Folding Down the Arms on the Thule Spare Me Bike Rack

Question:

I am having difficulty getting the arms to fold down. I unscrew both the knobs as instructed, however, the arms will still not fold. Is there a trick to doing this not found in the manual? Thanks

asked by: Devin J

Expert Reply:

I absolutely understand since I seem to have the worst luck with those bike rack knobs sometimes. You have to get the arms into the right position, but finding that sweet spot may be tricky.

One time I realized that I was spinning the screw on the other side and wasn't actually loosening the knob. If you check on the inside of the arms, you might see the other end of the knob. Hold that in place while loosening the knob.

Another trick I learned was to shift the arms around while rotating the knobs. It sounds counter-intuitive, but sometimes pushing the arms up first puts it in a better position to snap down. Lifting it from the end over the tire, or moving the arms side to side might put them in the groove you opened while loosening the knobs.

If all else fails, ask someone else to try. It's like opening a jar where they do the exact same thing you did, but for some reason, it works for them.

expert reply by: Evangeline M