The Old Dog Explores: Can a Better More Beautiful Bicycle Rack Be Built?

in cycling •  7 years ago  (edited)

As Cities and Towns Become More Bicycle Friendly The Need Arises to Park Them! 

  • What makes a good bicycle rack?
  • Where should bicycle racks be located?
  • Can they be made pleasing to the eyes?
  • Here is a good guide for the design of a bicycle parking area.


1.) I spotted this stainless steel rack on my recent visit to Ascona. It is modular, definitely upscale and fits in well with the beauty of the town! It also meets the design criteria for a good rack. All other photos in this article are from pixabay.com

A Bike Rack Should Be Secure And Stable!

  • It would be best to have two points of contact.
  • The frame and front wheel should be able to rest against the rack.
  • It is best if the bike can be locked with a U style or similar lock which can enclose both the wheel and frame.

The Location of The Bicycle Rack is Essential!

When bicycle parking is well done it can improve an area, make bikers feel welcome and encourage the use of this mode of transportation.

  • The parking should be in an easily accessible area.
  • It should be well lit and if possible, sheltered.

Can a Bicycle Rack Be Beautiful?

There is no need for anything to be an eye sore. If you're going to make it, buy it or install it why not have it look nice and fit in with its environment? Here are some bicycle rack designs by a company that specializes in them!

Here are Some Other Bicycle Rack Designs

  • Which looks the best to you?
  • Which seems to be the most practical?
  • In your travels  have you seen one that you really like?


2.) This doesn't provide the preferred contact with the frame but it is sleek!


3.) This design is quite funky and practical but requires each hoop to be individually bolted into the concrete.


4.) This is similar to the standard design that I was used to as a school boy. It only provides support for the wheel.


5.) I find this design to be very playful and its end use is obvious! 


6.) Many of the designs do not feature the preferred support for the bike frame with the two points of contact.


7.) This is an elegant solution but it requires the two vertical sections of pipe to be embedded into the pavement.


8.) I can't say much about the aesthetics of this rack but it seems to keep the bikes neatly in line!


9.) I'm not too sure of what to make of this double decker design. I'd need to see it in action!


10.) Hmmm something went wrong here!

So What do You Think?

  • Of the 10 which do you like the most? I've numbered them from 1-10 for easy selection! I like number 1!
  • Would you like to see more people using bicycles for transportation? 
  • Do we need more well designed bike racks? 
  • Are you a cyclist?

I hope that you enjoyed this article which discusses "Can a Better More Beautiful Bicycle Rack Be Built?"



Until next time,


@kus-knee (The Old Dog)

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very nice guide im planning to get electric bike by xiaomi =D

This post received a 3.9% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @gwapology! For more information, click here!

Cool post, Old Dog...

I prefer 2 as i have those kind of rack in my office and it's really sleek.

Wow another member from India. That's awesome. I just went and read your intro post and it's great to meet you and to have you here on Steemit. Thanks for the visit and the comment!

yes am a cyclist!
my whole family is
learned biking using my father's racer
and yes would encourage more bikes - good for our body and good to the environment
if the Dutch can do it and all the other Scandanavian countries can - it's doable everywhere I believe
better invest in stocks for bikes when it happens haha
design wise I like number 5 the most
but I don't think it would hold the bike properly

I like what they have in Holland - they dont just support the wheels but bike owners could also secure their bikes from heavy wind and thieves - they could chain it on bulks of metals to lock it. Plus they even have roof sometimes.

It really is tto bad that people are not more honest. When I was a kid nothing was locked, not even people's homes!

Thank you so much @kus-knee , it's really my pleasure that you read my post. I really love your posts particularly that Vanishing point and camping tent. Bdw you are also an Indian?

That's a good question. Actually on my mothers side there were 3 generations that were born in India but they were of Irish decent! My brothers both left Canada and went to live there for many years. Therefore I have a great affinity with the Indian people.

ohh that's great. In which city they are living? Have you been to India?

I've never been to India. My brothers were in Kulu Valley.

Ohh Kullu is such a beautiful place and near to it you will find another beautiful valley named "Manali". What i suggest is do visit India. I bet you would fall in love with it :-)

Of the 10 which do you like the most? I've numbered them form 1-10 for easy selection! Number 7 - just a design thing
Would you like to see more people using bicycles for transportation? - As long as I drive car in the city a clear NO as they are way more aggressive than car drivers
Do we need more well designed bike racks? Nope - enough out there
Are you a cyclist? - I was and need to get my MTB back in shape

Number 7 is a beauty. Where I live the cyclists will ride 2-5 across and you get blocked behind them. Narrow winding country roads. How long would it take you to cycle to work?

