Thule VeloLite 1-bike towball carrier

The Thule VeloLite 1-bike towball carrier is the easiest and most secure way to carry a single bike on the outside of a car. It folds down small for storage and is (relatively) light for moving between storage and the car. It’s undoubtedly a premium bike rack, and it has a price to match.

There are a few different options available to transport a bike on the outside of a car, and all have their pros and cons.

If you have a roof rack, you can mount one or more bikes on a roof rack mounted bike rack, like Thule’s Proride. In my experience, mounting the bike rack in this way can be fiddly and is not something you want to do every time you want to take your bike somewhere. Getting your bike on the rack can also be tricky – more so with heavier bikes.

Even if you don’t have a roofrack, you can still mount your bike on the roof of your car using something like Seasucker’s Talon bike rack. The rack itself mounts a bit easier, but mounting your bike can still be tricky, and the Talon is not cheap.

Another disadvantage of mounting a bike on top of your car is that it noticeably increases drag, increasing fuel consumption.

There are also bike racks that brace to the back of a car. Saris’s Bones is probably the most well known. This can work well, and is probably the cheapest way to carry a bike on the outside of a car. You typically can’t lock the rack or the bike to the car though. I haven’t used one of these myself, but I’d worry about the stability of the bike(s), especially at higher speeds. The manual for the Bones states that you shouldn’t drive faster than 60mph for stability reasons.

If you have a towbar, you can mount one or more bikes on a towbar mounted bike rack. In the case of the Velolite, this is the least fiddly, quickest option to mount a rack to the car. On the flipside, towbar mounted bike racks tend to be heavy and expensive, and take up more space when not in use.

One thing to consider with rear mounted bike rack options is boot access. At best, it’ll be harder to open the boot.

Another thing to consider is the bike’s weight. The weight limit for the Velolite is 25kg, which is getting into e-cargo bike weight territory – the Tern HSD P9 weighs a smidge over 25kg all up.

You wouldn’t want to lift anything near that up onto your roof. Similarly, the weight limit for the Saris Bones solo bike rack is 16kg – significantly less.

Unboxing

There’s a small amount of spannering to do before first use. The number plate holder is not attached. It screws on with the supplied screws and Allen key.

Next, you have to clip the number plate light onto the holder and attach the light cable connector.

Mounting on the car

Taking the bike rack to the car, the Velolite was noticeably lighter than other towbar mounted bike racks I’ve used – although admittedly, they were all designed to take more than one bike. Nevertheless, at 9.5kg, for me, this is a manageable weight – not the kind you dread picking up and brace yourself for.

Mounting the rack to the towbar is easy. Once you’ve folded the wheel trays out, you gain access to the big lockable handle. I used my knees to stabilise the rack in the right position, freeing up both my hands to rotate the lever until the rack was secure. A reasonable amount of force is enough here and, once secured, there is no movement or play whatsoever. The lever can now be pushed forward and locked in place.

Connecting the rack to the car electrics is also easy and the cable-length is well-judged. Note that the rack comes with a 13-pin connector. If your car has a 7-pin port, adaptors are available for less than a tenner.

Attaching a number plate to the holder is straightforward using a couple of plastic brackets that clip in place. This is clearly designed as a fit-and-forget. It’s therefore worth buying a dedicated number plate for this purpose.

Mounting a bike

Attaching your pride and joy is again easy. Fold out the arm first, lift your bike up so that the wheels rest on the wheel trays and then attach the arm to the seat or down tube. The strap head can rotate through 180 degrees and has about six inches (15cm) of movement up and down the arm.

Once you’ve found a position that works for the arm strap, it’s simple enough to feed the strap through the ratchet mechanism with one hand using the other to keep your bike upright. The strap as well as the head have rubberised frame protectors, so there’s no need to add extra protection to avoid damaging your frame finish.

All you have to do now is secure both wheels to the wheel trays using a similar strap and ratchet mechanism.

With all three straps ratcheted tight, the bike feels solid on the bike rack with only a small amount of movement in the front wheel if you try to rotate the handlebars.

The arm strap can be locked using the same key as used for the tow bar attachment lever.
While the bike rack is designed I that you can access your boot without a bike attached, there is no tilt mechanism that allows access with a bike mounted.

Storage

Removing the bike rack from the car is as easy as mounting it. Fold the arm down, unlock the lever and rotate anti-clockwise until there’s enough play to remove the rack from the towbar. I did this by again using my knees to stabilise the rack, freeing up both my hands. Once the bike rack is ready to be removed, fold up the wheel trays, remove the 13-pin connector from the car, and clip it to its holder to keep it out of the way, and you’re ready to take it away.

There is a clip on the arm to stop the arm strap flopping around and the wheel trays each have a slot into which their straps can be tidied away. Nice touch.

Folded, the rack’s dimensions are small at 77 x 42 x 20cm, and the rack is stable when sat upright on the towbar mount. There’s a carry handle under the licence plate, and as I mentioned, at 9.5kg, it’s surprisingly easy to carry.

In use

Why would you buy this, especially given its price? For me it all comes down to efficiency. Out of all the options to take a bike with you on a car journey, this is the sweet spot between ease of use and trusting the rack with your pride and joy – and I’m including finding space inside your car and packing your other stuff around it in a way that doesn’t damage your bike or get your other stuff oily here.

It genuinely takes less than a minute to attach the rack to the car, and maybe another minute to mount your bike.

You might think you might as well buy a towbar bike rack that’s designed for two or three bikes if you’re going down that road, and that’s a valid option, but apart from the extra cost, you’re sacrificing weight. A two-bike rack (from Thule) adds at least 5kg to the weight, and at 15kg a bike rack is now heavy as opposed to surprisingly light.

Value

You would not buy this bike rack if price were your primary concern. At £349.99, it is the most expensive option to carry a single bike on the outside of your car. And that’s assuming you already have a towbar fitted, which can be a significant cost in itself.

Buzz Rack’s Eazzy 1 folding bike rack is a fair bit cheaper, but still quite expensive at £214.95.

On Amazon, you can find the EUFAB 11559 AMBER 1 Bicycle Carrier Suitable for E-Bikes which costs a little less again at £192.83 at the time of writing.

Thule also makes a hanging tow bar mounted bike rack, the Xpress, the two bike version of which costs £84.99.

For comparison, Saris Solo 1-Bike Bike Rack is a rear mounted non-towbar alternative, and costs £59.99.

Roof mounted options include the Smart Suction Go compact bike rack at £179 and Seasucker’s Talon Bike Rack at £317. Thule’s Proride 598 is roof bar mounted option and costs £169.99, not including the roof rack.

> Best bike racks for cars — transport your bike safely and securely

Conclusion

Thule’s Velolite feels like the luxury option to carry a single bike on the outside of your car, if it has a towbar. It’s easy and quick to mount to the car, and to mount a bike to the rack, and once mounted it all feels reassuringly secure. The price is steep, but the rack should last a long time and therefore be a worthwhile investment.

Cheaper alternatives are available, but for me they compromise on ease of use and efficiency. At the end of the day, you want something that you can trust to carry your bike. How much that’s worth is up to you.