Cyclepods – Sleek New Design For Bike Storage Using Recycled Aluminium
by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona on 01.14.06
We are forever wasting time wandering around the streets looking for an appropriate lampposts or railings to secure our bikes to. So we are very keen on this space agey looking bike storage unit which will smarten up bike parking all over town. The Cyclepod provides eight secure spaces for parking your bike, the bikes are stored upright and the front wheel and frame can both be locked in place. There is also the option of having a canopy over the pod to protect the bikes from the weather. The very good news is that the Cyclepod is made from 95% recycled aluminium. It has a 10-15 year estimated life span and uses half the space of current storage units for the equivalent number of bikes. It can also be powder coated in whatever colour you like. The problem is of course that when everyone has arrived home before us we will still be looking for the nearest lamppost. Lets hope after their test runs in London and Nottingham they become really popular and every local council orders them! Via o2 ::Cyclepods
[Leonora & Petz]
the weather protection is nice, nice looking.
I'm not sure if I'm entirely convinced by these.
They're really quite big, and while they may use recycled materials they still seem unnecessarily over engineered.
A simple steel "n" shaped hoop in the ground can take up to 4 bikes (I reckon), and that doesn't hold the bike up on it's end inviting pedestrians to impale themselves on protruding saddles and handle bars.
Am I wrong?
I hate to say it, but this thing fails the accessability test. To be accessible a bike parking installation needs to:
- allow folks with limited physical capabilities to use it (no heavy lifting, for example)
- accomodate non-standard bikes (trikes, bikes with trailers, etc.)
And, unfortunately, this lovely design does neither.
Unless there's some way that I can't see to bend out a piece to allow me to lock the frame of my bike to the rack, it's pretty much useless. Even department store bikes ship with quick-release wheels now. If you're just locking the wheel to the rack, expect to come back and see a wheel with no bike attatched.
Best racks? Parking meters. The city has an investment in making sure that post and the meter on top are staying where they are.
That umbrella stand bicycle storage rack doesn't look like it would be compatible with rear fenders or perhaps even rear racks. This is too bad as the design is nice and it does look like it would do a decent job of rain protection.
I've used vertical bike racks like that before (a local grocery store uses them) and it is annoying to try to heft a bike loaded down with other shopping up onto the rack. They also don't work if you have a trailer (very useful for shopping) unless you unhitch it and park it somewhere else.
Nice, looking! Put photovoltaics on the umbrella and have a night light, too!
Not every parking stall can accomodate RV's, pick-ups with horse-trailers, and compacts, so I'm not too worried about a bike rack that needs to be all things to all people.
Hi all,
Just wanted to clear a few things up:
Cyclepods may look big however, it stores 8 bikes within a 2 metre diameter. This is far better than any steel hoops.
To place the bikes in posistion is extremly easy, the internal curves allow the user to roll the cycle up in to the design. very minimal effort is required.
Nottingham county council was involved throughout the entire design process, and approved every design feature.
Cyclepods will not appeal to everybodys taste as it is very modern in appearence and design. However it is extremly functional and suits urban regeneration projects.
Not bad, but hopefully anyone going to the expense of installing these would make provisions for the fewer bents, trikes and longtails that'll also need parking.
The website shows a nice linear version and a version with a large hoop beside the bike slot that would be suitable for locking the frame.