Thule EasyFold 3 Review: The Folding E-Bike Rack That Replaced the XT
If you went looking for the Thule EasyFold XT 2, you are about a year late: Thule UK no longer lists it, and the EasyFold 3 has taken its place at £849.99. The testers rate the new one highly. The bigger question for most UK buyers is not the rack at all — it is whether your towbar can carry 18 kg of rack plus two e-bikes.
Where the reviews line up
The evidence comes from three places: a scored comparison test by the German magazines BIKE and TOUR, which named it test winner; a hands-on trial with two heavy e-bikes by the Spanish cycling site Brújula Bike; and owner ratings collected by the Nordic retailer Mantel. No UK national title has published a test of this model that we could find.
Three things come up everywhere. It is easy to use — the new ratchet arms work one-handed, and all three sources single out how quickly bikes go on. It is stable with heavy bikes: Brújula Bike carried two e-bikes of over 20 kg each and reported no play and no vibration. And it folds into something you can actually carry, a 31 cm-deep block with a handle and wheels, though at around 18 kg it is still a two-hand lift.
Two honest caveats. The tilt is not enough for every tailgate — BIKE/TOUR found it would not clear a VW bus, while Brújula Bike's hatchback opened fine. And everyone mentions the price, which is roughly £250 more than the outgoing XT 2 is still being sold for.
Before you buy, do the sum. Rack 18.2 kg plus two 30 kg e-bikes is 78.2 kg on the towball. Compare that with the nose-weight figure in your car's handbook; if it comes out over, take the batteries off or carry one bike. That is the check that decides this purchase.
The three reviews this summary is built from
- BIKE / TOUR magazineGerman comparison test, overall grade 1.6 (lower is better) and test winner. Measured the rack at 18.1 kg.
- Brújula BikeSpanish specialist site. Carried two e-bikes of over 20 kg each; the most practical e-bike trial we found.
- Mantel5.0/5 from 9 ratings on the 2-bike 944, 4.9/5 from 16 on the 3-bike 945 — on a retailer's own pages.
Before the review: what happened to the EasyFold XT 2
The Thule EasyFold XT 2 (model 933) has been replaced. Thule's UK product page for it now redirects to the towbar-rack listing, which shows the EasyFold 3 (model 944, 2-bike) at £849.99 and no XT. Madison, Thule's UK distributor, describes the EasyFold 3 as the replacement for the EasyFold XT, available from October 2024. Some dealers still hold old XT 2 stock — GT Towing lists it at £599.95, collection only — but the page you are reading is about the current rack. The VeloSpace XT has likewise been superseded by the VeloSpace 3.
Specification at a glance
| Spec | Figure | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Thule EasyFold 3, 2-bike, 944 (UK listing 944200) | Thule UK |
| Max load | 30 kg per bike · 60 kg total | Thule UK and four UK retailers agree |
| Rack weight | 18.2 kg (Thule) · 18.6 kg (Freewheel) · 18.1 kg measured (BIKE/TOUR) | Sources differ; we print all three |
| Folded size | 31 × 70 × 81 cm | Thule; BIKE/TOUR and retailers agree |
| Unfolded size | 126 × 70 × 81 cm | Thule (Australian page); UK retailers agree |
| Electrics | 13-pin, integrated LED lights | Thule UK |
| 7-pin cars | Needs an adapter (Thule 9906). Roofbox says it includes one free; Kayaks & Paddles says not included | Retailers disagree — ask your seller |
| Tilt | Yes, foot-pedal tilt for boot access with bikes loaded | Thule UK; not enough for a VW bus per BIKE/TOUR |
| Bikes | Frames 20–90 mm · tyres to 3 in (5 in with longer straps) · wheelbase to 1,350 mm · 25 cm between bikes | Thule; BIKE/TOUR quotes 137 cm wheelbase |
| Locks | Thule's Australian page says bike and towbar locks included; Thule UK does not say | Confirm with your seller |
| Towbar clearance | 65 mm from tow-ball centre to the back of the car; not for door-mounted spare wheels | Roofbox.co.uk |
| Nose weight | Not a rack figure — check your car. Loaded maximum is about 78 kg | Our arithmetic from Thule's figures |
| Guarantee | 2 years, plus 3 more if you register it (5 in total) | Thule UK warranty page |
| Price | £849.99 Thule UK · £739.99 Canoe Shops · £849.00 Roofbox | All checked 5 October 2026 |
BIKE / TOUR magazine
BIKE and TOUR are sister magazines that ran the same test, so we count them as one source. The EasyFold 3 came out on top with an overall 1.6 on the German school-grade scale, where 1 is best. The breakdown is useful: assembly 1.3, handling 1.6, equipment and build 1.7, and weight and transport 2.2. That last grade is the rack's weakest, and it matches what owners say: it is heavy.
What impressed the tester was the folding. The rails open out "like a butterfly", and the number-plate holder moves into place by itself. The new ratchet arms replace the old clamp design and work with one hand, and the rails take wheelbases up to 137 cm. The one practical problem it found was the tilt angle, which would not let the tailgate of a VW bus open. The verdict on the price — around €950 — was that it "makes you gulp at first".
Watch: Thule EasyFold 3 - A flexible bike carrier that accommodates a wide range of bike styles.
From the title this looks like a promotional film. It is the quickest way to see the fold-out rails and the one-hand ratchet arms the testers describe.
