Bike fell off thule 591 (Roof of car) and thule not intrested, help

[chipmonster]

Dear All

I have the Thule Pro ride 591. My bike fell off the roof twice. First time, I thought it was me, therefore ignored it.

2nd time it happened at Gisburn Forest, made sure it was tight and clamp it. The bike slipped off the carrier, heard a big thump. Caused a right incident, ie blocked the road as the bike was dangling on the side. The rear rear spoke was bent, the back hanger snapped but luckly no damage to car. The Trek fuel ex9 is still at the workshop.

Anyway, return the carrier to Thule (via Evans Cycles). Evans sent back to Thule and Thule is claiming that the product is not faulty and returned the carrier to me. I have lost confidence in the carrier and I am not sure what I can do as a consumer. Please advise!

 

[Matthew_T]

I would make a complaint and say that you will take it further if no action is taken. Possibly pass on to trading standards as well. They will have great delight in testing the products and finding out if they are faulty.

BTW, did you discover how it came off the rack?

 

[chipmonster]

Not sure, but it slipped at the top, twice.

Evans guys was great, he was also amazed that Thule did not replace the product

 

[Linford]

Not telling you how to suck eggs, but have you re read the instructions to ensure that you are actually using the thing properly ?

I have worked on tooling design which produces the profiles which Thule use in their systems, and they are by far the most stringent in their quality control of all the ally component manufacturers I've dealt with in 25 years in the business (their attention to detail is absolutely anal, they reject an awful lot of metal which doesn't meet the finish requirement)
I struggle to see that they would allow a rack system to go on general sale which had even the slightest chance of failing.

The are the number one roof bar co in the market, and supply as OEM to many of the main manufacturers, inc Volvo, Ford, Jag, etc.

 

[MattHB]

the trouble youre going to have is proving to Thule that you DID secure it properly, which I would imagine would be there argument.

 

[Silver Fox]

The only way I can see you proving the product is defective is to have it independently examined especially if Thule are claiming it's not faulty. I've got two of these carriers and never had a problem with them.

Just a thought, was the clamp locked after you'd fitted the bike.

 

[john59]

I’ve been using the same carriers for the last couple of years with no problems whatsoever. I have carried both mountain bikes and sports bikes. Is that a mountain bike mounted to the rack, to the right of the picture?
John

 

[Drago]

Is the frame tube size and profile compatible with the clamp? I would suggest possibly not.

I'm a bit of an old Woman with stuff like this and always back up the clamp and straps with bungees.

 

[400bhp]

There's no way it will fall off if mounted properly.

Drove 1500 miles to France and back a month ago with those carriers. Had them for a few years too.

I'm not surprised they are not interested.

 

[chipmonster]

Yep, moutain bike.

Bought the carrier in December, never had a problem with it until recently.

I am pretty anal and double check if it has been securely fastened. It happened to me twice!, first time no damage to the bike and the 2nd time, it damaged the bike. All other carriers have been fine, I have 3 on the roof.

Two different bikes slipped, so it's not the bikes.

 

[mickle]

Can you explain in more detail exactly where it failed?

 

[Crackle]

Yep, moutain bike.

Bought the carrier in December, never had a problem with it until recently.

I am pretty anal and double check if it has been securely fastened. It happened to me twice!, first time no damage to the bike and the 2nd time, it damaged the bike. All other carriers have been fine, I have 3 on the roof.

Two different bikes slipped, so it's not the bikes.

I'd point that out to them and insist on a replacement/refund. Just stand your ground. I'd also supply Thule with more details i.e. that you've tried the bike in the other carriers with no problems, that kind of thing.

 

[Silver Fox]

I'd point that out to them and insist on a replacement/refund. Just stand your ground. I'd also supply Thule with more details i.e. that you've tried the bike in the other carriers with no problems, that kind of thing.

Worth a try but I can't see Thule returning a product to a consumer that is faulty.

If you make enough noise though they may replace as a good will gesture.

 

[smokeysmoo]

This is of no help to the OP but FWIW I've used these same carriers for the past few years and never had any issues what so ever.

I've even had three on a car at once recently with a Giant hack a Scott F01L and my CAAD10 on the roof, 120 mile round trip no problem at all.

These carriers are extremely well regarded and always feature very highly when anyone wants carrier recommendations.

That's not to say the OP hasn't got a Friday afternoon one, but as MattHB says, proving the bike was secured will be tricky and potentially costly IMO.

 

[chipmonster]

It failed twice, same side. Two different bikes.

First time trek fuel ex8.

2nd time trek fuel ex9.

Slipped from the top and dangling on the side. First time, I doubted myself. After that double checked, but still came off. I rock the bike every time to ensure its tight.