The Chainlink

A friend of mine makes steel sculpture. She does not ride a bike in the city, but thought I might be a good person to ask, "What makes a bike rack good?" My first thought was wishing there were more installed throughout the city. Then she talked about doing just that, possibly in a creative way. She communicated this to a few aldermen and got a positive response from the 1st Ward Alderman, Manny Flores. He Represents the Wickerpark/Bucktown area and seems to be happy to work on getting some installed in his ward and having my friend and possibly myself constructing some unique racks in needed areas. We brainstormed some ideas and even picked the brains of some cyclists not using the chainlink. I thought I would help her gather some ideas from our chainlink community. So, I'm wondering what your thoughts are. How could we improve a bike rack, both functionally and creatively?

Views: 212

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Simplicity.
Flores is out, if you haven't heard.
I would think the centralized city bike program would drive rack design choices, planning, and installation-- I'd be surprised if you could get an alderman to purchase any out of some sort of discretionary fund, especially a brand new alderman who doesn't know how anything works, but who knows.

There are so many highly educated professionals who study design questions like this I'd be very hesitant to offer an opinion; I can put you in touch with a friend who heads a metropolitan bike advocacy agency that recently ran a bike rack design competition if you like.

I do think there's a market for homeowners to purchase custom bike racks though, myself included, if you can keep the price down.
As a disabled TRIcyclist, I'd say it's important that the rack has the ability to secure different types of bikes.

Regards,
Cullen Carter
Appleton, WI
u know a good example of a rack i hate. . is the one at performance on halstead.
RodimusPrime said:
u know a good example of a rack i hate. . is the one at performance on halstead.

Indeed. It basically allows for one wheel to be locked, not even the frame.

I personally prefer the idea of the old parking meters with a ring bolted to them, though the "ring" could be different shapes, designs, etc. It is easier to use a mini-lock to get the wheel and frame secured. Though I imagine all of those parking meter poles are long gone.
A rack that can hold both the front and back wheels at the same time allowing you to lock both wheels with out having to take them off the bike. Similar to a roof rack minus the car. Also something that can hold a tire that is between 3-6" wide. Surley Endomorph tires are fat making it a pain to lock up. Same with larger crusier tires. Those would be a some needed improvments around the city.
I have collected pictures of bike racks for a while and these are some of my favorites (Im not promising they are necessarily the most utilitarian or practical, but certainly fun). Let me know if you want me to email you some more pics if you are interested.

Anything with round tubing is out.
There's a reason current city racks have square tubing . . .

chixieonfixie said:
I have collected pictures of bike racks for a while and these are some of my favorites (Im not promising they are necessarily the most utilitarian or practical, but certainly fun). Let me know if you want me to email you some more pics if you are interested.


This is a cool collection idea-- whatcha' waiting for-- post some more :-)
Sure, coming right up


chixieonfixie said:
This is a cool collection idea-- whatcha' waiting for-- post some more :-)
There are reasons why the standard issue City of Chicago bike rack look the way it does. It is functional, sturdy and (relatively) cheap

I’ll readily admit that the bike racks Chixie posted look pretty darn cute, but I think that most of them are a step backwards from the standard design, either functionally, costwise, or they are less sturdy. In a time where city budgets are under stress, I’d rather get more standard racks than fewer nicely designed ones. Unless of course an alderman has access to funds that otherwise would not be spent on bike related improvements, like funds that are used to improve creative programs in a ward. These funds could be used to subsidize the cost of the rack. (Not sure if those funds even exist).

RSS

© 2008-2016   The Chainlink Community, L.L.C.   Powered by

Disclaimer  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service