Thule Verse Review

Started in Sweden in 1962, Thule has been a major player in car racks ever since. The company now employs over 2600 people and sells their wares in 138 markets. We've been using and appreciating Thule products for close to 30 years and have found some of their racks to have superior function and beautiful form. The Verse is their newest hitch rack that is capable of carrying two bikes up to 120 pounds; read on to see how it stacks up.

Ease of Everyday Use

Modern hitch racks are generally quite easy to use; you don't have to remove wheels or lift your bike up to the car roof. We've been big fans of Thule's T2 Pro rack since we first tested it back in 2017. The Verse looks to expand on the ergonomics and utility of the T2 Pro XTR, but it has big shoes to fill. The Verse is a tray-style rack that holds two bikes in head-to-tail fashion. Like the T2 before it, the Verse can hold 60 pounds per tray and tires up to 5" wide. Also similar to the T2, the Verse can accept wheels up to 29" and is available in 2" and 1.25" hitch sizes. Thule says, “Telescopic arms offer easy, no frame contact, loading & unloading. The iconic single-hook attachment arm provides the best combination of speed & security without making contact with your frame.” This is also true for the previous rack, so you might wonder how the Verse differs.

The Verse can accommodate bikes with wheelbases up to 1350mm, 80mm more than the T2. The Verse also uses a more ergonomic quick-release lever on the telescoping arms that should provide more clearance for suspension forks. The new rack adds about 8 pounds over the T2 Pro XTR and loses one of our favorite features. To be fair, the feature is still available but must be purchased separately. The T2 XTR included transport wheels for rolling the rack into or out of the garage, while the Verse offers a transport wheel kit for an extra $50.

The Verse is easier to use with larger handles that offer superior ergonomics, but I never felt that the T2 was lacking. The Verse gives you 11.4" between bikes, while the T2 provides 12.5". The T2 offers a two-bike expansion kit, allowing you to carry four bikes, while the Verse does not. The Verse has a much heavier and more secure 12mm braided steel cable, while the T2 relies on a smaller 7mm cable. Both racks have a “hitch-switch” handle on the outside that makes tilting the rack (loaded or not) to access the rear of your vehicle a simple task. The Verse is compatible with Thule's loading ramp ($99), a bike repair stand ($99), and a tail light kit ($279). When you approach the folded rack, you can deploy it with one hand, letting it drop to the level position. A fully loaded rack can cost you almost $1500. This puts the Verse squarely in the premium rack category, and it just doesn't compete with other premium racks like the Kuat Piston Pro X.

The general design of the rack is something we're intimately familiar with, and the new handles improve the ergonomics. A redesigned hitch lock system foregoes the hitch pin; it feels less user-friendly but requires no tools to install or remove. Several of the updates to this rack seem to have added a significant amount of plastic. We don't have a blanket distaste for the material, but plastic doesn't provide long-term durability on a bike rack that is exposed to the elements. The rear wheel trays are entirely plastic and move on a plastic slider that didn't always feel like it was positively engaged. The plastic slider allows you to effectively cup different-sized rear wheels on different-length wheelbases. This isn't much more effective in practice than a strap around the tray, so it adds bulk, complexity, and a possible failure point. We love that the Verse can accommodate 5" tires, but it does so by using straps that are 19 inches long. These straps feel cumbersome and tangle with your drivetrain while loading.

After two weeks of use, I was surprised that our handy “hitch switch” had a cracked handle and missing plastic. In studying how this may have happened, we hit the handle with a bike pedal while loading, so it's not a manufacturing defect that caused the issue, but it's almost certainly something that will happen again. I can't rule out some rough treatment, but the hanging off the back of your vehicle is a place that is subject to UV, temperature swings, road debris, and other hazards that make me think plastic isn't the best choice for this part.

The rack holds 60 pounds per tray and tires up to 5" wide. This will allow you to transport lighter-weight e-bikes and snow bikes. The T2 Pro XTR also has a 60lb per tray limit, but a maximum payload of 100 lbs vs 120. If you ride an e-bike weighing more than 60 pounds, removing the battery and bringing the bike's weight down low enough for it to fit on the rack is possible. After a few months of use, I'm having difficulty telling you why this is a better rack than the previous model.

The larger center beam provided excellent stability on all of our test vehicles, but also blocked the rear-view cameras on several of them. This is a good thing to consider before purchasing a rack like this. If your rearview camera is centrally mounted near the license plate, there is a good chance that you'll lose that rear camera view; this is an issue with almost all hitch racks. If your camera is mounted above, there are no issues with visibility, and you may even be able to use the camera to keep an eye on your bikes while driving.

Ease of Removal and Storage

Installing the Verse isn't difficult, but it does take a bit of patience. After placing the hitch into the receiver, you determine the insertion depth using the hitch pin hook that Thule calls the AutoAttach System. Instead of a standard, stand-alone pin, the AutoAttach System is permanently attached to the rack and latches into the hitch pin hole on your receiver. On the bottom of the center beam is a small AcuTight handle that folds 180 degrees to lock itself to the rack. This handle tightens a wedge attached to the hitch, preventing the rack from wobbling. This isn't new, but the folding handle is. I found the folding handle to sit too close to the rack, making it difficult to tighten the anti-wobble wedge fully. The plastic handle can be articulated to different positions for better leverage, but it's less convenient than most anti-wobble systems. If you don't remove and reinstall your rack often, this should be a non-issue, but we're constantly moving racks from car to car and in and out of garages.

If you don't use the rack year-round, it will likely be a fixture on your garage floor. The folded rack measures 59 x 34.5 x 21" and does not stand up independently. Letting the rack lie down the way gravity pulls it takes up 2035 sq. in. When the rack is placed against a wall or post, it rests on the AcuTight handle, which is worryingly made of plastic. While the AutoAttach system prevents you from having to reach as far underneath your vehicle, it isn't really easier to use than a locking hitch pin.

