****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I did not dislike anything everything was easy to use the instructions were easy to follow it came with all the tool you need to install the rack the design is ready nice well made definitely recommend this product I did get a rear extension on the strap for my bike because of my rims are to tall I took my bike for a fitting on New York and it was windy and the bike did not move for nothing I was pleased with this decision on buying this rack and the owner of the trek store we’re j get my bike serviced recommend this rack as he also has the rack also remember to check your thru axle size because it come with three size but my trek Madone use 12mm so I did purchase the trio fork adapter 12x100mm and bang it fit perfectly with my 12mm thru axle with no problem so I hope this review help you guys decideI was looking for a rack for my Scott Big Jon fat bike that I felt would be rugged and do the job. I had considered a hitch mounted model, but Maine roads in the winter leave vehicles (and what is behind) a mess. I did not want to deal with covers or a filthy bike before hitting the trail. My 4-Runner can easily carry my bike inside (and more) but, I wanted a roof rack to add flexibility to still carry more than one passenger.After reading review upon review and studying other makes of racks, I decided fork mount was what I desired. I figured a partial bike on a roof is less desirable that a complete bike. After weeding out the ones that would not accommodate 4.8 inch fat tires or work with Toyota OEM rails; the Kuat Trio fit the bill. Based on what I read and its weight rating for up to a 45 pound bike vs. 35 pounds for others it was the best choice. It looked great too, a plus.Delivery was fast and came well packaged. Trio comes with the fork skewer and three adapters. However, my Big Jon needed an axel kit. I also bought the 15x150mm adapter and fat tire kit to go with the rack at the same time.I set out to mount my Trio and found that with the design of the 4-Runner’s roof rail, I would not be able open my rear hatch. Easily be solved by mounting it backwards. Before I did that, I emailed Kuat that evening to ensure it was OK to do. Gary from Kuat responded the next morning confirming the Trio would not be harmed mounting in reverse. After a few days, I got a chance to mount the rack, and ran into a glitch, one of the u-bolts had been bent too much during manufacture and would not fit the hole spacing. I reached back out to Gary at Kuat and he had an entire front mounting kit sent to me. Great customer service – that is priceless.Mounting was straightforward and only took a half hour by myself (I am meticulous). My bike was easy to load – you will see in my pictures, I used a foam pad under the fork mount to give something soft to rest my fork on or in case of a slip during mounting. Very impressed – my bike rode solid on its maiden voyage. After a few miles, I stopped to pick up my father-in-law (he fat bikes at 72!) to check tightness; I only needed to tighten the set screw for the 15x150mm adapter. When we got to the trail head 45 miles later, everything was still solid.Looks OK, works, but coming from a hassle-free system, this is not what I was hoping for.The problem I have is that I use my car a lot. I use my one bike a good deal, too. I never even thought that the supplied Trio skewer would be the biggest pain in the rear, but it's just not a finished idea yet.Does the skewer hold the bike secure? Yes - very well so far. And the minor adjustment of the plastic cone-shaped barrel was nice the first time I fitted the skewer to the particular bike I train on the most.The problem is - when there is no bike locked in the skewer, one is expected to turn the fine-tuning barrel-nut all the way in one direction to be able to prevent the skewer level from flopping around in the wind, during turns with the car, etc. And guess what you get to do again the next day? Unscrew it, try to see if the bike fits, unscrew it some more, fit the bike, fine-tune the barrel adjuster, test-close the lever, tune the barrel maybe again... finally go on your ride, get back to the car, mount bike, go home, take bike off, and now twist the barrel adjuster all the way in one direction, losing your perfect tightness setting of the lever that you had, just so that you can drive around without it making a lot of noise and generally prematurely placing wear upon itself.I use the same car to visit clients - sometimes up to ten clients (or more) in a day, so a flopping skewer lever isn't called for.The rack is probably absolutely great for through-axle bikes (save for it not having any 'rest' or fork-stop to prevent the forks from hitting your roof), or the occasional cyclist, but it's not a serious cyclist's best option. With a few updates, such as a refined skewer and a fork-stop, it could be a nice rack.This thing is solid. Well made - all powder coated metal. No plastic. Fits thru axles and forks - thank you for making it easy Kuat. It looks damn good too.Awesome bike racks, great design and look sleek and work well. However; either the front lockdown popped open, or the rear strap wore away at a spoke (we dint know?), but we turned at a light and our one bike fell off the roof! We would have nenver known, but our friends were just behind us and they had seen our bike on the road in the middle of an intersection. After investigating why this happened, we noticed that the rear strap was broken on the "T" end, and no signs of breakage on the front. We travelled 300kms before this happened! The rear strap is in a sliding base. I'm not sure, but I think the ability for it to slide easily could have possibly caused the strap to ware against a spoke? Or, that the front lockdown popped loose on a bounce in the road? We like the racks, and will continuentonuse them, but we will be using the G3 ski strap that we have to secure it to the track in the rear and make sute the front is super tight!I was sent either an ex-display model or one that had been returned previously. There was dust all over the product and a gash on the front bolt entry point. The product fits and functions so it gets 2 stars, but a lot of money for a used piece of kit.
