Thule Store

If you’ve got an active, outdoors-oriented lifestyle, you’re going to be faced with the dilemma of how to get your bicycle, skis, or other cargo to where you’re going. If you’ve got a pickup truck, of course, this isn’t going to be much of an issue. If you’re in a sedan, station wagon, SUV or compact, it’s a different story. You don’t want to possibly damage your interior by jamming unwieldy cargo into it, and while there are plenty of bike carriers and cargo carriers on the market, they’re definitely not created equal.

That’s where Thule comes into the picture.

Founded back in 1942 by the Thulin family, the Thule name was first applied to a pike trap that was designed and sold to Scandinavian fishermen. Before long, Metallfabriken Thule was making belt buckles and other practical products, but the 1950s saw a gradual trend to car-related designs. Thule’s first foray into automotive products was a set of headlamp grilles (1955), with the company’s first ski carrier making its debut in 1962.

They continued to introduce products for the European market, such as the Luxus lockable ski carrier (1973) and TB-11 roof cargo carrier (1977); in 1979, Thule was sold to a different company, Eldon. The Thule brand continued to advance worldwide, expanding into the US in 1980. Their Combibox 250 was the first injection-molded plastic rooftop carrier, and Thule introduced the first hitch-mounted bike carrier in 1992. Since that time, Thule has also acquired Karrite (the world’s largest manufacturer of rooftop cargo carriers), Sportworks, Konig, Star Trailer, Brink, Valley, and Case Logic.

Today, bike carriers are only a part of the product lines that Thule has developed. Their core business remains the same, however – and wherever you go, you’ll see cars and SUVs with Thule cargo carriers and Thule bike carriers. There’s a reason for that – Thule continues to set the bar for innovation and quality products. With that kind of ingenious, forward-thinking product design and outstanding customer service, it’s easy to see why Thule cargo carriers, Thule bike carriers and the rest of Thule’s products are so popular and continue to lead the way.