Watch on YouTube ↗Brújula Bike
This is a specialist cycling site rather than a lab, but it is the test closest to how most UK buyers will use the rack: two full e-bikes, one with a heavy frame and built-in battery, each over 20 kg. It reported "no vibrations, no play, no feeling of 'this isn't secure'" on the road, and found that the wide rails and ratchet straps made loading quick.
On the tilt it disagrees with BIKE/TOUR, but they were testing different cars: here the tailgate "opened without touching the bike rack" over several tries. Its complaints are practical ones. The folded rack still takes up real space in the boot, very large enduro bikes need care when you set the arms, and the price (€969.70 in Spain) is a lot for someone who carries bikes only now and then. It confirms the rear lights come built in.
Watch: Thule EasyFold 3 2 Bike Carrier - Mounted onto car tow bar
The 2-bike rack fitted to a car towbar. It shows what this page is about: the clamp, the lights and how much room the rack takes up behind the car.
Watch on YouTube ↗Mantel
These are ratings collected by a retailer that sells the rack, and the samples are small: nine on the 2-bike, every one five stars. Neither Thule UK nor the UK dealers we checked showed a rating count we could quote, so this is the best owner evidence we can give you. Read it as a sign of what owners notice, not as proof of quality.
What they notice matches the testers. It is easy to fit, it feels solid, it folds small, it clicks onto the towbar quickly and it copes with e-bikes. One owner says "It is very easy to quickly, safely and securely place your bikes on this carrier". The complaints are the two everyone makes, price and weight, plus one 3-bike owner pointing out that a car with 7-pin electrics needs an adapter. Owners of the 3-bike also rate the tilt as "essential and so handy".
Watch: Thule EasyFold XT2 vs EasyFold 3
A side-by-side of the old and new racks. Watch this one if you are choosing between cheap XT 2 stock and the full-price EasyFold 3.
Watch on YouTube ↗Strengths and weak points
What holds up
- 30 kg per bike, 60 kg total: takes most e-bikes, if your towbar can.
- Grade 1.6 test winner at BIKE/TOUR, with assembly its best score (1.3).
- One-hand ratchet arms; the testers say loading is quick.
- No play or vibration with two 20 kg-plus e-bikes, per Brújula Bike.
- Folds to 31 × 70 × 81 cm with a handle, and the number-plate holder flips into place by itself.
- Lights built in on 13-pin; foot-pedal tilt for the boot.
- Five-year guarantee if you register it.
What people complain about
- Price: £849.99 at Thule UK, roughly £250 more than leftover XT 2 stock.
- About 18 kg — its weakest grade in the German test, and owners mention it too.
- Tilt would not clear a VW bus tailgate in the BIKE/TOUR test.
- 7-pin cars need an adapter, and retailers disagree on whether it is in the box.
- Still bulky in the boot once folded.
- Will not fit cars with a spare wheel on the rear door.
The UK checks before you order
Nose weight. Towbar carriers put all their weight on the towball. The cycling site WhyCycle warns that going over your towball's nose-weight limit is dangerous and an offence. Add the rack (about 18 kg) to your bikes and compare the total with the figure in your car's handbook or on the towbar plate. Taking e-bike batteries off is the easy way to cut it.
Number plate and lights. If the bikes hide your lights or number plate you are required by law to repeat them on the carrier, and Roofbox reminds buyers that letting your plate be obscured is a fixed-penalty offence. The EasyFold 3 has the lights and a plate holder built in, but you still need a plate to go in it, made by a registered number-plate supplier, with your V5C and ID. The rack runs on 13-pin; a 7-pin car needs adapter 9906.
Fit. Roofbox says you need 65 mm from the centre of the towball to the back of the car, the rack will not work with a spare wheel on the rear door, and you cannot tow while it is fitted.
Who it actually suits
Buy it if you carry one or two e-bikes or heavy mountain bikes often, your car's nose weight leaves room for about 78 kg (or you will take the batteries off), and you want a rack that folds away into the garage. At Canoe Shops' £739.99 it is easier to justify than at the full £849.99.
Look elsewhere if you carry ordinary bikes a few times a year, your car has a low nose-weight limit or a tall tailgate, or you have a spare wheel on the back door. If you are happy to buy the old design, check XT 2 stock from a Thule dealer before it runs out — and check the guarantee terms on old stock.
What we could not check
- Halfords' price. We could not get a Halfords listing for the EasyFold 3 to load, so the price comparison uses Thule UK and three specialist dealers.
- The videos. We did not open the YouTube pages. Each video's address and title showed up in two separate searches, but the search results did not give the channel names.
- Any UK editorial test. We found no Which?, BikeRadar or road.cc test of the EasyFold 3 itself; the road.cc review we found is of the older EasyFold XT 3.
- Belgian consumer test. Test-Aankoop's comparison page shows a 70/100 score for the 3-bike 9441, but the detail is for members only, so we have not used it as a source.
- Whether locks come in the box in the UK. Thule's Australian page says bike and towbar locks are included; the UK page does not say, and one UK dealer sells a separate lock alongside it.
- Whether a 7-pin adapter is included. Roofbox says yes, free; Kayaks & Paddles says no. It may be a dealer offer.
- The exact rack weight. 18.2 kg (Thule), 18.6 kg (Freewheel) or 18.1 kg (BIKE/TOUR's scales).
- UK owner ratings. No UK seller we checked showed a rating count we could quote; the Mantel samples are small and on a retailer's own site.
- Roofbox's RRP. It quotes £869.99; Thule UK's own price is £849.99.
Sources and prices last checked 5 October 2026. Rack prices move often — check the listing in front of you, and your car's nose-weight figure, before ordering.