Not all bike racks are made equal, especially when you’re hauling e-bikes, chunky mountain bikes, or gear-heavy rides on a camping trip. If you’ve ever stood in a windy car park trying to balance a heavy frame on a flimsy rack, you’ll know exactly what I mean.
One wrong move and you’re watching your derailleur take a dive – or worse, your rack start to buckle. I’ve been there. And I will tell you it’s not fun.
That’s where the Thule VeloSpace XT 3 enters the picture. This isn’t your average strap-it-and-hope-for-the-best rack. It’s designed to handle the big stuff – up to three heavy bikes, wide tyres, and all the faff that comes with them. But does it actually make life easier for campers, families, and weekend adventurers? Let’s find out.
Key Specs That Matter
Cut to the chase – no one wants to hunt down specs after reading an essay. Here’s what you need to know if you’re considering the Thule VeloSpace XT 3 for those heavier bikes and mixed fleets:
- Price: £575 (UK), AU$1249, or €709+ (depends on your shop and any deals)
- Total load capacity: 60kg. That’s up to 30kg per bike slot – enough for chunky e-bikes
- Weight of rack itself: 20.6kg
- Size (unfolded): 135 x 73 x 79cm
- Size (folded): 135 x 73 x 31cm
- Fits tyres up to: 4.7” (with longer straps you buy separately)
- Max wheelbase: 1,300mm
- Expandable: to 4 bikes with the right adapter
Simple enough? When you’re loading for a wet week in Wales or a festival in Kent, these numbers matter more than you’d think.
Who Needs the Thule VeloSpace XT 3?
Let’s get real: this rack isn’t for the Sunday cyclist popping to the shops. The VeloSpace XT 3 is built for folks who care about their bikes, ride big and heavy e-bikes, or carry different shapes and sizes (XL mountain bikes, fat bikes, gravel rigs, and delicate carbon frames).
If you:
- Cram the family campervan or estate with lightweight road bikes and beefy e-MTBs together
- Tow bikes around the coast on muddy weekends – rain, shine, or howling winds
- Regularly haul e-bikes that weigh about as much as your average seven-year-old
- Value absolute security (locks, no shake or wobble, little risk of scratches)
…you’ll likely appreciate what the VeloSpace offers. If your bikes are all slim city jobs or you never load more than two, save your cash and your back for something smaller.
Setting Up the Thule Velospace XT3
Let’s be honest – this thing isn’t light. Lifting the VeloSpace XT 3 out of the box solo feels a bit like hauling a soggy rucksack full of bricks. If it’s cold, raining, or your garage is packed tighter than a camper’s boot, do yourself a favour and get a second pair of hands.
Inside the box, you get the main rack unit and a separate upper frame bar that needs bolting on before first use. And nope – It’s not a tool-free job. You’ll need a proper spanner and a bit of patience (plus a tolerance for grazed knuckles). Getting those bolts tight in narrow spaces isn’t exactly joyful, but it only needs doing once.
Once built, mounting it onto the towball is fairly satisfying. It clamps on with a chunky lever system that feels solid – like something off a caravan stabiliser. Push, clamp, and lock. If the fit is too loose, tweak the collar with the included tool until it hugs your towbar like it was made for it. It’s rock-steady once locked in, even when barrelling down bumpy backroads.
Plug in the 13-pin connector, snap on your number plate using the dainty clips (cute but fiddly), and you’re good to go. The lights usually fire up first time – always a minor miracle in the world of trailer electrics.
Loading Up: Bikes of All Breeds
Here’s where the VeloSpace XT 3 earns its keep. Lesser racks tend to groan under the weight of a single e-bike, add a carbon frame and a chunky kid’s MTB to the mix, and you’ve got chaos waiting to happen. Not here.
I tested it with three wildly different bikes: a hefty Trek Rail e-MTB, a lightweight gravel bike, and my kid’s knobbly-tyred monster. The VeloSpace handled all of them like a champ. The rails are deep and generous, so no faffing about trying to squeeze tyres into shallow trays. No cable-rubbing either – just clean, straightforward loading.
The frame clamps are padded with thick rubber to protect your paintwork, and the AcuTight knobs are pure genius –they click when you've got the perfect tension. If you’ve ever tried tightening clamps with frozen fingers, you’ll appreciate this small mercy.
Straps do a solid job on standard wheels, but if you’re rocking 4-inch fat tyres, grab the XXL Fatbike straps. Trust me, wrestling a ratchet in the rain when you’re already late for the ferry is a vibe killer.
