This community has a lot of posts about the means of mobility, so I was reminded of this article about how bike racks have changed over the decades, at least ones that show up in the USA.
More micromobility options means racks will have to evolve to meet new needs, like accommodating cargo ebikes and the like. I post this so that everyone knows that better bike racks do exist, as many destinations have the older, terrible styles that were barely usable. Where you can, advocate for better bike racks and everyone will benefit!
Sheffield racks are the peak of bicycle parking designs as far as I’m concerned. Basically the upside down U-design, but wider, providing multiple locking points, and allowing a slight lean to balance the bicycle upon.
They’re good but my front wheel ofter twirles and wants the whole bike to fall down, especially if the rack is on the short side.
Ideally, they should be about top tube-height.
The grocery that’s most bikeable for me has this really bad wheel cradle style rack that’s just bolted to the ground and made of thin metal, but its right outside the front glass of the liquor store, so there are always 2-3 people watching while they run the register. I always stop to chat so they’ll remember me and my bike. At night, I skip it entirely and chain up to a beefy stairway handrail 30 feet away.
I know its accidental in this case, but putting a rack in a “monitored” location like that raises the security a ton in my opinion. I don’t anticipate many folks breaking out a battery operated grinder right there, at least where I live. There is lower hanging fruit.
IMO, the U shape and multi-U shape is the absolute minimum, most basic bike rack that should exist today going forward. A step beyond should be the lightning bolt, the most well-suited for building rows of expansive bike parking, ideally in a guarded lot. And finally, the varsity bike rack is the most dense option for a bike lot, one that still allows getting bikes in and out without climbing over other bikes.
Interesting piece of hyperlocal history, very nice.
What I don’t understand though is why they never moved from the U-shape to… I don’t know the English term, in Germany the most widely used ones are called “Leipziger” or “Kreuzberger” rack.
They are the most ubiquitous rack by far here.
I like them since they stop bikes from falling over and allow for a variety of locking options. For example I usually just lock my bike on the top bar when I just want to drop into the supermarket or something.The issue with them is only that bike thieves found out that it’s far easier to cut through the rack instead of the locks, so they started doing this… 😅
A different poster referred to those as the Sheffield rack. In California, we do see those occasionally, but they suffer from a similar issue from my earlier comment. The design certainly allows for more compatibility with various bike designs, but I would add some sort of painted marking on the ground to encourage slightly-angled parking.
After all, if one bike with wide panniers is parked parallel with the Sheffield rack, it may deny a second bike from parking on the other side. If the first bike were locked to the vertical post but angled away from the rack, the second bike can do the same, allowing two to park anti-parallel.