Choosing Racks for Bike Room

I'm working on creating a basement bike room for my 50-unit condo building and am wondering if anyone has feedback on choice of bike racks. We currently have a couple racks that were cheap and I'm not very happy with (http://www.bikerackshops.com/AL208S.html). I don't think these are designed for locking to the bike frame and they're just generally clumsy. After searching a bit online, I found these two racks that look like they could function well, are simple to install, and are somewhat reasonably prices (I want to stay as far under $100/space as possible). Does anyone have strong opinions about these? Or have other suggestions? I can't tell from the pictures if the Peak rack could put pressure on and damage wheels.

Cora EXPO
Peak Campus

Tags: bike, parking, racks

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Permalink Reply by Nathaniel D. Buckner on August 3, 2009 at 9:34am

I built this and it works fabulously! Although I would have used some "DipIt" for the hooks (you know to protect my precious paint). :D Have fun building!

http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/2008/02/stolmen-bike-rack.html

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Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on August 3, 2009 at 11:18am

We developed this with the city a while back but it has some good resources:

http://egov.cityofchicago.org/webportal/COCWebPortal/COC_EDITORIAL/...

Thanks,
Ethan, with Active Trans

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Permalink Reply by Lee Crandell on August 4, 2009 at 10:05pm

Thanks for your comments!

Ethan -- I found that brochure while I was searching online and it was very helpful -- a great bike parking primer to share with my condo board. Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by surrogatebrain on August 9, 2012 at 9:00pm

Could you repost the link? It is not working for me. My building is going to be re-doing the bike room and I would like to have some good options to present.

Active Transportation Alliance said:

We developed this with the city a while back but it has some good resources:

http://egov.cityofchicago.org/webportal/COCWebPortal/COC_EDITORIAL/...

Thanks,
Ethan, with Active Trans

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Permalink Reply by Joe Studer 8.0 mi on August 10, 2012 at 1:17pm

Some years ago, our condominium association (about 90 units) installed bicycle racks in a dedicated room on the first floor of our building. The racks were from Bernard Enterprises (local Chicago company, listed in the Chicago brochure on bike racks). They are wall mounted, with bikes hanging from their front wheels at alternating heights. The racks have worked really well and have lasted years with essentially no maintenance. Owners can lock their bikes to the racks very easily. (We've never had a bike stolen from the bike room. Bicycle abandonment is a much larger issue.)

I'll try and remember to post a photo of the racking system. It was a definite improvement over what existed before. The racks brought an order to the bike room that did not exist before, and made it so that many more bikes could be stored in the bike room, with owners being able to easily access their bikes.

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Permalink Reply by Logan on August 10, 2012 at 2:38pm

There were some in a building I lived in installed a few years ago which were surprisingly robust.

http://www.saris.com/en/commercial-parking.html

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Permalink Reply by Debra J on August 11, 2012 at 11:00am

Does anyone have a working link to the brochure that was referenced earlier in the thread? Or maybe a pdf that they could forward to those of us who are interested? Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Joe Studer 8.0 mi on August 13, 2012 at 8:33am

Check this link: Bike Parking Pamphlet

Debra J said:

Does anyone have a working link to the brochure that was referenced earlier in the thread? Or maybe a pdf that they could forward to those of us who are interested? Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by clp on August 13, 2012 at 8:54am

Our building installed these Ribbon Racks from Brandir Int'l. Very heavy steel rack; much heavier than the racks installed by the City. Plus you can order the racks with 3' longer legs, so that they can be deeply sunk into the concrete of the basement floor, and not simply bolted onto the surface. These may be more expensive than the others, but they'll stand up to abuse and any basement dampness. Ours have been installed for over 30 years without a single bike lost.