‘Dish Drainer’ Bike Racks Least Functional
Bike racks come in all shapes & sizes. Some are more useful/functional than others. Unfortunately those who specify bike racks for facilities often fail to understand what makes a bike rack useful.
Take the above examples spotted at Saint Louis University yesterday on my way into class. Both are the “dish drainer” type. The farthest one has been there a while but the near one just recently appeared. Note where the bikes are locked on each rack — at the end. These racks offer many slots for bikes yet these two bikers instead used the rack frames at the end rather than the designated slots. There are two reasons for this.
First, many modern bikes lack a kickstand. Second, security.
Kickstands add weight and when you are riding serve no purpose. A goood bike rack design, such as the simple inverted-U, allow the bike’s frame to be supported. The near bike above has no kickstand. By sliding the front wheel through one of the verticle slots that would be the sole support for the bike. Even with a kickstand winds can knock over a bike or row of bikes that are not fully supported. By locking to the end of the racks these riders were able to support their bikes in a way the center of the racks do not.
The second issue is security. Modern bikes come with quick release hubs to make wheel removal easy. Nice when changing a flat tire but also nice for thieves that may take a fancy to the rims on your bike. Good locking practice includes running your lock/cable through your bike’s frame and at least through your front rim. This is nearly impossible to do if you use the dish drainer type rack unless you have a very long cable.
The dish drainer racks are often selected by facilities managers, I suspect, because they indicate they can hold a high number of bikes. The far rack was probably listed in the product catalog as holding 20 or more bikes. In reality it is 3-4. One per end and a couple parallel with the rack. I can only imagine the second rack was added because the other is often full with 4 bikes.
The inverted-U rack shown above is best. In this case my bike does have a kickstand and it is not locked in the above picture. But you get the idea, I’d easily be able to secure the front rim and the frame. My urban commuter bike lacks a kickstand and has been “uglified” with stickers to the point you can no longer tell what color the frame was painted. With such a bike leaning it against the rack for support is of no concern because scratches to a perfect paint job are mute.
There are so many bike racks on the market. Wild custom frames seem to be all the rage locally. I use the same criteria to judge them: does it support the bike and can you secure the frame and front rim. Bonus if both rims can be secured. The ability to use a U-lock is important. The dish drainer fails on these.
