The Chainlink

Can we agree that it's bad etiquette to take up both posts of the typical upside down U racks that we have here in Chicago? I always park my bike at a 45 degree angle, which keeps the other post completely free without the bike going to far out onto the sidewalk. But I see a lot of people with their bikes flush against both posts, making it difficult if not impossible for 2 bikes to occupy one rack.

I get that if you have two u locks you have a modicum of additional security by locking a lock on each post- but I think it's still bad etiquette- you could lock one to the rack (front wheel and frame perhaps), and the other could lock the other wheel to the frame. Slightly less secure but still pretty dang secure, without using up more than your share of rack space.

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If you look closely at the picture I posted, you'll notice that both bicycles have no fenders and would be easily fit over the top bar of the rack, even without "bending the wheel."

My bike has fenders, but I usually have no problem locking it to a rack like this one.

Whether the design of this rack is horrible or not is not a question here, I think.

For me, it's yet another example of that peculiar lack of consideration exhibited by so many people around here.

"Whether the design of this rack is horrible or not is not a question here, I think."

We'll have to agree to disagree, as I think the horrible design is pretty relevant.  Cool that you can get your bike with fenders to work on this sort of rack.  I haven't been able to, at least not without knocking the fender off of alignment and causing bigger issues than it's worth dealing with.

If it were me, I'd just skip this sort of rack altogether unless I can lock to the end bar, and find something close by that worked better.  That said, I think this example is born just as much out of the fact that the rack design is horrible than it is a complete lack of consideration by the people locking to it.         

One rides to a place and finds that the rack next to it is so horrible one can't lock one's bike to it.

Instead of looking around for a better rack, one locks one's bike to the rack, anyway, in a manner that prevents others from locking their bikes to that damn rack.

Sure, it makes perfect sense.

I want to give props to the OP and say that I appreciate respectful rack etiquette in high density parking areas, especially when there is very low probability of theft, like right in front of the lifeguard office at Osterman beach.  I managed to squeeze in on the end, but I was probably "doing it wrong." Happy Friday!

The props are much appreciated!


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