The Thule 518 - Echelon fork mount bike carrier has got the rest of the pack strung out.  Not content to use a traditional quick release lever, Thule engineers set out to create a fork clamping design which is easier to adjust, more streamline and strong.  Thule succeeded with the Echelon, it has a user friendly adjustment knob under the clamping head.  The head is sleek and aerodynamic with no skewer protruding or dangling out to the side.  The head unit is heavy duty metal construction with durable powder coated finish.  The head unit extends backward and narrows to accommodate forks with disk brake calipers.  The clamping mechanism works on all standard fork types including those with wide collars found on some mountain bike forks.  Some forks may require adapters such as those with through axles.  The head of the Echelon is lockable and is part of Thule's Same Key System, lock cylinders are sold separately.  When the head is locked, the bike's forks are locked to the carrier and the carrier is locked to the cross bar for overall security, don't forget to lock the roof rack too.  The rear wheel tray on the Echelon is stiff double walled, extruded aluminum which is silver anodized to resist corrosion.  The rear wheel is held tight in the tray with an easy to use ratcheting strap that holds narrow road bike tires as well as mountain bike tires up to 2.3 inches wide.  The cross bar mounting hardware included with the Echelon attaches to the Thule square bar and is NOT recommended for Yakima round cross bars.  The Echelon will attach to Thule's Rapid Aero load bars using the Thule Xadapt 9 hardware.  Don't get forced in the gutter, get in on the Echelon.

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