Thule Insta-Gater Pro Black Truck-Mounted Bike Rack

Several reviews talked about ‘wobbly’ bikes. I don’t have an issue with that but…the install directions for putting the bike in the rack are not very good. There are several line drawings on how to do that but for me they were difficult to interpret. Some verbiage on how to install the bike into the rack and secure it would have been helpful. To keep my mountain bike from wobbling the tire is making solid contact with the tail gate. This was achieved by ratcheting the anchor straps which pulled the whole rack toward the tail gate so the tire made contact. I don’t remember if the line drawing directions covered the anchor straps and/or how to adjust them. When I say strap, they and the anchor are actually plastic. The strap can be difficult to push through the ratchet mechanism to get extra slack. I had to make several adjustments to the tire cradle so the tire sat fully in the cradle. At first the tire came up out of the front of the cradle slightly as I ratcheted the anchor straps. I needed to loosen the screws of the cradle rack and slide it back at least an inch, maybe two. I have been putting my front tire into the tire cradle. I’m too short to get enough leverage to lift the bike and shift it left or right in the truck bed to align it in the rack. The easiest way I found to load the bike is to put the rear tire on the tail gate and roll it backwards over the cradle and the locking arm hook and then roll the front tire back into the cradle. The locking arm is very ‘stiff’ and difficult to move. If I don’t make an effort to hold the rack in place, the whole rack and bike will move when I am lifting the arm over the tire. I also feel as if there is a tipping possibility before I can get the tail gate shut which secures the anchors. After the tail gate is shut, I ratchet the anchor straps which then slides the rack forward a little bit forcing the front tire to contact the tail gate. I have not yet tried to put the bike in with the rear tire in the cradle or tried my street bike. I am hoping that no forward or back adjustments will need to be made on the tire cradle. The end result is that my mountain bike is not wobbling while I am driving. There is some lateral movement which can’t be prevented but I would say it does not ‘wobble’. Last, I don’t like the spring return on the locking cable. It made it hard to manipulate onto the male portion of the lock. The locking cable could be a little longer. I like to run cables through my frame. There was only enough length for me to put the cable around the forks.

This is a really good product. It holds the bicycles in place on the truck bed without touching the frame. I also use it for storage since it keeps the bikes standing straight. Having this plus my Thule T2 Pro XTR gives me flexibility: I can leave the big rack on my RV and still carry bikes on the truck with the Insta‑Gater Pro, or use both racks to transport four bikes safely when riding with friends. Highly recommended!

Works great! Noticed better MPG having my bikes in the bed rather than on a hitch rack. Also better protection from road spray and getting rear ended. For this rack, I mount them using the rear wheel, facing forward. With my longer wheelbase XL mountain bike, I do need to turn the front wheel in order to make it fit.

I have a couple of the first version of this rack and they work great, except they are a little tricky to use with the back wheel, because it hits the derailleur cage. This new version fixes that issue and holds a wider tire as well. Very happy with it.

Just bought and have used only once. Not sure if its me or this bike rack but I find it extremely hard to use, problem is you have to put the bike rack in the truck and then put your bike wheel in the slot and then close your truck gate. Maybe if I was 20 this would be easy but as an older women its really hard. Bad purchase for an older person, wish I had purchased the bike rack that attaches to my trailer hitch.