Also, carbon frame owners – don’t mess about. Get the Thule Carbon Frame Protector. And if your van’s got an external spare wheel, you’ll need the spare wheel adapter too.
So long as your bikes weigh under 30kg each, aren’t wider than 4.7 inches, and don’t resemble a tandem circus act, you’re good to go. Just don’t leave setup till 11pm under a headtorch in a misty layby. Do it once, do it right – at home, in daylight, preferably with a cuppa.
Using the Tilt
Let’s talk about the tilt mechanism. It’s the thing that sets this rack apart and it’s pure genius. A foot pedal near the base lets you hinge the whole rack (bikes loaded!) away from the car.
On my Mercedes camper, it tilts so far back the bikes go almost horizontal. I can open the massive rear tailgate and still reach the fridge for milk, or unload the dog, without unloading bikes.
If you’ve used lesser racks, you’ll know the agony of unloading everything at a rainy Tesco petrol stop or, worse, sleeping in your van with no boot access. Not here. The pedal is beefy, doesn’t clog with mud, and the rack smoothly returns upright. Only warning: if your bikes are odd shapes or super heavy, keep a steady hand as you tilt.
Real-World Road Trips with the Thule Velospace XT3
I’ve camped everywhere from the Yorkshire Dales to shell-strewn Cornish clifftops. With the VeloSpace XT 3, loading three bikes takes five minutes – even less after the first go. It doesn’t shake or rattle on rough B-roads. I’ve bounced along forestry tracks and the bikes stay pinned, rain or shine.
Parking at campsites, you’ll need an extra metre behind the car for tilt action – factor this in, especially on packed sites or if you’ve got a trailer. Getting bikes off at midnight, in the drizzle after the pub, is thankfully just as faff-free as during daylight.
As for wobble or sway? Barely any, once everything’s clamped and locked. The peace of mind is worth its weight in gold—one less thing to stress about when the wind’s howling at 2am.
Is It Better Than the Rest?
I’ve tried a bunch of racks, including the likes of Atera, Westfalia, and the more compact Thule EasyFold. The latter is neater for storage, but it doesn’t tilt far enough for big camper boots. The Atera Strada can’t fit massive e-bikes or 29” wheels like this can.
For raw load capacity, big bike fit, and tilt, the Thule VeloSpace XT 3 is almost in a class of its own. However, it has a downside of being bulkier and pricier than slimmer racks. But that’s the price for brute strength and proper boot access.
Accessories: Worth the Extra?
You can tweak this rack to suit your quirks. The fourth bike adapter takes it up to four slots – handy if you’ve got a growing tribe or lots of mates. The Thule BackSpace XT box actually lets you turn your rack into a mini trailer boot – great for muddy boots, wet tents, or camp kitchen gear.
Fat bike straps and carbon frame protectors are essential if you want to avoid on-the-road bodging or, worse, damaging pricier bikes. Yes, the extras cost, but you’ll curse yourself if you skimp and find a job half done in the wild.
My advice: Know your bikes, buy the adapters upfront, and check for deals on second-hand kit.
What to Watch Out For
This rack is heavy. Don’t buy it if you can’t physically manage a near-21kg lift or plan to fit it solo on a windy morning. Storage is another headache – it’s long, unwieldy, and likely bigger than your average shed shelf.
Check your car’s maximum nose weight. Many estates and campervans are fine, but smaller hatchbacks might struggle once you’ve loaded e-bikes and kit.
Finally, for all its strengths, it is spendy. But after three years’ hard use, mine looks new, holds its value, and hasn’t let me down once, including during a freezing sleet storm in the New Forest where lesser kit would’ve rusted or buckled.
Verdict: Who Should Buy the Thule VeloSpace XT 3?
If you’re serious about carrying big bikes, want no-nonsense access to your boot, and value gear that laughs off British weather, choose the VeloSpace XT 3.
You’re paying for total peace of mind: no shakes, no slips, no drama at the muddy edge of a Lake District car park or at a wind-blasted Cornish clifftop in February.
It’s not for everyone. If you ride alone with a featherweight bike or need to stash a rack in a city cupboard, look elsewhere. But for families and campers with big, expensive bikes? There’s really nothing better.
Worth the cash? Absolutely. I’d rather buy once and relax by the campfire than risk a broken rack or a smashed £3,000 e-bike. Trust me: after one soggy, stress-free trip, you’ll wonder how you ever managed before.
For more bike rack guides and practical camping tips, check out our Best Bike Rack for Campervan page. Safe travels.
