My new favorite bike rack

Discussion below.


My new favorite bike rack

All other things being equal that probably aren’t equal (price, space, aesthetics, etc), I think this bike rack is my new favorite.

It seems optimized for “the Sheldon Method” of locking in which a U lock is wrapped around the post and the rear wheel inside of the rear triangle.

Sheldon Method Mini U Lock bike locking technique

When the rear tire is placed in the tire guide, the wheel is lined up perfectly for locking using a mini U lock. You can lock through the seat tube if you prefer. With this old bike and its skinny steel tubing, in fact, I can slide the Kryptonite Mini through both the wheel, the seat tube and the bike rack post.

Note that the wheel guide is positioned such that the drive side is away from the post.

This is at San Jose City Hall. The new Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center in Santa Cruz also uses this style of bike racks.

8 Comments

  1. I was just in davis, and the same style applies. however, my first city-mentality thought was that the bolts retaining the rack itself, don’t seem to be SFbike thief-proof, if you know what I mean.

  2. I rethunk my fondness for Sheldon locking after that video you posted. Of course, few u locks are really very secure against the proper power tools.

  3. KNow what you mean.

    I’ve heard of entire bike racks getting ripped off, but a truck is  required to make that work, and this is in a pedestrian plaza. Somebody can probably get a truck back there with some effort, but it’s City Hall, and I’d think somebody would notice.

  4. Yep.

    The tests and reviews I’ve seen show that the better U locks can withstand power tools for at least a few minutes. Since I’m usually near where I park the bike, I hope I’ll be aware enough to notice the noise of cutting tools.

    Next question: What’s my response to somebody who’s waving a power tool?

  5. This type of rack also seems to totally discourage the broadside bike parking like often happens with ribbon racks,  bogarting a big chunk of the space.

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