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The Thule Echelon/Thule Crossroad Rack Review

01.19.2010 by Ray Niekamp // Leave a Comment

Guest poster Jeff Hemmel fills our winter days with thoughts of warmer climes — and taking our bikes along. Here’s his take on a Thule rooftop rack system.

Like a lot of people, I occasionally take a bike on vacation. Other years my Giant Sedona DX typically came along for the ride, but lately I’ve spent a lot more time on my Trek road bike, so when out latest trip drew near, it was the Trek that got invited to the dance. (Sorry, Sedona, but it really meant nothing, and I swear I was thinking about you the whole time. Honest.)

Problem is, my trusty hitch-mount bike rack didn’t really fit a road bike’s contours — and cables — too well. On top of that, we were also considering taking our smaller car, one without a receiver hitch. Enter the subject of this review, the Thule Echelon fork-mount bike carrier.

Or rather, the Thule Crossroad rack system and the Thule Echelon bike rack review. Huh? You see, today a lot of cars (okay, a lot of cars of the sport wagon/SUV variety) come with lengthwise factory rails, but no widthwise crossbars, leaving it up to the consumer to add the rack portion of the equation. In other words, before I could rack, I had to rail.

I’ve had good luck with Thule equipment in the past, so I chose their Crossroad system. Setup proved pretty simple. A polyethylene-covered, galvanized steel Thule load bar slides through a pair of the Crossroad’s feet, and then the assembly can be placed atop the factory rails. Thule accommodates a wide variety of rail styles by relying on a flexible, rubber-coated steel band to actually secure the foot to the rail. To fasten, pass the free end under the rail, hook it in the appropriate slot on the foot, then simply tighten things up. The outer cap of the footpad includes the necessary Allen key, and also serves as a handy knob to tighten things down. As you tighten the strap around the factory rails, the mechanism simultaneously locks the load bar in place, no tools required. Once I had the front half installed, I repeated it on the back.

Hints? Do a basic line-up beforehand. At the rubber-coated base of each footpad is a small arrow. Try to line it up with the center of the factory rail to best spread the load. I would also suggest upgrading to the locks Thule offers, both to keep your rack secure, but also to just make sure no one pops off an end cap and leaves you without your tightening tool, or a loose cap ends up along the side of the highway. Single-key lock packs come in multiples of two. Plan ahead to cover all four feet, as well as whatever carriers you choose to install afterward.

With the basic Crossroad system installed, next came the Echelon. A square bracket and two bolts lock the front of the carrier to the forward load bar, and the rear is attached to the aft bar with a simple backing plate, bolts, and screw knobs. That’s really all there was to it. Loading the bike is just a matter of positioning the rear wheel in the carrier tray, slipping the front fork’s dropouts onto the front skewer, and clamping everything in place.

I preferred the Echelon’s front clamp to cheaper alternatives for multiple reasons. For one, the cover/cam lever secures the fork in one simple motion. For another, a large adjustment knob makes for quick adjustments while securing and releasing. Loading a bike takes under a minute. At highway speeds, the rack proved surprisingly solid, although I’d again upgrade to a lock on the clamp just for peace of mind, not only to keep the bike in place, but also to keep the bolts inaccessible for any really determined thieves.

The complete Thule 450 Crossroad system, with a pair of 50” load bars, runs $240; the Echelon bike carrier $150. You can see how your own vehicle measures up at thuleracks.com.

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Categories // Accessories, guest post, Review Tags // Accessories, guest post, Hemmel, Review

Giving Thanks

01.03.2010 by Ray Niekamp // Leave a Comment

Yes, it’s way past Thanksgiving, but guest poster Jeff Hemmel looked back on 2009 and found another round of gratitude is not amiss.

‘Tis the season for all those “look back on the year that was” articles, so what the heck, I might as well jump in with my own season highlights. After all, 2009 was a big year for me, the year I finally ditched my trusty hybrid and transitioned to what I had lusted after for years — a sleek new road bike. I’ve learned a lot in the last 365 days, some of which I’d just as soon forget, but other things that have made all the difference in the world.

So I guess it’s time to give thanks to…

CamelBak’s Podium Bottle — Yeah, I thought it was a gimmick when I saw the first ad. Then I bought one, and realized that no longer did my sticky Gatorade mix drip all over my clothes and bike, or spill in the car. Then I bought an insulated model, and realized another thing — the CamelBak’s plastic is really soft and easy to squeeze. That makes it the easiest of all my bottles when I need to take a quick drink and stay with the pack. Little details, sure, but they make a big difference.

Continental’s Grand Prix 4000 Tire — I got my road bike at Christmas last year. By spring, my tires were picking up garbage left and right. In one seven-day span, I got five — count ‘em — five flats. That’s when I found the well-reviewed Continental Grand Prix 4000s for ridiculously cheap prices on ProBikeKit.com. I don’t want to jinx myself by stating the obvious, but let’s just say flats have not been an issue since. That’s eight months of riding some pretty littered roads.

