Insta Gater Pro Review | Thule Truck Bed Bike Rack
If you are a truck owner looking for a bike rack best suited for the truck bed, the Thule Truck Bed Bike rack can be the right choice. The Thule Insta Gater Pro is designed to carry a bike in an upright position on the bed of a truck. The multipurpose bike rack can also be mounted on the wheel or tire. This bike rack can be used for a range of bike types such as downhill, fat bikes, e-bikes, and carbon frame bikes. These bikes can be easily loaded on the rack if the wheels are 20 to 29 inches and the tires are not more than 5 inches. We have devised a scoring system so you can pick the right bike rack for your SUV or Car. This article will guide you through all the specifications along with the R score.
Premium Single Bike Rack for Truck Bed
- Maximum Bikes: 1
- Rack weight: 11 (lb)
- Hitchless
- Price: $280
- Locks: Bike lock but no rack lock
Pros
- There is no frame contact which keeps the bike fixed in a position and safe.
- It is made up of light yet durable material which makes it robust.
- Since no bolting or drilling is required, it is easily installed without any damage to the truck.
- It can fit into all types of pickup tailgates. It’s a good choice if you own a truck.
Cons
- The bike rack cannot be folded after detaching.
- It accommodates only one bike while some styled bike racks can manage 6 bikes
- High price (per bike)
Rack(R) score for Thule Truck Bed Bike Rack
Making the right buying decision can be quite tough when there are multiple brands advertising similar products. We have come up with a solution so that you can choose the perfect bike rack while keeping your bike, vehicle, and budget into consideration.
For your convenience, we have created an R score for rating the bike racks. This score rates the features, customer satisfaction, security, value for money, aesthetics, capacity, and brand value on a score ranging from 1 to 10. The table below shows the R score for all categories:
Brand Value
Thule is a Swedish company that is among the leading brands developing products to make customers’ life easier. It has been working for more than 75 years to come up with sustainable and best-quality products. It also focuses on creating user-friendly, compact designs with high-security systems.
Thule’s goal is to facilitate people for outdoor activities so they can travel easily. The brand value is high since they have an exceptional product testing system scrutinizing for extreme temperature, water, and shock resistance. Thus, this Thule rack has a high brand value and deserves an R score of 9.
Features of Thule Insta Gater
The Thule Insta Gater Pro is only 11 pounds which makes it easy to install without any bolting or drilling. It also keeps the bike in an upright position and the design ensures no frame contact. For easy attachment of the bike, this bike rack has a ratcheting arm. This is important to avoid any scratches or damage to the bike. If the bike rack is not contact-free, driving on rough roads can be a nightmare for bike owners.
The Thule Truck Bed Bike rack can be used to attach any bike with 20-29 inches of wheels and 5 inches of tires. The bike rack has the capacity of carrying one bike which makes it a suitable buying choice if you own a single bike. Thule has a one-key security system and the lock comes with the bike rack.
Value For Money
The rack will cost you around 300 USD. The rack can accommodate only one bike weighing a maximum of 50 pounds. Since other Thule bike racks can carry two or more bikes at a lower per-bike cost, it puts the value of money in question for this rack. But if you have one bike and want a bike rack that secures your bike safely in the lock without any contact, then you can spend more to get a high-quality experience.
What do Thule Insta Gater customers say?
We went through a lot of reviews and ran text analytics to extract what the existing customers of Insta Gater were most happy with and what were the most common complaints with this rack
Happy customers of Insta Gater
- Easy to park in a smaller garage as compared to hitch and trunk bike racks where the bike is at the rear end of the vehicle
- Holds the bike well in place and is very convenient to set up and use
Unhappy customers of Insta Gater
- Would not fit in a short truck bed such as the 2019 ranger, Ford 150 short bed, or 2021 Jeep Gladiator, and with foldable bed covers
- Easy to get stolen since no rack lock to the vehicle
Customer satisfaction is valued and must be noted before making the final decision. Thule Insta Gater Pro has a rating of 4.5 on Amazon with 78% of users opting for 5 stars. It also has 162 global ratings. This shows high customer satisfaction with the product. While assigning scores to bike racks, we give immense importance to customer satisfaction as experience speaks volumes. Thus, a score of 8 is befitting.
Aesthetics
This Thule Truck Bed Bike rack, like other products from Thule, is impressive and compact. The bike rack comes in black color with a sleek design. Made of aluminum and plastic, the product is lightweight with a fine surface which adds to its aesthetics. Due to its minimalist design, the bike rack takes up very little space on the truck bed but still keeps a secure grip on the bike.
Security
Thule provides a One-key system for the security of the bike. The locks are reliable and are quite easy to install and remove. They save bikes from being stolen since you might have to leave your car for some time during your journey. The locks give a good appearance to the bike rack and a sense of satisfaction to the user. Consequently, Thule Insta Gater Pro earns an R score of 8 for the secure experience.
Capacity
This Thule rack can attach to only one bike, accordingly its capacity is scored 7. Thule has other bike racks that can accommodate two or more bikes without damage. Therefore, this truck bed mount rack is only suitable for you if you own only one bike or travel with just one of your bikes.
Overall R Score of Insta Gater
The total score of Thule Insta Gater Pro is 8. It scored 8 or above in all the categories except value for money and capacity. The rest of the features including, the no-frame contact and security locks make it a useful bike rack for users searching for a comfortable and safe experience. Although the bike rack is a bit overpriced, it can save a lot of money by preventing any damage and you can drive without being concerned about the protection of your bike. So, if you own a mountain bike, carbon frame, e-bike, or fat bike, this Thule bike rack is highly recommended.
How to install Thule Insta Gater Pro
Below you can review a video demo on how to install the Thule Truck Bed Bike rack on a truck