There's no moving parts. There's no lifting needed. Just wheel your bike upto the stand, wrap your lock around it. And you're done.

Compared to the cyclecity circle thing at the start of this thread which requires pulling the stand down, hooking the wheel up, making sure it's all aligned, and letting it lift your bike up into space. It looks like you don't need to actually lift the bike yourself. But it's still a lot of faff. Esp compared to a sheffield stand.

3/n

Cyclists see this a lot, various attempts to make a better bike rack. None of which has come close to the simple usability of the sheffield bike stand. None. Some are denser, the Cyclecity circle is definitely a dencer way to store bikes. But if you look around here, there's not a shortage of space. It's just not needed.

What's with the solar panel? It's to power lighting. Or rather, to part power lighting. It's not big enough to provide enough lighting in winter.

4/n

I dread to think how much Gemeente Amsterdam spent on installing this thing. But I hope that they don't spend any more on them. It's just not needed.

The sheffield bike stand is pretty much perfect for most bike parking uses. The side by side installation of the two types here shows this perfectly. No moving parts. No lifting of the bike. Just simplicity in form and function.

More Neitjes please Gemeente Amsterdam.

5/5

@quixoticgeek My beef with most bike stands is that the bike is supported by lateral pressure on in one wheel, which can warp it. Thoughts?

@msbellows yes, we call them wheel benders. Fucking abominations. Hate them. Sheffield stands please.

@quixoticgeek is it even denser? bikes can be hung in a full circle around the stand, so it needs at least a 6m diameter of free space. this even more convoluted version had a bicycle merry-go-round so that only one access route is needed (and it was for rental bikes, so they all had to come back to it)

@th manufacturer claims 20 bikes in 14m²...

@quixoticgeek @th

OK, calculation time. A regular 2-tier rack like you can see everywhere fits around 2 bikes per 0.8m2, so about 34 bikes in 14m2.

Reference used for calculations : https://cycle-works.com/products/josta-2-tier-rack/ (it isn't even the most compact design you could find)

Both numbers don't take into account the area required for access and maneuvering. Admittedly this number might be lower for the rotating system that you can only access from one side. Still, considering all the pros and cons, it still baffles me why anyone would go with a more complex, more expensive, less accessible, and overall less capable system.

@ombremad @quixoticgeek why stop at two tiers?

@ombremad @th the racks you link to are what are used in many of the Dutch underground bike stables. They fill from the bottom up. Which can leave an empty top deck and a rider who is unable to lift their bike into place. They are fine where density is crucial. Such as under centraal station. But for most cases. Still more complicated than need be when a Sheffield stand works so well.

@quixoticgeek @th yes it’s the best density-wise but I haven’t seen a lot of them outside (except at Amsterdam Centraal when most of the underground was under works and around some other stations)

@ombremad @quixoticgeek @th the hydraulic assist on good two tier racks make them less #ableist than the bike tree/ mushroom / wall type but yes, it still relies on able people taking the high spaces first. I'm tall, so prefer the high ones to crouching to park and bumping my head

@mjr @quixoticgeek @th I usually like to go for the upper spaces anyway, because 1. I'm able to, 2. there's always more space up there so I don't have to look up for an available spot for a long time, and 3. with a front rack on my bike it's easier anyway

@quixoticgeek @th @ombremad All the bike parking around Leiden Centraal and Lammenschans is two-tier high/low, some outside and some in the big underground bike parkings. A good design gets a density of 0.35 m2/bike or less, plus access (but any bike stand sol’n needs access).

Similar single-tier high/low will have half that density, with better densities for two-sided racks because of nesting front wheels (true for single tier and double tier).

@th @ombremad @quixoticgeek (And if Sheffield stands are the ideal solution you don’t have enough bikes yet. They’re good, but it breaks down when the numbers get real.)

@happydisciple @th @ombremad the thing is. Out here above ground the density isn't enough to need anything more than Sheffield stands. And if we do need more space. We can just take away a car parking space and put in some Sheffield stands. I'm not disputing that under central station, the double decker is the way to go. But this isn't central station. It's a corner in nieuw west.

@ombremad @th @quixoticgeek Looking at the Sheffield stands in the background: you might do. At least half those bikes are not accessible because double/triple parked/stacked. The weird round contraption: noooo.

(assuming 2 bikes/Sheffield stand their density is about 2/3 of a single tier double sided high/low rack, and 90% of a single tier single sided high/low rack, with more handlebar conflicts. I know what I prefer at the pool. Or the market. Or the supermarket. Or…)

@quixoticgeek
Yes, all we need are Sheffield stands, but they do need to be covered, to keep the rain off!
#BikeTooter

Some modern electric bikes are quite heavy, so anything which requires lifting the bike at all, is a no-no.

@float13 No it isn't. It's an abominatin that never should have got off the drawing board.

@quixoticgeek

Ah the rest of the thread just loaded lol... I see what you're saying now... Pretty dumb.

@float13 sorry. Was slow to type it all out

@hugovk the need for 360° access means it needs more space...

@hirvox @quixoticgeek sounds like the benefit there is the access control and camera monitoring, not the #ableist #cycleparking only for people who can lift their bike

@mjr @quixoticgeek It’s odd, because the rest of the design is accessible.

@bikescape they have the double decker things in the underground stables. Another reply to this thread has a photo of one. I wouldn't want them outside. If you need more space. Take out a car bay...