BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Lock up to that angled support post on the side (in the bottom picture) or find a different rack. I know your question was how to fix this rack, but it is already a crap rack, so it doesn't really make a difference where they put it.

I'd never just lock my front wheel up like the bike in that picture, even if I was only running in to grab something real quick. I like my front wheel, but I like the rest of my bike more.

put your bike on the outside of the rack's main frame (big tubes) and lock through your frame to that instead.

Better parking options available a half block away at Bike Center on Seventh (across from Bossa Nova). behind the green shipping containers are vertical racks and Three Rivers Racks.)

yeah, i wish bike rack companies would just stop making those. absolutely do not lock your bike up that way. use the angled bar. or go to Penn Ave - there are a lot more racks around there.

i think this picture says it all on how much cyclists like these kinds of racks

oh my god, I thought it was just that I was retarded at locking up my bike, and couldn't figure out how to use racks. I'm not an idiot? At least perhaps not in that capacity? I seriously thought I was a perpetual incompetent jerk when it came to locking up my bike.

I feel like I've been eating soup with a fork, and somebody's pointed out that I do not have an eating disorder, instead spoons exist.

The Sq. Hill Giant eagle has one of these racks too. I just turn my bike sideways and take up the whole rack. Kind of dumb to spend all that money for a multi-bike rack, when it only holds one bike. A pole in the ground is much cheaper.

and then when you say something, they say, well, no one uses the one we have...

Home Depot in East Liberty has one of those crummy racks too. You can't even fit a normal sized 700c or 27 inch road wheel in the slot, and unless your u-lock is realllly long it won't reach your frame too. Do the people who make these think everybody rides around on a bike with tiny wheels?

respond by telling or demonstrating why no one uses it!

There were some really confused office employees watching me take pictures of the rack while muttering how bad the rack was, heh.

When using one of these sorts of racks, I always put my bike on the end if availible. I do not see these as a problem, but I also use a cable.

Regarding the Squirrel Hill Giant Eagle, if you put you bike on taking up the whole rack, pleast leave the ends clear for others anyway.

In front of the main library in Oakland, we need to keep the racks away from the small wall to allow room for everyone.

RE: sq hill giant eagle rack: The ends are clear, though you can't really effectively lock your bike to them since the rack is up against the wall.

This reminds me of how I complained to Ross Park Mall about being kicked off the property like two years ago and then to make amends they bought a bike rack, which ended up being one of these numbers

Wheels couldn't fit (and I have a 26") so I had to lock it length ways

seriously: who invented the crap-o bike rack? were bikes smaller in the past or something? it seems like there must be a reason why it was designed that way.

My post on this topic got lost...

These racks were as common as dandelions outside elementary schools in the late 50s through the 70s. Kids' bikes had 20" or 24" wheels, bolted on, with steel rims, and the goal was more to organize bikes neatly than it was to secure them. The fact that these racks continue to exist is just a reflection that we still haven't got through to people that bikes are not just toys for kids.

If you reverse your bike so the rear wheel is in the slot, next to the angled bar as everyone else has recommended, and remove your front wheel, you can run a ulock around the seat tube and both rims, nice and snug and secure. That rack will hold four bikes this way.

Of course, messing with the front wheel is easier if you don't have those stupid lawyer lips and maybe full-length fenders are a problem. In which case, switch out the QR skewer for a locking skewer and leave the wheel on.

also, if you are on a beater bike, you can turn

the bars 90 degrees and put the front wheel over

the top, and lock the frame to the top horizontal

mount... it will probably scratch the bottom of your

downtube.

My rear wheel couldn't fit in the bike rack because of my rear rack

But while on the topic of racks, in some instances, how much better are the point racks?

For example, Giant Eagle has four or five of those in front of the Market District store in shadyside. How much easier would it have been if they used one or two of these:

even these I don't mind, because I'm able to lock the front tire to the frame to the rack

I like the three rivers racks. Wish there were more of them.

you could leave a note?

dude, does the bike behind it really say "I brake for beavers"?

somehow that's funny.

I think the crummy design stems from yester-years and playgrounds. Kids bikes are smaller, and there were/are often lots of them at playgrounds, and the chance of theft has been and still often is very small. I am sure someone looked at these style and said "these work incredibly well for small bikes in safe places for short periods of time, let's make these into permanent bike parking fixtures for adults" sigh

I did think of leaving a note, haha.

I've written to the Squirrel Hill Giant Eagle about the rack there. I explained the problem with the rack, told them that's why I and others lock our bikes up at the parking meters instead. I said I was concerned that they might see the empty rack and the bikes at the meters and think we just don't want a rack, and I stressed that we do, but that it needs to be one we can securely lock our bikes to. This was over a year ago.

