Yehuda’s having an Admiral Ackbar moment. I just wish that waveform bike racks and wheel benders would disappear and 3 times as many staple racks (and art racks) would appear in their place.
They are a bad design. I hate it when my bike falls over and the finish (in my case reflective film, most people have paint or bumper/biker stickers) gets damaged. I had a frame that got dented when it was knocked over by someone trying to lock their bike in a crowded waveform rack.
Lifting a wheel over the lower part of the wave is a PITA (my bike’s heavy), and trying to fit it between the vertical parts on the upper part of the wave never works because they are always too narrow. Often I feel like I have to be a contortionist to try and fit mine in a crowded location and get it locked securely.
I hate it when they are crowded to the point that I can’t
last sentence was an unfinished edit… I was going to remove that.
I’ve seen at some staple racks where people will lock their bike sideways (taking up 5-6 spots) to prevent their bike from falling over. When the rack is empty, this isn’t a problem, when it’s a busy one, then the rest of us have to deal with it.
I’d love to see more staple racks, they have two points of contact preventing the bike from falling over (rather than the one you get with a waveform). When they are properly installed, they are easy to get between and lock/unlock the bike, and there’s no lifting involved.
Cyclehoop seems to have a winner with that one – as it ‘looks like’ a car in the space, it will quickly tell motorists that the space is not available to them and the presence of so much surface to mark their car with with keep them away!
Good Post Violinist John (says GuitaristJohn – me )
Mass theft? In broad daylight? First off, look at the value of the average well-used commuter bike (when I sell them, refurbished, they go for $125.00. Now, look at the logistics of picking up the shipping container, the odds of being noticed in broad daylight (which is when the bikes are parked there), and the chance of being stopped by the police in the process of moving the container out there. Plus the operational cost of the truck necessary to move the container.
This is definitely one of the tinfoil hat variety. It’d be cheaper, easier, safer (for the thieves) and more effective to have a couple of guys with brand new bolt cutters.
I agree tinfoil hat stuff as 1 van + 3 guys, 2 with bolt cutters/angle grinders, 1 driver can clear a rack in a few minutes. That is in broad daylight in the middle of Cambridge. Round here the bike thieves are more selective, only going for the choicest bike morsels and leaving the junk food.
Junk food is left… thats why my city bike is dirty on the outside with some 1980s character rust, beat up handle bar tape, beat up (but comfortable)seat. I double lock it up next to the nice bikes. little to thieves know the moving parts are maintained in top working condition.
It allready happened in Spain. In a motoGP they offered parking in a container for a small value. When everybody was watching the race, several trucks carried the bikes away…
At the Bicycle Innovation Lab – Bike Library http://www.bicycleinnovationlab.dk/?l=UK we use shipping containers for the library itself. Big, solid, and protects the library bikes from theft.
LOL! I should’ve seen that coming but I didn’t…
that is hilarious but it’s also an excellent idea! maybe I should suggest it to my local shopping centres which provide dismal bike parking
A conspiracy theory — but a FUNNY conspiracy theory!!
Yehuda’s having an Admiral Ackbar moment. I just wish that waveform bike racks and wheel benders would disappear and 3 times as many staple racks (and art racks) would appear in their place.
Whats the problem with waveform racks?
nothing, but if i had the choice between the waveform rack and the covered rack. I’d take the covered rack, so it protects my bike.
What’s the problem?
They are a bad design. I hate it when my bike falls over and the finish (in my case reflective film, most people have paint or bumper/biker stickers) gets damaged. I had a frame that got dented when it was knocked over by someone trying to lock their bike in a crowded waveform rack.
Lifting a wheel over the lower part of the wave is a PITA (my bike’s heavy), and trying to fit it between the vertical parts on the upper part of the wave never works because they are always too narrow. Often I feel like I have to be a contortionist to try and fit mine in a crowded location and get it locked securely.
I hate it when they are crowded to the point that I can’t
last sentence was an unfinished edit… I was going to remove that.