Same here - summer is mad - it takes around 30 minutes with the bike to work

I like numbers 1 and 7, they are both practical and elegant.

A lot of the others only allow you to lock either your front or back wheel. This is no good in my area because if you have quick release wheels then it is so simple to steal the frame.

I cycle to and from work everyday, 20 miles, no matter the weather, I absolutely love it.

However we do have to d-lock the front wheel as well as the back wheel and frame to the rack. Too many times has one of us come out of work only to find one of our wheels is missing.

Those are both my favourite as well. 20 miles to work every day! You must be ripped!

I wish I could say that. I am getting a lot fitter and I do eat what I want now. So perhaps if I ate cleanly I might get that way, but it seems to be a slow process.

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

Nice observation and beautiful thoughts from you 👌 👌 👌! As far as functionality and aesthetics are concerned, I'd go with your choice. But for practical purposes I'd pick the no. 9 if it is easy to use. [Isn't there any bike rack that comes with a personal locker to hold biker's belongings?😉]

Though that crowdy & congested hoarding in no. 9 doesn't look beautiful but seems to be more practical to me to hold huge no. of bikes 🤔. However, in my country one rarely encounter any bike racks. The bike parkings are generally called cycle stands here and are mostly manned (man power is quite affordable here). The person in charge there would guide you to park and even arrange all bikes in order to make way for other incoming bikes and will take care of its security all day.

But yes, it has its own problems 😳. Just for an idea, I'd like to quote the cricket commentator Mr. Navjot Singh Siddhu's funny comparison of fall of quick wickets of Indian cricket team:

The way Indian wickets are falling reminds me of the cycle stand at Rajendra Talkies in Patiala...one falls and everything else falls!

And when a cycle falls, you can expect some dents or loose screws to take care of when you return to pick it up 😭. But it doesn't mean it's same every where. Some rare places have come up with better systems. e,g. smart Namma Bike Share system of Bangalore. I'd love to see better biking infrastructure to evolve quickly here. Your post sure is an inspiration to that end!👍


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Another 5 star comment. Perhaps you should post an article on how the biking system works in your part of the world.

i like the simple and classy racks

@happykid got you a $0.43 @minnowbooster upgoat, nice!
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I love bicycles. Great photos :)

Upvoted!

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

Great post. Love the perspective of Nr. 8 that's an excellent shot! Also I liked that you focused on the racks & storage.

So thank you very much @kus-knee for making me aware of this post when you visited my Dutch bike post that focused on the chaos ;-)

Below is a photo I didn't use that fits well in your theme (notice the bike under the desk)

Followed & uptvoted @roused

Very cool and thanks so much for the picture!

Thanks! Sorry as a newbie my 100% upvote is a bit embarrassing ;-)

Never despise the days of small beginnings. "From little acorns mighty oaks do grow!" Your upvote is appreciated and they all add up!

All in all, I will side with you on #1. The use of an elongated helix could easily lead a passerby to see it as an art installation, but having practical use.

Other creative ideas I have run across include, this one-of-a-kind, comb-shaped bike rack was made by Knowhow Shop in Los Angeles; it’s now a public art piece in Roanoke, Virginia.

!()
Image courtesy of Know How Shop LA

On a more practical note, Polish student Tomasz Brzeziński submitted this minimalist design to the Fortis Young Design competition in 2008. Even though he did not take top prize, his design was one of the finalists.

!()
Image courtesy of IWP

Thanks so much for sharing these two pics. A ultilitarian device as art and a very practical solution. I love them both!

1/ I like this one
2 / Yes sure , people should take a bike and enjoy the view and feel the breeze
3/ Yes, design make a city more beautiful
4 / Yes, on my mtbike

Thanks for this newly blog ! great !

Thanks for the pic. It looks well thought out!

Design make a city more beautiful .... A nice and awesome Design

chart.jpg

Thanks for sharing that. I love it!

That last one must have been the "Non-secure" parking section (Detroit maybe???)

Ciao bello, tutto bene!

I love cycling <3 I used to have a cycle when I was in school. I wish I could go to me job on bicycle but its not possible because of the long distance.
All the designs a pretty cool but I loved number 5 the most because of its unique artistic design plus yellow is a cool colour.

