THULE 518 Echelon Fork Mount Bike Carrier

Comments about THULE 518 Echelon Fork Mount Bike Carrier:

Excellent product. Have carried Road bikes, Hybrid and Cyclo-Cross (equivalent to Touring Bikes) on this rack with no problems. Very stable and relatively easy to place bikes on roof. Very nice product. Fork locking mechanism appears to be better than some competing products.

Front bolts, which fasten fork locking mechanism to bar, where challenging to align with lower bracket, but once installed they were very stable.

Recommend that if you care about your new vehicle roof, you do seven things:
(1) Wax your roof before installing rack.
(2) Place mounts close to roof edge, making pulling on/off of bikes easy for you from ground.
(3) Protect your roof while installing with old towels and cardboard. Also protect roof near fork area when pulling bikes on and off rack.
(4) Clean fork on bike and mount, as sand and particulate matter can jam mechanism.
(5) Lubricate locks with graphite to prevent jamming.
(6) Clean your chains and gears regularly, as during wind/rain this stuff will fall off on your vehicle's roof, rear window and trunk areas and possibly scratch the finish. I think people overlook this detail.
(7) As rack gets older, consider buying spare rear straps and bolts in case these should break or fall off when not being used. It might be challenging to find spare parts while on vacation...

Comments about THULE 518 Echelon Fork Mount Bike Carrier:

I originally purchased a different model but returned it because some of the mounting pieces were plastic and broke during installation. This rack is much more durable with all the mounting peices make of metal. This one was much-much better and I'm very pleased with it. Moreover, I mounted it on my wife's car and she finds it very easy to put her bike up and secure it to her car.

Comments about THULE 518 Echelon Fork Mount Bike Carrier:

After reading other reviews this was the winner. Now I see why. It is a solid nice piece of gear.
I thought of using it without locks but realized that you need them in order for the fork clamps to lock or keep tight. Without locks the fork clamp has a tendency to pop open, which would be real bad.

Comments about THULE 518 Echelon Fork Mount Bike Carrier:

I'm going to keep this short and sweet. I use my Thule rack on two cars, both greatly different in size, and it works beautifully on both setups. This carrier seems to work best with Mountain and Hybrid bikes, but for some of the competitive road/trit bikes, I do wonder if it is slim enough to adapt to the front fork. In case you didn't read in advance, like myself, the minimum fork width is 100mm.

Comments about THULE 518 Echelon Fork Mount Bike Carrier:

Love this Thule mount. Went in to buy the Peleton Fork but liked this one better. Thank you EMS for the great price [...] All is good at my favorite outdoor store.

Comments about THULE 518 Echelon Fork Mount Bike Carrier:

Easy to install and easy to mount the bike. Simply close the clamp and the bike is on tight. Get the Thule lock cores for security and it's off to the trails (or elsewhere).

I wish the rear wheel had a lock, but a cable lock can easily solve that problem.

Comments about THULE 518 Echelon Fork Mount Bike Carrier:

If you are looking for the best quality and the fastest release system, this is it. This is a great carrier because you only have to adjust the front mount system once. After that, simply drop the forks onto the skewers, push down the lever, and you are set. This is way better that the Yakima fork mount, and the Thule carrier fits Yakima racks too. I am actually using this on my Yakima bars. The Thule decal is easy to remove too.

The only reason this doesn't get 5 stars is because the mounting hardware is just a little cheesy looking. It is strong, and works well, but the aesthetics are not perfect.

Comments about THULE 518 Echelon Fork Mount Bike Carrier:

overall, it is a great rock solid rack. only complaint was that I had to exchange the rack after my initial purchase as the clamping mechanism wouldn't release on one side. [...]

Comments about THULE 518 Echelon Fork Mount Bike Carrier:

I mounted the rack and carrier on my mini cooper. It works great for me. The bike would fit inside, but only with one wheel off and still a tight fit. With the carrier, I have greatly expanded space.