £1,449)
Pros
A design that’s as useful out of use as in
Easy to carry and lift
The pivot to access the boot – so strong!
Extremely user friendly
Stable even on country dirt roads
Secure and able to have security upgrades
Smart features for attaching the plate and more
Simple electrics
Accessories range is expanding, and adds real value
Great stow point for connector
Fully matches indicators, reverse and brake light functions
Cons
Wheel trays could be a little longer (takes up to 1350mm wheelbases)
Straps only just made a wraparound on some larger battery, thick downtube frames
Straps can be a little abrasive on frame paint if done up tight, perhaps they could have a softer liner
Premium price
Thule Epos Parksecure review: The options
You will quickly notice when browsing for the web for this bike rack that there is a standard Thule Epos rack, which is pretty similar in its basic functionality for £999. If you don’t need the rear parking sensors and some other minor features, then that’s probably the place to start. If your car, like mine, actually doesn’t have rear parking sensors, then arguably the value add is worth it. Afterall, you don’t want to be clattering several thousand pounds worth of bikes and rack into a wall by not accounting for the extra length on the vehicle.
In this review you’re looking at the Thule Epos ParkSecure three bike and not just any bike, each tray will host up to 30kg of e-bike and so far I’ve had just shy of 60kg at once loaded, driven hundreds of miles with that attached, even taken some lesser maintained countryside dirt roads and been astonished to look in my rear view mirror and see everything gently moving with the car’s suspension and not moving an inch from where they’re supposed to be.
Each of those units folds upward off the central bars on a set of six hinges, which is something that, for me, makes having a bike rack possible in the first place. Storage space at home is tight and so this ability to reduce the footprint is incredibly welcome and, while it lasts, I’m even returning it to the robust cardboard in which it came packaged, as this supports its upright storage. Perhaps Thule could make this more of a long term packaging and storage solution, adding value for little extra investment and protecting the kit in transit.
To mount the rack the folded mass joins at the top with rack ends that are shaped like erognomic handles. That means that picking up the compact unit is comfortable, though of course it has some weight. Simply lift the rack onto your towball, toggling the internal mechanism if need be to perfect the bite of the clamp and then lower the lockable lever. to lock the rack on, the supplied two keys will activate a barrel that makes the rack impossible to take off. Theft prevention is of course very welcome for something this valuable. Once you’re loaded, simply rotate the pinned plug into your car’s electric port, attached to your towball. Be sure to make sure you have the right pin configuration, otherwise an adapter may be necessary.
Per bike, just three straps – a frame and two wheel straps – hold the whole lot. This still blows my mind a little. Needless to say, the straps are strong. When I mounted a bike with a thick downtube inside which a battery was stowed, I did notice that a tight application of the ratchet strapping did wear a little paint. This is probably as much a reflection of the bike’s paintjob as anything else and Thule are clearly aware that this can happen as they do line the ratchet straps with a cushioning liner, as seen below. A hard one to counter because bikes come in all shapes and sizes. I found this to only happen on thick downtube, upper side areas. Otherwise the cushioning worked well and the arms that hold the bikes upright extend or contract, as well as pivot in a circular motion to meet the part of the frame you feel is most robustly clamped.
The feature list
When I first saw this rack at Velofollies Thule had merchandised it with every accessory, but the one that first caught my eye was the clamp on tool tray. This is one of the simplest of the accessories, but as somebody who is regularly adjusting bikes at either end of a journey I thought it pretty cool. While not essential, this piece of kit helps you turn the back arm of the rack into a workstand; the ratchet system again holding your bike in place. You need to tilt the rack outward to achieve this and support the arm with a strut arm for extra strength, but the mechanics amongst us will love this on the road bike maintenance feature.
The main reason why this model gains the ParkSecure branding is of course the rear parking sensors. This smart piece of digital work from Thule means that the Epos becomes a true extension of your car, as mounting a rack will block any sensors or cameras your vehicle may have. This system alerts you to the proximity of a wall or feature with both and audible and a visual cue, the latter being a strip light on a paired pad, plugged into your car’s USB port in the cabin. Simple, effective and potentially a saviour of your bikes, or someone else’s vehicle as you reverse.
Potentially just as valuable as the parking sensors is the add-on Abus anti-theft feature you can click into place in the third row, simply by popping out some plastic joins. A lot of Thule’s quick fixes involve these simple pop out plastic panels that are designed to be semi-permanent. The number plate clips are much the same and are perfectly measured and placed for you to pop the plate in without any screws or tape. As you’ll spot, the number plate rotates vertically when the rack is folded and this happens by a pair of smooth channels along which a notch rolls in timing with the fold, whichever side you push up first.
Anyhow, the Abus cable lock system is an £89.99 add on that loops through the bikes, back down through a hoop in the cable and into a barrel that is adjoined by a key slot, which has a dust cover. This isn’t going to deter the most determined thief, but it will certainly work for a quick service station stop, especially when paired to the keyed locks that integrate into the heads of the three arm supports.
I was already a fan of Thule. They previously were trusted with my roofbars, which are still working perfectly after many years. They also make excellent bags and another journalist essential, my Thule Covert camera bag, is similarly incredibly well thought out. Attention to detail and attention to the experience, start to finish. These are the marks of a quality brand and the Thule Epos ParkSecure scores nearly full marks in this review as a result.