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In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

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Re: In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

#132

For most bike "racks" here in NL it seems like the primary purpose is not security, but just having somewhere to lean bikes against and give people a sensible place to park their bikes (as opposed to "in a huge pile") Most people don't bother physically locking their regular city bikes to anything (only using a ring lock on the bike itself), primarily cheap beater bikes but also there's a guy in my street with a €200…

No one locks their bikes in Japan, either. According to Wikipedia this is thanks to "strong policing and general public disregard for stolen items." I can certainly say I've never heard of a US police department doing anything proactive in response to a reported bike theft.

When I lived in Minneapolis, police encouraged a bike registry; they'd send you this serial number sticker plate that affixed to the frame rather well.

No doubt many flaws with that, I don't know if it helped. But I got a sticker.

(3M home town... they are good at sticking things together.)

Re: In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

#135
post #55

City of Cambridge, Massachusetts, effectively requires Sheffield stands as suitable bike parking: https://www.cambridgema.gov/-/media/Files/CDD/Transportation... A handful of the other types, e.g. the lampposts, get called out as acceptable as well. I should bring up a few dozen of those and distribute them to various retailers around the city...

[deleted]

Re: In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

#136

In my car-centric city (southeast USA, population ~125k) when I visit private property with no bicycle parking, I try to find the owner and offer to install one of these just for the cost of materials. The idea being, they can put in another one when they see more than one customer on a bicycle at the same time. It's very cheap, less than 100 bucks typically as I have the requisite tools in my garage to make them fro…

You are doing good work. Thank you.

Re: In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

#137

For most bike "racks" here in NL it seems like the primary purpose is not security, but just having somewhere to lean bikes against and give people a sensible place to park their bikes (as opposed to "in a huge pile") Most people don't bother physically locking their regular city bikes to anything (only using a ring lock on the bike itself), primarily cheap beater bikes but also there's a guy in my street with a €200…

In the UK you absolutely need security - London especially anything not held down will be stolen quickly. Battery powered jigsaws to go through locks and chains, bikes stripped of components, etc. Its a whole different world from the safety of NL Granted some of this is because of a culture of more expensive bikes but still if you used a beater bike it wouldnt be safe either

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Re: In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

#138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I was an owner, I'd have a lot of problems with this just because I'd be worried there'd be some regulation I was violating that would get me fined.

If it's on the owner's property, it's probably kosher. Many cities have rules about the proximity of bike racks/stands to fire hydrants, parking meters, etc., but those generally concern public sidewalks. I say probably because, knowing this country, I am positive someone can find a municipality that bans storeowners from putting bike stands on their property.

One example from Twitter thread: Might need a tapping bar for accessibility to blind people.

Re: In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

#139

For most bike "racks" here in NL it seems like the primary purpose is not security, but just having somewhere to lean bikes against and give people a sensible place to park their bikes (as opposed to "in a huge pile") Most people don't bother physically locking their regular city bikes to anything (only using a ring lock on the bike itself), primarily cheap beater bikes but also there's a guy in my street with a €200…

No one locks their bikes in Japan, either. According to Wikipedia this is thanks to "strong policing and general public disregard for stolen items." I can certainly say I've never heard of a US police department doing anything proactive in response to a reported bike theft.

In Japan every bike is officially registered and has a sticker with a number (think of it as a license number that has to be read closely). Foreigners are stopped by the police fairly often in Japan to check their bike licenses according to reports in /r/japanlife.

Re: In praise of the humble Sheffield stand

#140
post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK you absolutely need security - London especially anything not held down will be stolen quickly. Battery powered jigsaws to go through locks and chains, bikes stripped of components, etc. Its a whole different world from the safety of NL Granted some of this is because of a culture of more expensive bikes but still if you used a beater bike it wouldnt be safe either

Quoted post unavailable.

Where I live in the US, bicycle theft is rampant. It's in the sweet spot of "sells easily for a decent chunk of change, but cheap enough that the police won't investigate."
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