While bike racks in Europe are often covered, at least at transit/train stations, I
find the racks they use have spaces that are too narrow and often are wheelbender
types. Also, the extent to which a cover helps really varies. To protect a bike from
rain (and the bike rider when locking/unlocking the bike), there needs to be both a
roof and walls and enough depth to prevent wind from blowing rain into the shelter and
onto the bikes. WisDOT built a shelter at the east end of the Hill Farms Building a
year or two ago. I urge people interested in covered bike parking to check it out
(especially on a rainy day) and see how this works. UW has some covered bike parking,
mostly under building overhangs (a good design element, in my opinion). Again, check
some of these out to see just what is needed to really protect bikes and riders from
the elements.
In response to your specific design issues, I do not consider any of the new racks we
are using on State St. to be wheel benders. The UW rack is wide enough that you would
need a lot of torque to cause damage to a wheel.
When I lived in Boulder we had some racks that supported the bicycle by lifting the
handlebars into a holder such that the front wheel was off the ground. These were
some of my least favorite racks. You could easily catch your cables on the hooks, and
if you have a light or bell/horn or front handlebar bag or basket on your bike, these
often interfered with the hooks. In addition, there is no way with these racks to
lock your frame and front wheel to the rack with a U-lock. These racks just had a
cable attached to it that you would run through your wheel and frame. I may have some
pictures of these, but I'll have look through a bunch of slides to fine them. I'm not
even sure if anyone is making these anymore.
If you have pictures, catalogues, web sites, etc. of bike racks that you like, I would
appreciate seeing them. If anyone wants to look at pics, catalogues, etc. that I
have, let me know and we can set up a time to do that.
Arthur Ross
Pedestrian-Bicycle Coordinator
>>> "Schimpff, Jeff A" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 09/15/03 09:41AM >>>
Arthur,
Can you advocate for A) racks that support a bike without 1) putting torque
on a wheel that can tend to put wheels out of true, or 2) resting the frame
on metal or any other paint-destroying surface, 3) causing handlebar clash
between road/dropdown handlebars and mountain bike ("T") handlebars? I have
in the past seen very good-looking racks that support bikes at the
handlebar stem, with the front wheel off the ground (but nowhere near
Madison),
and B) covers for bike racks. In a recent month-long tour of other, more
civilized, nations, I noted it was almost impossible to find outdoor bike
parking that was NOT covered with a light yet sturdy clear plexiglass or
similar transparent cover. Each cover allowed ample headroom for riders to
get in and secure their bikes without crouching.
Thanks.
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