RF- if you were going to contact a property owner, the first thing I would say is "Thank You" for having a bike rack...

that's actually something I wouldn't have thought of, I was more worried that they'd have the "take it or leave it" attitude.

A month or so ago, I biked to a work event at the Casino. They had one of those crap racks out back, which as a bonus was not secured to anything. No bikes on it. They had two of the squiggly racks out front, but they weren't bolted down, so getting a locked bike out of one would be as easy as picking up one end and sliding the lock off. No bikes were there.

So I asked one of the employees if there's a secure place that I could lock my bike. He pointed out the stupid rack and the mis/uninstalled racks. I said they weren't secure. He gave a quick look around (I believe checking to make sure his boss wasn't in hearing distance) and explained that's why none of the people who work here lock their bikes there. They all lock up around back, where the employees take their breaks and can smoke. As a bonus, because the smoke breaks are rotated, there's pretty much always people standing around there. Sure enough, I found it no problem, and there were about a dozen bikes locked up to poles, stairway banisters, etc. There was another stupid rack there, and not a single bike on it.

You'd think that someone in charge there might see the situation and acquire a clue.

I really hate to sound so ungrateful but I actually don't particularly like the 3 rivers racks. They look nice but are not very practical. Very often I have not been able to use one simply because there's another bike locked to it. I guess that's what I get for using a better lock (mini ulock)

I prefer coathanger or wave type.... but nothing beats the most ubiquitous bike rack, the parking meter

I use a mini U-lock and haven't had a problem locking to the 3 rivers racks even if another bike is on the other side... I use the sheldon brown method (lock goes around the tire, through the rear triangle).

I love the rivers racks outside work now. Also, my cargo bike wont connect to the other racks, so when I've got the Yuba out I'm all eyes for Rivers Racks.

But, I don't like locking to them if there's another bike and I do not know the owner. For example, me and one other rider at work share a rack. When My husband and I ride we share a rack. When my parents and I ride we share a rack. I'd look for a meter/railing/sign/etc before locking to a rivers rack with another bike. that's personal preference tho.

A comment on unbolted bike racks:

what a frickin waste of everything. money, time, effort. Its great someone tried a little to get some racks but seriously? if your going to do something, do it all the way. Do it well. Do it ONCE.

I use that method too todd. That actually makes it more difficult when there's another bike locked up (esp. if they use the same method). The combination of the curvature of the rack, protruding handlebars, pedals, etc. make it rather impossible

hm... if they're facing opposite directions the handlebars shouldn't be a problem, pedals definitely are, but i haven't had it prevent me from locking. That being said I don't find myself double-locked to a 3-rivers rack that often, although it's fresh in my mind since I just did it last week outside salt.

I try to double lock to the ones outside OTB, but they put them so close to the road, it is hard to shove your bike between the parked cars and the rack. It would suck even more when the dude tries to get into the passenger side of his car, and my bike is in the way.

i've tried that as well. a lot of it depends on how the other person locked up. often the only way to accommodate is to just lock the top tube. again i think the circular shape of the rack diminishes its usability very dramatically.

"Its great someone tried a little to get some racks but seriously? if your going to do something, do it all the way. Do it well. Do it ONCE. "

That's what I think about all the poor implementations of the three rivers racks in places where I think wave type would do better

My tires are too fat to lock the tire to the frame to the rack, unless it's one of those crappy racks and I throw the front tire over the top bar....I need the big u-lock and the mini one.

Unfortunately if the Three Rivers Rack doesn't work for you, no rack that works for narrow sidewalks will work for you (e.g. hoop rack, inverted-U rack, loop and post rack, etc). Most of the time the wave (which isn't recommended for various reasons) and the campus rack won't fit on the sidewalks.

Most cities use either the hoop, or the inverted-U.

Well, here I go being contrary again. I love the Three Rivers Racks. No, they're not high-capacity, but I don't get bent out of shape if someone locks to the other side while I'm using it. It might be a little bit of a struggle getting untangled but no big deal. And as a courtesy, if I'm riding with someone else, we lock our bikes to each others instead of using both sides of a 3RR.

Point taken about some of them being too close to the road, though.

whenever i have to lock up to a small rack that already has a bike secured to it, i feel a bit uncomfortable, since i probably have to move their bike a bit to get my lock in. but then i think of whether i would be bothered if someone moved my bike for the same reason, and the answer is a resounding "hell no!" we both ride bikes, after all.

oh, and i also like the three rivers racks for multiple bikes. the abundance of vertical or near-vertical protrusions gives a lot of room to lock without molesting the other bike overmuch.

yeah!!

