I actually debated writing about the Thule Fastride bike mount at all to be honest, as finding any money saving offers on the rack is hard to find. And then I spotted a 20% offer.
It's not a real jaw dropping deal, but it's still a very decent find on such a timeless classic that never wears out. Honestly, if you buy the Thule Fastride bike mount, that's it. It's not a commodity that will ever need replacing again. I've had mine around 20 years and given it more than a hard life and it's still used weekly for ferrying bikes around.
The rack will fit most Thule roof bar systems, but double check directly on the Thule website.
You may find yourself requiring a change of roof bars fixings if you change car, or even, as we did, swapped from a quick release mount, to a bolt thru. But other than that, once you own one, it will last you for life.
It is a premium piece of kit, an investment piece if you like, which will one hundred percent pay dividends later.
I was reminded of the rack's longevity last week when I paid a visit to the Thule factory in Sweden. I witnessed the racks being made first hand, and saw the incredible set up the brand has when it comes to investing in research, development and safety testing.
When talking to other members of the press at the event, we all realised that we all owned Thule racks, or Thule items, and agreed that, despite it being a pricey investment, it was also the best and longest lasting items we'd ever used. Not a bad endorsement considering one guy was from Top Gear and had clearly the pick of the bunch when it came to motoring accessories.
When I moved in with my partner many moons ago, we cemented our commitment to each other by purchasing a very expensive Thule roof rack system. I seem to vaguely remember the creation of a hand drawn spreadsheet in order to calculate our specification. You see, I've co-owned the Thule Fastride bike rack mount so long it almost predates google, and certainly was pre-laptop or smartphone era.
The rack then became an integral part of life. I was a member of a decent bike team in the UK at the time and was privileged enough to not only travel length and breath of the UK to races with bikes on the roof, but also across to Europe.
As the racing became more serious, my other half was roped in to become the team car driver and mechanic in UCI race convoys with the rack firmly part of the race team's set up. If you've never had the chance to sit in a team car, then the best description for what the Thule Fastrack had to deal with, it would be like strapping a bike to a Universal theme park ride and put it on the hell for leather setting.
It's travelled adorned with bikes over most of the French Alps and Pyrenees. One summer we drove and rode through more than 10 countries across Europe in a training camp/ racing extravaganza with the bikes on the roof. The Thule Fastride bike mount didn't skip a beat.
These days the rack still gets used weekly, but now mostly with mountain bikes as we hit the trails as a family. Having the bike securely on the roof not only means that it's less of a squeeze inside the car (apparently), but also a lot less muddy.
This summer it even formed part of our wind defences when camping in Cornwall. We were hit by 70mph winds in the tent and found that parking the car with the bikes on the roof in the Thule Fastride rack provided enough wind deflection for our camp to survive. Checking the bikes and racks the next day, there was not even a slight misalignment or deflection.
This may not be the biggest saving on the internet right now, it's worth checking our best Black Friday bike deals page if you're looking for an absolute barging right now, or the cheapest bike rack, but it probably be the best and only one you need to purchase.