Removing the Verse from the vehicle involves unlocking the AcuTight handle and folding it outward for leverage. Due to its position, it isn't possible to fully turn the handle. Instead, you can make a half turn, then pull and reposition the handle. Approximately ten turns of the handle loosen the wedge enough to pull the rack from your hitch. The wheel trays work as handles when removing the rack. If you're performing the job solo, it's hard not to end up wearing whatever dirt and grime have accumulated on the rack. If you have two people, you can grab the rack from its ends, making it an easier (and cleaner) task. The Verse weighs a smidge over 63 pounds, so you can likely remove and install it on your own, but if you're moving it more than a few feet, the transport wheels might be worth your extra dollars.

Versatility

The single-hook arm style of rack is generally quite versatile. You can clamp on top of a fender and articulate the arm to clamp different spots on the front tire. The movable wheel cups allow you to slide bikes side to side to avoid interference between saddles and handlebars. The rack can accommodate tires up to 5" wide and wheels between 18" and 29".

The Verse folds to a lower position to give you access to the rear of your vehicle. We used the rack on several vehicles and had access to the rear on all of them. You simply pull the hitch switch handle to lower the rack and steady the bikes as they drop. Depending on the weight of the bikes, this can be challenging with the rack fully loaded. I had two 50-pound ebikes on the back and needed to steady them on the way down and lift with my legs to get the rack back in position.

There was ample room between the inner bike and the back of the vehicles we tested it on, but this can change depending on how your hitch is mounted. There is less room between the bikes, 11.4" on this model, but you can move the bikes side to side to minimize interference between saddles and handlebars.

The Verse can be purchased for 2" or 1.25" receivers; the latter can hold 55 pounds per tray instead of 60. Unlike the T2 and some other racks, the Verse is not expandable. There is no 4-bike option or ability to add a third tray. The trays are long enough to accommodate a wheelbase of 1350mm, which is about as long as you can get with bikes mounted sideways behind the vehicle, and should have the length to accommodate beach cruisers and longer touring bikes.

Security

Transporting your bike is the ultimate purpose of the rack, but it's important that it can keep your bike secure. Bikes hanging off the rear of your vehicle can be an advertisement to would-be thieves and are much easier to reach than bikes on a roof rack. To keep your bikes (and rack) safe, Thule uses a lock core on the AutoAttach handle instead of a locking hitch pin. This is mildly concerning because that handle is plastic, and if someone breaks the handle, the rack could be removed.

There is a hefty 12mm security cable with a loop end that can be locked into the rack long enough to loop through both bikes. The cable locks to the rack using the same key as the AutoAttach handle, and this lock also gives me some reason to be concerned. The cable doesn't bottom out inside the lock mechanism, and that leaves a much narrower part of the cable exposed, which is potentially a weak spot.

No security features are foolproof, and the rack isn't designed to be a vault, but Thule's measures to keep your bikes safe feel less secure than others.

Ease of Assembly

Assembling the Verse isn't difficult, but reading the directions twice would be wise. The rack ships in a large box with 5 main parts and separate wheel holders. By inserting the center beam of the rack into your vehicle first, you have a stable place for assembly. Each of the 4 arms is clearly labeled, but unlike other hitch mount racks that we've assembled, they don't clip into place. Instead, Thule provides plastic clips that hold the arms to the rack while you line up and thread the mounting bolts.

Our Thule Verse rack assembled with relative ease; no steps required fancy finger work or an advanced degree. The main mast is pre-assembled, so following Thule's instructions, assembling the rack on the vehicle is much easier. The lock core on the AcuTight Handle doesn't automatically line up with its receptor, so locking and unlocking require a fair bit of jiggling and multiple tries.

Durability

We're reluctant to criticize the Verse too much in this metric because our T2 Pro has held up pretty well for the past several years, but it does use quite a bit more plastic than the T2. Thule claims to do durability and exposure testing and wear and tear simulations, so perhaps they've figured out how to make this plastic more durable and resistant to UV damage and extreme temperature swings. Since the rack hangs off the back of your vehicle, it's subjected to the elements non-stop. Seeing the crack in our tilt handle during testing made me question whether the Verse is tough enough for the job.

In contrast to the T2, the Verse uses significantly more plastic on the wheel trays and tire hold arms. The wheel trays and main support arm are made of aluminum, and all the important hardware is steel, which bodes well for durability. Should the plastic be less than durable over the long run, Thule backs it up with a limited lifetime warranty.

Should You Buy the Hollywood Thule Verse?

While the Verse carried our bikes for the better part of two months and never failed, it stands in contrast to and competes with the T2 Pro. When you look over the specs and capabilities of the Verse, it looks impressive and well-suited for today's needs, but it's only marginally different from the rack it's supposed to succeed. The Verse maintains the same per-bike weight limit and wheel sizes, and it is roughly the same size. It can handle bikes about 80mm longer, and has a higher overall weight limit (120 lbs vs 100 lbs). The Verse doesn't include the handy transport wheels that the T2 has, and it's not expandable for more bikes. Its handles are slightly more ergonomic, but for an extra $150, it feels like more reason to buy the T2 Pro.

What Other Hitch Bike Racks Should You Consider?

Our very favorite rack style is the tire hold style. There are no plastic straps, and the rack doesn't touch your frame or rims. Our favorite of those are the Kuat Piston Pro and Kuat Piston Pro X, and they're quite expensive; the downside to quality gear. If you want a great no-fuss rack, we still wholeheartedly recommend the Thule T2 Pro XTR; it's given us years of service with very few complaints. If you want a good budget option, the RockyMounts MonoRail is our best buy pick that won't leave you with buyer's remorse.