Semi Vertical Bike Racks Experience?

[MacB]

I have a thread going in general discussions about Two tier bike racks but that idea has been scrapped due to height limitations and I'm now looking at one of these:-

http://www.bikedocksolutions.com/prod_name/Semi-Vertical-Bike-Rack.aspx

I thought I'd start a thread in commuting as commuters/utility cyclists are most likely to come across them. If any of you have experience of these sorts of racks I'd love to hear it.

So I can fit one in no problem it's actually slightly smaller than the hanging rack I already have. I'm just not sure on the spacing and how it pans out in reality. The standard models all seem to come with 305mm centre to centre which I'm not sure is enough. Measuring bikes in the garage tells me that the end of the pedals are about 200mm from the centre line of the bike. So I was thinking that a centre to centre for the racks of 405mm may be wiser.

Apart from that my other concerns are stability, ease of use and whether the staggered heights really keeps bars clear of each other. All the bikes going in this rack with have flat or swept back bars.

 

[HLaB]

I used to use rack of this type; the ones I used were in bike lockers so stability wasnt a problem or that I couldnt lock the bike securely (having said that a few neighbours bikes went missing!). They were also a tight fit with my 37mm tyres and as somebody pointed out to me, whilst I had no problem lifting the bike up others may.

 

[Lurker]

How do you secure bicycles using these racks? In London for longstay parking it's generally best to lock wheels + frame.
How usable are they by everyone (short, mobility impaired, frail, old, young, people with bad backs/hernias etc.)?
Is it necessary to remove panniers?
Are they likely to damage bikes, e.g. since they rely on wheel rims to support the bike's weight? (and do they assume a particular tyre width?)
Are they usable with non-standard cycles e.g. trikes, tag a longs, tandems, cargo bikes etc..?

 

[MacB]

How do you secure bicycles using these racks? In London for longstay parking it's generally best to lock wheels + frame.
How usable are they by everyone (short, mobility impaired, frail, old, young, people with bad backs/hernias etc.)?
Is it necessary to remove panniers?
Are they likely to damage bikes, e.g. since they rely on wheel rims to support the bike's weight? (and do they assume a particular tyre width?)
Are they usable with non-standard cycles e.g. trikes, tag a longs, tandems, cargo bikes etc..?

ah, sorry, this is to store the bikes in my garage so most of those questions are moot

 

[400bhp]

ah, sorry, this is to store the bikes in my garage so most of those questions are moot

Can't you just use the hook type ones you hang a wheel from?

 

[gambatte]

Love the linked page (NOT)

the pic shows a rack taking 6 bikes along with the headline Our Price: £63.00 GBP
It's then you click on the pulldowns and realise the pic and price aren't connected. The £63 relates to a 2 bike rack, the rack in the picture is actually £315
And all for the want of changing the headline to add the word 'from'
Bikedock may be reputable, but that'd put my back up from the start.

 

[MacB]

Can't you just use the hook type ones you hang a wheel from?

that's what I have now a large tubular frame 3m wide with a top bar and hooks. There are several reasons for wanting to change this. To fit all the bikes on we need to alternate hanging front and rear wheels. There is no easy way of securing the bikes to the frame, something that may well be required under future insurance policies based on my experience of sorting bike insurance this year. The hanging hooks have proved less than a success with Jane and the boys, I'm not crazy on them either. I'd like a bit more stability than we currently have. The new rack needs to fit in with something else as well which the style linked to does but the existing doesn't.

 

[MacB]

Love the linked page (NOT)

the pic shows a rack taking 6 bikes along with the headline Our Price: £63.00 GBP
It's then you click on the pulldowns and realise the pic and price aren't connected. The £63 relates to a 2 bike rack, the rack in the picture is actually £315
And all for the want of changing the headline to add the word 'from'
Bikedock may be reputable, but that'd put my back up from the start.

I know it's frustrating it feels a bit like trying to work out prices on double glazing online, they all want to pull you in. At least with Bikedock you can calculate the overall price some of the others just invite you to contact their sales team

My shortlist at the moment are Bikedocksolutions, Allpark, Falco and Cyclehoop - I think a couple of them have London premises so I may take a jaunt on the train with a bike to have a look and test. The bit I find more annoying than anything else is that all the online pics I can find show empty or sparsely populated racks. I'd really like to see some decent pictures of a fully loaded rack with decent size bikes. I don't mind close spacing if the stagger really works but I'd rather wider spacing than a compromise.

 

[HLaB]

How do you secure bicycles using these racks? In London for longstay parking it's generally best to lock wheels + frame.
How usable are they by everyone (short, mobility impaired, frail, old, young, people with bad backs/hernias etc.)?
Is it necessary to remove panniers?
Are they likely to damage bikes, e.g. since they rely on wheel rims to support the bike's weight? (and do they assume a particular tyre width?)
Are they usable with non-standard cycles e.g. trikes, tag a longs, tandems, cargo bikes etc..?

I used a D'lock through the front wheel and a krptoflex through the frame when the bike shed started to get broken in to or the Dlock through the rear wheel and frame with the kyrptoflex round the Dlock and rack. Id like to have had the Dlock around both the frame and rack but I dont think its possible.
As I said In my post whilst had no problem (a fit 30 something) others may.
They did no damage to my bikes, but I can only go by my experience. Some fat nobblies weren't held the best though.
A non standard bike, trike etc would not be accommodated.
IHTH

 

[MacB]

Ok so if I go to see some then best I take a bike with our widest/knobbliest tyres on it? They all seem to claim either any size tyre or up to 56mm.

 

[400bhp]

that's what I have now a large tubular frame 3m wide with a top bar and hooks. There are several reasons for wanting to change this.

1. To fit all the bikes on we need to alternate hanging front and rear wheels.
2.There is no easy way of securing the bikes to the frame, something that may well be required under future insurance policies based on my experience of sorting bike insurance this year.
3. The hanging hooks have proved less than a success with Jane and the boys, I'm not crazy on them either. I'd like a bit more stability than we currently have.
4.The new rack needs to fit in with something else as well which the style linked to does but the existing doesn't.

1. You could offset the hangars, which is what I have done, although I still top and tail because I have the bikes squashed in a tight space.
2. I'm surprised on the insurance, as most policies require a bike to be inside the property-property including a locked garage. Perhaps you have them secured in a shed? You could always put some ground/wall anchors in. This is unlikely tot help you but I use d-locks through the front or back wheel and frame.
3. I've never had an issue with stability on the hooks I use (bikehut hooks which are about £12 each IIRC)?
4. Can't help you there.

I remember a pretty neat solution in the secure car park at Liverpool 1, where there were bikes secured on top of each other and were pretty easy to lock up and to move too. I tried to get a picture but couldn't find one.

 

[MacB]

I remember a pretty neat solution in the secure car park at Liverpool 1, where there were bikes secured on top of each other and were pretty easy to lock up and to move too. I tried to get a picture but couldn't find one.

This is in a garage that is an integral part of the house the insurance is just the way it seems to be going especially if you have a higher value bike. This is the existing solution:-

I agree with you there are a variety of ways I could improve on this but they'd all be a bit Heath Robinson and if there's a ready made solution out there then I'd rather go with that.

I did start with looking at a two tier rack but there are height limitations which we can't meet, plus they are very expensive at least double what I'm looking at now.