New thoughts on NYC bike racks
Last night I was down by Astor Place so I finally got to see the finalists' bike rack designs in person. I don't have any new pictures to share, but after seeing them up close, I've revised my thoughts about some of them.
First of all, I ruled out all of the entries which featured a colored powdercoat finish. Including the Lang/Dobbs yellow Y-rack which I previously chose as my favorite design. The reason is simple - these racks have only been up for a week or so and they already look like hell with the paint scratched up terribly.
I still like the Y-rack as a design on paper, but in the real world it would function much better without a painted finish, and that would compromise part of it's appeal. Some people are also saying that skateboarders will be all over that thing, but I reject that arguement. No one's going to skate on it when bikes are locked to it, and if there are no bikes, who cares if some kids are skating on it or a pedestrian uses it as a seat?
Besides being powdercoated, the Open Thread 4-bike rack is simply way too big.
The flexible cable rack by Next Phase Studios is not as bad as I thought it was (not too flexible), but it still seems like a gimmick and is likely to create unnecessary production costs.
I still really like the Ignacio Ciocchini circle rack with the vertical green stripe. Even though this rack has some green powdercoat, it's not painted on the circular part of the rack, which is the primary bicycle contact point. To me, this design simply provides all of the necessary functionality while fitting in best with existing NYC street furniture.
I've substantially improved my view of the Jeff Miller & Andrea Ruggiero diamond shaped rack. This thing is DURABLE. It looks good in person. And I like the green plastic strip which protects both the rack and your bike. This could easily be my top choice, but I still like the look of the Ciocchini rack better.
After eliminating all the powdercoating and the gimmicks, the Ian Mahaffy & Maarten De Greeve circle rack gets elevated to third place, in my opinion. Any of the other racks which I have not mentioned, my opinion has not substantially changed from my previous post.
So, these are my new top 3 picks:
1. Ciocchini - circle rack w/green stripe
2. Miller/Ruggiero - cast iron w/protective plastic
3. Mahaffy/De Greeve - circle w/horizontal crossbar
First of all, I ruled out all of the entries which featured a colored powdercoat finish. Including the Lang/Dobbs yellow Y-rack which I previously chose as my favorite design. The reason is simple - these racks have only been up for a week or so and they already look like hell with the paint scratched up terribly.
I still like the Y-rack as a design on paper, but in the real world it would function much better without a painted finish, and that would compromise part of it's appeal. Some people are also saying that skateboarders will be all over that thing, but I reject that arguement. No one's going to skate on it when bikes are locked to it, and if there are no bikes, who cares if some kids are skating on it or a pedestrian uses it as a seat?
Besides being powdercoated, the Open Thread 4-bike rack is simply way too big.
The flexible cable rack by Next Phase Studios is not as bad as I thought it was (not too flexible), but it still seems like a gimmick and is likely to create unnecessary production costs.
I still really like the Ignacio Ciocchini circle rack with the vertical green stripe. Even though this rack has some green powdercoat, it's not painted on the circular part of the rack, which is the primary bicycle contact point. To me, this design simply provides all of the necessary functionality while fitting in best with existing NYC street furniture.
I've substantially improved my view of the Jeff Miller & Andrea Ruggiero diamond shaped rack. This thing is DURABLE. It looks good in person. And I like the green plastic strip which protects both the rack and your bike. This could easily be my top choice, but I still like the look of the Ciocchini rack better.
After eliminating all the powdercoating and the gimmicks, the Ian Mahaffy & Maarten De Greeve circle rack gets elevated to third place, in my opinion. Any of the other racks which I have not mentioned, my opinion has not substantially changed from my previous post.
So, these are my new top 3 picks:
1. Ciocchini - circle rack w/green stripe
2. Miller/Ruggiero - cast iron w/protective plastic
3. Mahaffy/De Greeve - circle w/horizontal crossbar
Labels: bicycle, bike racks, design, New York City
posted by Mike at
9:08 AM
1 Comments:
I also rethought my initial reactions after trying the ones at Astor Place, and its between the Ciocchini and Miller/Ruggiero rack. Many of the others are not sturdy enough and impractical: the Next Phase loop was broken yesterday, making it the latest prototype casualty!
The Y rack is wide (good for bikes) but bad for crowded sidewalks. Aesthetically, the Ciocchini rack is a bit bland but sturdy.
The Miller/Ruggerio rack is my favorite (plastic rim or not) because unless someone cuts my lock or bike frame, there is NO way they are cutting through that ductile iron frame!
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