Few brands can boast a history as rich with innovation and awards as Thule. Founded in 1942 in the deepest forest of Småland, Sweden, by Erik Thulin, Thule has focused ever since its inception on designing and developing quality products for lovers of the outdoors that help you carry your gear wherever you want to go next.

Although production moved to their facility in Hillersdorp, Thule fittingly returned to Småland in 1962 to launch their first ever roof racks, a product category that would come to be synonymous with the brand over the next 50 years. Those first racks were made for carrying skis (and called the Thule Standard ski rack, funnily enough), then in 1968 the Classic Roof Basket for carrying luggage was launched before, in 1985, it launched the Thule System 1061 which is when the roof racks first started to look like they do today.

In cycling, Thule’s roof and towbar racks are as near to legendary as it gets. From the Proride through the UpRide, Topride and now onto the groundbreaking Epos, Thule’s offerings are universally regarded as the gold standard when it comes to carrying your bike on a vehicle. Winners of awards, grouptests and plaudits throughout the industry, Thule’s combination of eye-catching design, excellent production and engineering ingenuity is almost unique, not to mention their dedication for finding bike carrying solutions for almost any vehicle.

Plus, with multiple victories in basically every major bike race on the planet across all disciplines – including being the groupset of choice for 14 of the 18 World Tour Road teams – Shimano is the undisputed first choice of professional cyclists everywhere.