Thule 963PRO Spare Me 2 Bike Spare Tire Bike Carrier Review

Last Updated on June 16, 2021

The Thule 963PRO Spare me bike carrier is a great option to transport 2 bikes by mounting them onto the spare tire. It is equipped with anti-sway cages, various types of bike holding functionality, great security, and quality build material.

Pros

• Very lightweight
• Easy to install
• Can be folded down when not in use
• Impressive weight limit
• A versatile option

Cons

• No protection from rust or corrosion

If you value your car as much as you value your bikes, you’ll want to keep them both safe and scratch-free when traveling. A spare tire bike rack, which is attached to your vehicle’s spare tire, is an excellent way to accomplish so. This clearly only works if your Jeep, SUV, or other vehicles that you own has a spare tire attached to its back door.

Unless you live near a park or trails, you’ll undoubtedly need to transfer your bicycle to a specific riding location at some time. A spare tire bike rack is a terrific method to go off-road or on-road with your bike.

Spare tire bike racks are easy to put up and take up very little room when not in use. A spare tire bike rack is very simple to attach and mounting or removing a bike from it is also easy.

Many types of cars allow you to open the tailgate after installing a spare tire rack in the trunk. These devices are extremely durable and secure, allowing them to operate on bumpy roads and in severe weather.

It’s not a problem if your car doesn’t have a trailer hitch. A hitch is not required for spare tire bike racks. But having a hitch will allow you to tow a trailer along with the bikes hanging on the spare tire.

The Thule 963PRO Spare Me Spare Tire Bike Carrier is a great bike rack to own. We will discuss all the angles of this Thule bike rack to make you familiar with this product. Stay with us till the end of this review.

Thule 963PRO Spare Me Bike Carrier Detailed Review

The Thule Spare Me spare tire bike rack is designed to work with both ordinary and oversized tires. Up to two bikes can be secured in the Stay-Put Cradles, which have anti-sway cages to prevent your bikes from swinging back and forth and damaging your vehicle, the rack’s frame, or each other.

The weight limit for this versatile spare tire bike rack is 75 lbs. So, it can carry any bike type there is as long as it doesn’t exceed the weight capacity.

The integrated locking wire and locking knob on the spare tire bike rack enables you to secure the bike rack to the vehicle and your bikes to the rack. When you’re not using the rack, simply fold the arms down to make it look nice and out of the way. The rack is incredibly light in weight, allowing for quick and easy installation.

A bike rack will only work the way they are meant to do if you set it up correctly. Any installation error might lead to damage to your bikes or your vehicle or the rack itself. That’s why you have to be very careful when setting up this spare tire bike rack.

1# Start With The Base Plate

You should start the installation by removing the cover of your spare tire, the lug nuts, and lastly the spare tire. Then try to fit the mounting plate on your vehicle (plates can fit into various bolt patterns). You have to retighten the lug nuts after installing the spare tire over the base plate.

2# Use Extensions And Mount Bracket

The mix of short or long mount brackets and standoff extensions is determined by the tire width. When you slid the square mounting bracket over the square post that is on your mounting plate, there has to be at least a half-inch of overlap. A short mounting bracket is included with the Spare Me bike carrier, which fits into most tires.

Use a short standoff and a long mounting bracket if your tire range is medium width. Use a long standoff and the long mounting bracket if your tires are exceptionally huge and deep. After that, make sure the Spare Me is tightened to the tire with a one-half-inch overlap right on the mounting bracket.

Use a hex key to remove the bolt and then use the trim piece for the plastic if your car does not have a centered spare tire. At last, moving the square tube and then bolt it in place to finish this step.

3# Install Lock Cylinder

Disconnect the plug apart from the locking knob with your screwdriver. Then you have to put the lock cylinder right into the locking knob with the help of the change key.

4# Install Bike Unit

Now you have to slide your bike unit onto the tube of the mounting plate, then tighten the knobby using a washer into the mounting plate. Loosen the knobs, then raise the arms and tighten them.

5# Attach Safety Straps

Do you have an oversized tire on your vehicle? If so, wrap the blue rope with the metal buckle around the spare tire rack’s top and bottom tubes. After that, firmly and vertically strap down the rear side of the tire nearest to the vehicle.

6# Loading The Bikes

When loading the bikes, start with the heaviest bike and place it in the inner cradles and work your way to the outer cradles, alternating the direction of the bikes. Use the straps to secure the bike frames, and the webbing strap is there to secure your bikes to the carrier.

Wrap things up by inserting the anti-sway cages into the bottom part of the cradle. You have to align the C slot open end and then push the slot onto the bar right on the bottom part of your cradle. The cage surface should face outwards.

After that, spin the cage vertically and then attach the cradle strap to your bikes. The lock cylinder should be inserted into the rear side of the top locking cable. Finally, connect both bikes to the rack’s frame using the blue color load strap with a plastic clasp, and you’re ready to ride!

Verdict

If you own a car that has a spare tire attached at the rear side, then this 2-bike spare tire-mounted carrier will be a nice addition for you. The Thule Spare Me spare tire bike rack is lightweight, easy to install, provides good security to the bikes, and is affordable. That’s a lot of good features right there.