This community has a lot of posts about the means of mobility, so I was reminded of this article about how bike racks have changed over the decades, at least ones that show up in the USA.
More micromobility options means racks will have to evolve to meet new needs, like accommodating cargo ebikes and the like. I post this so that everyone knows that better bike racks do exist, as many destinations have the older, terrible styles that were barely usable. Where you can, advocate for better bike racks and everyone will benefit!
Sheffield racks are the peak of bicycle parking designs as far as I’m concerned. Basically the upside down U-design, but wider, providing multiple locking points, and allowing a slight lean to balance the bicycle upon.
I ride a step-through frame, and wholeheartedly agree, Sheffield racks are the most accessible and easy design I’ve seen. Though they are not the most efficient for mass bike parking, they are one of the only designs I’ve seen work for almost every type of bike, including front load cargo bikes and recumbent bikes.
Steadyrack’s can suck a dick. I know they’re great for the types of bikes they’re designed for, but my bike is 20kg, they say “no heavy lifting” but you need to physically lift the frame off the ground. Fortunately I can lift my frame… But I’m not tall enough to lift my bike off the ground by the handle bars as this rack requires you to do, and because it’s a step through frame the centre of gravity isn’t ideal for the rack and my bike juts out at weird angles preventing someone using the neighbouring rack if they’re installed too closely (which they always are)
So if that’s my only option, I’m the asshole locking my bike to a weird part of the fence instead of the designated bike rack.
TIL Sheffield rack is the name of the wider U rack.
TIL Steadyrack. In California, we only see those in very space constrained places, like indoor bike parking. Or onboard a train. Otherwise, yeah, they’re not preferred.
Yeah, the only thing place I see Steadyracks is at high density paid secure bike parking facilities, the basements of large office blocks with a large cycling culture among tenants, or onboard regional and semi-long haul trains
(our metropolitan trains have no bike zones at all, you’re expected just to stand up and hold your bike in the rear cab where wheelchairs would sit if it were the front cab, which is fine but some of our lines are 40-50 minutes long so it’s a long time to be standing and balancing my heavy frame, especially because I’m too short to reach the overhead grip rail)
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Staple racks should be the standard for any business that cares about cyclists imo
Pretty neat.
I know it’s not feasible to replace racks that are already installed, but it sometimes gets frustrating to see different stands being used. Some don’t fit my 26" wheel bike with racks installed, some don’t make a good use of space, some are so “artsy” that they are impractical as bike racks, and others don’t even look like bike racks. 😬
Agreed, a better solution would be for municipalities or regional governments to publish design guidelines for businesses who want to put in a rack, but don’t know what they’re doing. I believe my local cycling org has a page about good vs. bad racks and will try to connect interested businesses with proper racks.
A good guideline would take into account recumbents, trikes, cargo bikes, scooters, step-throughs, bicycle trailers, kids bikes, and probably a few other things. Maybe even helmet lockers depending on the venue.
Nice cross section but it misses the hitching post / ring style.
I like the 50s style “comb” but hate the inverted u and anything else that doesn’t stop the bike falling over.
I like the post and ring racks too. Top 3 styles for sure.
I don’t like them, the bikes always fall over and theyre so low density.
Hmmm, I could see that being more of a pain in high traffic areas. Around here, I usually see them as a single post outside a gas station and I only occasionally have to share. Upside down U shapes made of playground pipe and embedded in the sidewalk seem to be the current trend around here for new racks. What do new racks tend to look like in your area?
There’s a lot of the post-and-ring, some inverted-u, and some “wave”-style.
In my area, new construction has the “wave” style – which is basically the U shape but with more loops – to satisfy the minimum 2 bicycle parking from the latest California Building Code. In the public right of way, I see a lot of U shapes, but they’re sometimes oriented the “wrong” way for getting two bikes parked.
That is, the U shape is oriented along the sidewalk, meaning that two bikes parked would have to be perpendicular to the road, extending into the sidewalk. Whereas if they turned the U shape so it’s visible up or down the road, then bikes could park parallel to the sidewalk, avoiding conflict.
IMO, the U shape and multi-U shape is the absolute minimum, most basic bike rack that should exist today going forward. A step beyond should be the lightning bolt, the most well-suited for building rows of expansive bike parking, ideally in a guarded lot. And finally, the varsity bike rack is the most dense option for a bike lot, one that still allows getting bikes in and out without climbing over other bikes.
Interesting piece of hyperlocal history, very nice.
What I don’t understand though is why they never moved from the U-shape to… I don’t know the English term, in Germany the most widely used ones are called “Leipziger” or “Kreuzberger” rack.
They are the most ubiquitous rack by far here.
I like them since they stop bikes from falling over and allow for a variety of locking options. For example I usually just lock my bike on the top bar when I just want to drop into the supermarket or something.The issue with them is only that bike thieves found out that it’s far easier to cut through the rack instead of the locks, so they started doing this… 😅
A different poster referred to those as the Sheffield rack. In California, we do see those occasionally, but they suffer from a similar issue from my earlier comment. The design certainly allows for more compatibility with various bike designs, but I would add some sort of painted marking on the ground to encourage slightly-angled parking.
After all, if one bike with wide panniers is parked parallel with the Sheffield rack, it may deny a second bike from parking on the other side. If the first bike were locked to the vertical post but angled away from the rack, the second bike can do the same, allowing two to park anti-parallel.
The grocery that’s most bikeable for me has this really bad wheel cradle style rack that’s just bolted to the ground and made of thin metal, but its right outside the front glass of the liquor store, so there are always 2-3 people watching while they run the register. I always stop to chat so they’ll remember me and my bike. At night, I skip it entirely and chain up to a beefy stairway handrail 30 feet away.
I know its accidental in this case, but putting a rack in a “monitored” location like that raises the security a ton in my opinion. I don’t anticipate many folks breaking out a battery operated grinder right there, at least where I live. There is lower hanging fruit.