Is there a more sickening sound than the crunch of a roof-mounted bike as you wedge it underneath a drive-up awning? Only the sound of a bone breaking or ligament popping registers as high on the “Woe is me” scale. Unless you are using a Thule 590 V2 bike carrier. The Denver Post recently uncovered a hidden benefit of the easy-to-use, $135 bike tray: It folds in half under extreme pressure, taking the hit for the $1,000 bike, instead of vice-versa. The 590 V2 boasts an all-metal head that is easy to use and bites forks tightly, which is good, except when you drive your bike into a wall. Then it’s bad, because the bike’s forks or frame tend to bend or break during the wall-vs.-bike battle. But the aluminum tray on the 590 V2 can buckle before the bike shatters, giving bike-toting drivers a few inches of leeway in an otherwise costly mistake.
Get it — www.thuleracks.com
