lol. i feel fortunate that i did not ever contact thule when i bought my rack. however you have jogged my memory. i looked to replace the rubber ties on my rack, (there quite important as they are what secure's your bike to the rack) i emailed thule to ask where i could get new ones from. i got no reply. i thought maybe they did not get my email, after reading your post i think maybe i am wrong. i will try again.