Guest Post by Paul:
A small but worthy piece of news about the new Bunnings store in Mt Wellington. I cycled down there for the first time to buy some hardware and cruised around the parking lot to find somewhere to chain my bike to.
Much to my amazement, there was a bike parking rack outside by the front entrance which was well-designed to hold my bike front wheel correctly, solid and bolted to the concrete path so I could securely chain my bike.
Good to see a retailler actually catering for bikes – unfortunately road access to this Bunnings store is very difficult as it is on the busy 4-lane Ellerslie-Panmure highway and Bunnings staff had put some notice boards in front but it was easy to get around these.
ugggh… that's not a bike rack, that's a WHEEL BENDER. with quick-release wheels and a U-lock it's a total fail.
looking at the picture, the manufacturer probably claims that it can be used to park five bikes. that might be the case if it wasn't installed against a wall; instead bikes can only access one side of the rack. since it's not installed properly, it will only work with 2-3 bikes.
proper bike racks are generally "A" and inverted "U" type.
http://www.google.com/search?q=bicycle%20parking%20guide
Racks should:
* support the frame of the bicycle and not just one wheel
* allow the frame and one wheel to be locked to the rack when both wheels are left on the bike
* allow the frame and both wheels to be locked to the rack if the front wheel is removed
* allow the use of either a cable or U-shaped lock
* be securely anchored
* be usable by bikes with no kickstand
* be usable by bikes with water bottle cages
* be usable by a wide variety of sizes and types of bicycle
http://www.bicyclinginfo.org/engineering/parking.cfm
this rack fails 50% of the criteria for a good rack.
they get credit for trying, but they've got the same rack at bunnings in lyall bay (also installed against a wall) and it's only slightly better than nothing. they probably could have installed a proper rack for the same expense… especially considering that the improper installation of this rack cuts its capacity in half.
Another "good on you for trying" moment at New World in Freemans Bay, Auckland. After going to this supermarket for years, I have only just discovered this bike parking at it's main(?) entrance. I'd argue the main entrance is actually the four lanes going in and out of the car parking building ("Pedestrians beware of cars" signs aplenty – I am not joking)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/62234367@N04/5774972392/
Now my Twenty has a kick-stand, but I thought I would make use of the locking bits on the bike stand Note: The stand is not secured to the ground… If you had a large enough truck and 4 people you could relocate this entire stand, bikes and all.
If it was secured to the ground, it would tick most of the above boxes.
Sounds like the ones that we've got at my new building for work. In some ways its "better" than what we previous had which was nothing, although in the old building I was allowed to take my baby upstairs and park her outside the toilet.
Now the only place I can park is semi-hidden and can be accessed by almost anyone and only has crap wheelbenders. I think once my friend goes back to Germany I'll get my beater bike back and change it to a SS and use that for the commute. No way is my road bike going anywhere near those racks.
And another one, this time at Les Mills Downtown Auckland. (Not my destination, but handy bike parking all the same)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/62234367@N04/5789019676/
Not bolted down, and very light. Another classic wheel-bender design. Thanks for trying.
It didn't seem to bother Mr skin-tights + carbon-fiber speed machine though. I guess when you can afford a bike like that, then you can afford to replace the rims regularly.
I have seen these bicycle racks at other Bunnings stores around the country. Maybe it is part of a policy that the company has introduced. I hope they also provide a place to staff members to park their bicycles!