That is a very unique design!

As much as councils try and spruce them up a bit I think they are all pretty ugly...But undeniably functional.

Our local council has made it so almost all new building planning applications much have a cycle "shed".... I'm all for new cyclists and whilst i don't cycle I am courteous to those on the road who do.

What I do object to is our council spending an absolute fortune on cycle lanes on footpaths that are seldom used whilst neglecting the state of the roads...We do after all pay a hefty sum for road tax.

They have the idea that everyone in my large town will soon be using either a bike or public transport - they are living in lala land though. Most simply need to drive.

Sorry have gone off topic a bit there.

Hmmm it seems that you have some food for a nice post in that comment!

You have me thinking now! I might try and get some photos and make a post about it:)

I would prefer #5 mostly because it reminds me of the racks I see in certain parts of Chicago. The ones we have here though are the full bike frame and wheels. I wish I had a picture of one to share.

Wow, you have that type of rack in Chicago. That my kinda town!

With how expensive parking is in Chicago, unless you are talking the bus or trains, bikes are the way to go! And a good bike rack is essential, pretty sure there is an underground bike market with all the bikes I know that have been stolen...quite unfortunate.

Number 7 is nice. It's easier to lock the frame with that type of rack.

True!

My favourite is number 7 because it seems safer for my bike

It also look nice don't you think?

Yeah it looks nice but not as nice as the number 1

The one you photographed is the most beautiful one, and I like blue because it's simple and pretty

That's my favorite too!

While I think No. 3 looks the best, No. 1 and No. 8 look more practical. I haven't seen such racks anywhere, but they seem to keep the bikes in place.

Thanks for the comment!

In the Netherlands, everyone's a cyclist :-)

I don't care much for the looks of bike racks (well, depending on where they are places), as long as they give the option to secure my bike properly. There's lots of bike stealing or bike-parts stealing, so a good, seperate lock in combination with a proper bike rack is pretty much a necessity sadly...

By the way, I've seen number 9 on a couple of train stations and at our movie theater, but I still don't know how they work exactly... I just use the lower part when needed, because I have no clue how to get my bike up there!

I heard about the cycling in the Netherlands. My nephew wants to move there because of it! Why not show us you using the two tiered rack in an article?

You know, it has never even occurred to me to write or show anything about cycling, simply because it is such a common thing here in the Netherlands. I think I'll be using my bike a bit more again once we move, so if I remember then, I'll shoot some pictures one day :-)

My boyfriend has a foldable bike, so he can take it with him on the train.

Your fans would like to know more!

I will write a cycling post one day then! Once things quiet down a bit again :-)

I’ve always wonder why bicycle racks are not more colorful. I find the single tone rather dull and boring. I think the third option would look great near a lake or beach settings. They could even stencil in some starfish and dolphins to give it an extra pop.

I’ve not ridden a bike in a good 10 years but I think they are an excellent substitution short range for transportation over a car. My issue is people will always steal whatever they can even if it’s just a single tire. Bike locks and chains are easy to break or pick open if you have the right tools with you. An entire enclosure that locks while I think is the only way to go that would also create danger to the public. This would also be a rather bulky and expensive design. It’s nice to see in some countries the bike culture is more accepted and people are less willing to steal or damage property.

Wow, I'm sorry and shocked to read about the thefts!

Yes, I'm also concerned about bike theft ..esp. the expensive ones 😇. That's why I advocate for registration of bikes and to issue a bike chassis no. plate to monitor them and making their insurance mandatory. Perhaps some bike-sharing program also uses GPS tracking chips. We need to strive for some solution to it but refusing to bike around is not the right solution IMHO. 🤔
Let's go biking! 🙂🚴🏿 🚵🏿‍🚴🏿🚴🏿🚴🏿


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@kus-knee,
Good article and here you can find my answers:
##Of the 10 which do you like the most?
Number 2

##Would you like to see more people using bicycles for transportation?
Yes, but very rare in my country

##Do we need more well designed bike racks?
Yes, Exactly

##Are you a cyclist?
I was :/ That's the most happiest time in my life

Thanks and Cheers~

Thanks for your nice comments!

@kus-knee,
You are welcome!

Agree with you, #1 looks more comfortable, and maybe #6. The bicycle can be fastened on the frame.