Lezyne’s Pressure Drive — It’s not getting much use anymore, but during my “flatting period,” this little mini pump got a serious workout. I bought it after a good review in Bicycling, and the editors were right on the money. This tiny pump can inflate up to some serious pressures, and won’t kill you in the process. Sure, CO2 might be simple, but I can always count on the Lezyne.

Twitter — Where else can you eavesdrop on the lives of your favorite professional cyclists? Thanks to Twitter I know what Christian VandeVelde was thinking during his accident-filled spring, checked out cool training photos from Levi Leipheimer, and got Lance Armstrong’s uncensored thoughts on Alberto Contador. Geeky, yes. Fun? Absolutely.

Pearl Izumi — I know it’s just personal preference, but every pair of shorts I get from Pearl Izumi just fits right and feels good. I’ve tried a few other brands, but they always seemed to have some weird bagginess somewhere, or a funky chamois. PI hasn’t let me down. Of course, it helps that I’ve never had to pay retail, but rather found deals on eBay or the Pearl Izumi Outlet store…

Oakley Radars — Attention blog police, I got these for free. That said, they’re still the best glasses I’ve ever ridden in. They’re super lightweight, the lenses are awesome and distortion-free, and they stay put, whether I’m sweating in the typical Florida heat and humidity, or like yesterday, wedging them over a chill-blocking headband. Yes, you can get a lot of glasses cheaper…but I’m not so sure you can get any better.

My Bike Computer — Yeah, it’s a love/hate relationship, but my computer keeps me challenged, and helps me track my progress. It was fun actually seeing those triple digits at the completion of my first century, it’s useful to know how many miles I’m putting on my body and bike, and yes, it’s occasionally annoying to know I’m perhaps not going to be able to keep the pace I hope. But still, I can’t imagine leaving the driveway without it.

My Road Bike — I was already a pretty dedicated rider, but my Trek 2.1 has just allowed me to take things to another level. I’ve explored far beyond my previous riding area, pedaled way more miles, done group rides I could never have joined in before, and just had so much more fun in the process. And with a road bike under me, I’m even completely comfortable venturing out in public in skintight Lycra.

My Wife And Kids — My wife gave me that bike, something I talked endlessly about, but never wanted to spend the money on myself. And she bought it with money she had stashed aside for something for herself. That’s the spirit of Christmas. She and my kids are also very supportive about me getting out and riding it, even coming to the recent MDA Challenge to cheer me — and everyone else — on. To them, hopefully I return the favor with a much happier and healthier Dad. I’ll be 47 soon, but I aced my most recent physical.

And Ray — The Bike Noob is his blog, not mine. But in a year that’s been more than challenging for a so-called “professional” journalist, the Bike Noob gave me the chance to write about something I love, and do it for pure enjoyment.

Thanks one…and all.

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Categories // cycling, Equipment, fitness, guest post, Odds 'n ends Tags // Accessories, clothing, Equipment, guest post, Hemmel, tires

It Ain’t Pretty, But I Like It

12.27.2009 by Ray Niekamp // Leave a Comment

Guest poster Don Blount takes a new road, and finds that just going somewhere you haven’t gone before is its own reward.

It was an early morning and I was trying to get a ride in before going to work. I took one of my usual routes, this one being about 16 miles. I approached the turnaround point, which is located at a boat park at the top of a hill. It’s a pleasant place for fishermen, families who want to picnic as well as the many boaters who dock their boats or set sail from there.

It’s a dawn to dusk park with free entry for bikers and pedestrians. The guards usually just wave me through without a second glance.

But this day, I didn’t head up to the park.

Instead I took a right turn down an access road that I’ve passed many times but had never traveled before. I suspected it was on the other side of the waterway but had no idea what else was over there.

The short hill taxed my legs only a little, and as I crested the hill and began following the road I had a number of different perceptions. I found the road was bumpy and not smooth sailing at all for a road bike. I slowed down so as to not rattle the fillings out of my teeth.

It was a mostly undeveloped area, some marsh and quite a few people, most of them fishermen. I saw a motorboat heading out but couldn’t get to my camera quickly enough to get a photo.

I found myself going slowly because of the road surface and really taking in more of the scenery because it was all so unfamiliar. I think I only went about two miles on this road because I had a deadline and had to get back home.

But I found that I enjoyed it.

When I have more time I’ll go back and go farther, not for the conditioning of the ride or even for its beauty but for the variety that it brings.

Does anyone else have a route that isn’t necessarily a great biking route but one you enjoy for another reason?

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Categories // guest post, Rides Tags // Blount, guest post, Rides

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