I haven't had much trouble with 3RR, but then again I'm usually using a cable lock and rarely encounter a 2nd bike on one rack.

Oh, man, purty. A rabid Bridgstone collector would chew through that 3RR to get to that bike.

I've never had trouble with the 3Rivers racks, either as first or second lock-up. It's a max of two bikes per rack unless everyone knows each other and is leaving at the same time, but I'm okay with that; many places have several of them.

That XO-1 is still in my old landlord's garage. I need to get it back and work on it a bit. I'm thinking of selling it if anyone is interested.

Did Trader Joe's always have the 3RRs? I shopped there recently and found they placed them right up against the building, and I don't recall ever having had trouble parking a bike there before... I think maybe they had a wheel-bender but I used the end of it.

No they designed the store without them. The reason they are in the strange location is because the sidewalk is heated and drilling into it could have ruined the functionality.

They ended up putting in bike racks within 6-9 months of the store opening.

Scott - I'm interested, what size is it?

these people apparently also do not like 3RR

edit: thats a really small pic. there's two 3RR in line with the stop sign. with no bikes parked there. They are locked up to the railing.

That may be a comment on the placement, not the design.

Or maybe it was full when they arrived?

It is a bit of placement flaw, although maybe they need to be that close to the curb because of some sidewalk or territory issue . I rarely see more than bike on these.

The bigger issue is that people park cars in that yellow spot next to the racks. so your bike is then in serious danger of being doored.

it wasn't full. I work inside that building and I saw them pull up. one of the bikes wasn't locked to anything. this would have been a great time to have one of those "how to lock your bike" cards we had talked about in some previous thread somewhere.

On the note of poor placement:

Crappy picture, but the ones kind of "stacked" parallel to the curb are a pain because if you're on the inside and then two people put their bikes on the outside racks, you have to try and squeeze through, which is especially annoying if you have panniers

Also, having them setup perpendicular to the curb would increase how many could be stored like they have at Whole Foods

Where is that?

looks like the gine iggle in shay'sahde n'at.

That's correct. No idea why the cab was illegally parked there though

"No idea why the cab was illegally parked there though"

Hm. I'm not sure i've ever seen a cab parked LEGALLY.

I don't think the black double-staple is really supposed to be a rack. I'm happy to be corrected, I always thought it was a guard from when they used to store shopping carts there, but now that they seem to keep the carts inside, people just use it as a rack.

On the bright side, no matter when I go there, the racks at that Shadyside Geagle are full, so yay bikers. I usually go into the garage and lock up on the railing by the elevators.

i had my bike parked at the holiday inn in oakland last weekend a few days in a row. their bike rack is HILARIOUS. Becuase it 1) isnt bolted to the ground 2) is in a weird spot 3) is 3 slots and one of the "stupid" racks and 4) has a sign on it that says something about items attached to it possibly being confiscated by the hotel. I need to go back and take a picture.

I locked my bike to the bench and I also just walked inside with it and into my friend's hotel room like we belonged there and no one said anything.

I really like the artistry of the 3 rivers bike racks, but the one change that needs to be made in the next generation of these is the circle needs to be lower to the ground. You can see from the photo that most of the good crossing points (top tube and down) are below the center point of the circle. You want the widest point of the rack to be level with the center of the diamond frame, or even down as far as the bottom bracket. If it were this far down, you might even be able to fit 4 bikes on a single rack, as cyclists could lock their rear wheel and seat tube to the farthest point on each side rather than whatever point they can reach.

those giant eagle shadyside racks are ridiculously placed. one thing to note. the racks are either public or private. when they are on the street (sidewalk), that means that the city located where they should go and installed them.

when they are on private property (shadyside Giant Eagle, trader joes) the private company, contractor, architects, building manager, what-have-you, figured out where they should go and installed them.

sometimes they listen to recommendations, sometimes they don't. generally a very frustrating experience because it's something that you take very seriously, but other's blow off as not that important.

sounds like you need a flow chart about how a bike rack is born. we have one for how a tree gets planted that makes no sense to a normal human being.

generally a very frustrating experience because it's something that you take very seriously, but other's blow off as not that important.

How I feel about bicycle infrastructure in general.

I really like the artistry of the 3 rivers bike racks, but the one change that needs to be made in the next generation of these is the circle needs to be lower to the ground.

I noticed this statement in the city's bike parking guidelines (pdf), FWIW:

"Also in accordance to ADA standards for protruding elements the wider, bottom piece of the suspended element may not be lower than 27" (i.e. post and loop)."

So that might be a limiting factor on possible design changes.