You know, I'm touched and upset at the same time, when people who are far from cycling are going to equip bike parking. Sometimes you go to the parking and just break your mind thinking how to put the bike so that it does not fall and nothing was damaged. To attach a bicycle by the front wheel ... Are you kidding? To become a happy owner of only the front wheel, without a bicycle? Fast it to the rear wheel and bend the switch? no thanks.

And in general, as a cyclist who lost his bike because of thieves, I do not advise leaving the bike unattended, even fastened.

Where do you live? I'm sorry about the thieves and yes the design is best done by a biker!

Sumy, Ukraine. It was about 5 years ago, but since that time the situation with the theft of bicycles in our town has not became better. We have parkings but all are afraid to leave bicycles there. 🙁

I think @kus-knee that number 2 is convenient! I love to ride a bike in nature!

You are very wise!

I like nr. 10
It looks very practical and safe
But you have to take home your wheels 😂

Haha good one!

It would be nice for people to go only biking or walking.
I'm not a cyclist .. I prefer to walk, especially in the mountains!
I like the number 3!😉
Nice blog man!

Walking is good. I'd like to swim to work!

Would be really nice!😆

Thanks for sharing!

I like number 1 and number 5. I like cycling and I think it's very practical too (but I would like to move more with my bike...). Honestly a little problem we do have in Lugano city is that the city it's not very well organized for bike riding. They did some good stuff in the last years but there would be a lot more to do. Since I've been a bike messenger for almost a year I really thinks that there's not enough racks and in some streets it can be dangerous because of the street width and so. But I know that since the road plan was made many years ago it's not an easy problem to solve.
Anyway this is a pic from Amsterdam.
postimage
It's crazy how many people move with theyr bike up there, from kids to elders. Every street has it's bicycle lane next to it and it seems to be in the country of the bicycling! :D
Great post anyway!

You were a bike messenger? Wow so cool!

Good to see a bike messenger here 👦. I'd like to learn more about your bike activism and how you effectively convey your pro-biking message 🚴🏻 🚵🏻‍


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Not much honestly atm...! Are you a bike messenger?

Not actually but I used to advocate sustainable mobility in my town a couple of years back . I really dunno what a bike messenger is!

Great! Bike messenger or bike courrier, you bring things to people by bike (like express delivery services as Fedex or similar)

Thanks @airmatti! I was actually misinterpreting the word. Grateful to you for your enlightenment on it. Re-read your comment and it makes more sense to me now 😊

My brother did that as a job for a few years in Toronto.

We in Latvia use parking lots number 3 and 5, others have not seen. In my opinion, they are quite comfortable.

You have no. 3 and 5 in Latvia! Very cool!

I have to say that I don't use the bicycle, but just my feet to move myself in the city (ok, my city is very very small ^^). I love the n. 5: funny, a touch of color in the street ^^
Ok, I confess: I never learned how to ride a bike! I know, it seems strange, but this is :D

Wow, never learned! Is it too late? You might have fun!

It's never too late! Paolo have a bicycle, maybe one day I'll decide to learn to use it :P "Mai dire mai" ^_^

  ·  7 years ago (edited)

@kus-knee. What a research paper on bicycle stand design. You go into depth on any subject! Thoroughly enjoyed seeing the various designs and my favourite one is number 4 - the one with yellow paint. Thanks for sharing.

Upvoted.

Update at my end is that I have started doing a Photospeak series on my Africa memories. Letting the picture speak instead of writing a lot of words. I would be honoured if you take a look at Photospeak #1 and #2 and provide your valuable comments. Thanks.

That last one lol xD

Nice.. checkout Amsterdam .. city of bikes

no.1 is not a bad..I prefer to 1

Me too!

i loved those Cycle Rack i don't think more beautiful i can find :D

Great variety!

Wow! You did good post my friend @KUS-KNEE and interesting article! Look on my post! I posting very interesting mini journey on the lake-quarry! And good videos from thise lake! https://steemit.com/travel/@bugavi/cool-journey-to-the-quarry-lake-gold-sands-and-good-mood-from-bugavi

That reminds me of an old joke

What's the joke.?

Why idiots are barried with their ass sticking out?

For bikes parking

Hmm perpetually muddy tires.

I like cycling

That;s amazing!!! Thanks @kus-knee

Hey man ,thanks for quality content

I like 5 the best although you can tell from 10 that frame contact doesn't guarantee you a ride home.

Nice compilation of solutions, though not comprehensive.