I’ve seen at some staple racks where people will lock their bike sideways (taking up 5-6 spots) to prevent their bike from falling over. When the rack is empty, this isn’t a problem, when it’s a busy one, then the rest of us have to deal with it.
I’d love to see more staple racks, they have two points of contact preventing the bike from falling over (rather than the one you get with a waveform). When they are properly installed, they are easy to get between and lock/unlock the bike, and there’s no lifting involved.
My first thought was that it would be for stealing bikes.
But is Yehuda thinking that it was put there by the bike-hating council for that purpose?
Not sure if this is better than
https://www.eta.co.uk/2011/12/16/car-shaped-bicycle-racks-parked-in-london/
On the plus side it has a roof. On the minus it has wheel benders and as YM points out could be used for mass theft.
Yet to see any of the bike shaped racks round Cambridge and we can always use more cycle parking here.
Cyclehoop seems to have a winner with that one – as it ‘looks like’ a car in the space, it will quickly tell motorists that the space is not available to them and the presence of so much surface to mark their car with with keep them away!
)
Good Post Violinist John (says GuitaristJohn – me
Sorry about the double ‘with’ – s/b with will
Mass theft? In broad daylight? First off, look at the value of the average well-used commuter bike (when I sell them, refurbished, they go for $125.00. Now, look at the logistics of picking up the shipping container, the odds of being noticed in broad daylight (which is when the bikes are parked there), and the chance of being stopped by the police in the process of moving the container out there. Plus the operational cost of the truck necessary to move the container.
This is definitely one of the tinfoil hat variety. It’d be cheaper, easier, safer (for the thieves) and more effective to have a couple of guys with brand new bolt cutters.
I agree tinfoil hat stuff as 1 van + 3 guys, 2 with bolt cutters/angle grinders, 1 driver can clear a rack in a few minutes. That is in broad daylight in the middle of Cambridge. Round here the bike thieves are more selective, only going for the choicest bike morsels and leaving the junk food.
Junk food is left… thats why my city bike is dirty on the outside with some 1980s character rust, beat up handle bar tape, beat up (but comfortable)seat. I double lock it up next to the nice bikes. little to thieves know the moving parts are maintained in top working condition.
I’m sure he thinks it’s a government plot to get bikes out of the city, rather than something bicycle thieves would use.
He Rick – I was just looking for news about Rich Burlew when I came across this on ‘comics alliance’ –
http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/02/07/rich-burlew-kickstarter-order-stocl/
It just shows how if you perservere, the rewards follow.
Good luck with your own projects…
Moon’s got to stop watching Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, he’s seeing the child catcher everywhere.
Hey Yehuda… was it the block of cheese that gave it away???
A can of WD40 would be better bait for bicyclists.
WD40?!?!?! :-@
I keep that stuff as far away from my bike as I can. Chain lube, grease, or some Simple Green would attract me, but not WD40.
WD40 is an excellent degreaser, you just have to know what to use it for.
Could we get a debate going about the merits of tin-foil helmets?
what are you talking about, Tin foil helmets.
to block the mind waves…maaan.
Do I remember correctly that Yehuda once had a very bad experience with a shipping container?
I feel for the guy that had to dispose of all those bottles that weren’t sports drink.
Yeah, *he* was the one with the bad experience, not Yehuda.
Yehuda was chuffed to travel by container:
http://yehudamoon.com/20110912/
The good folks at Rustbelt Welding won’t like this one. They just completed one for a local municipality near Cleveland.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151041947492583&set=a.10151027270717583.421579.140980087582&type=1&theater
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dddAi8FF3F4
It allready happened in Spain. In a motoGP they offered parking in a container for a small value. When everybody was watching the race, several trucks carried the bikes away…
At the Bicycle Innovation Lab – Bike Library http://www.bicycleinnovationlab.dk/?l=UK we use shipping containers for the library itself. Big, solid, and protects the library bikes from theft.