#11
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Bus racks
On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:43:58 -0700, Joerg
wrote: On 2018-08-27 18:13, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Mon, 27 Aug 2018 17:43:40 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 16:20, Frank Krygowski wrote: On Monday, August 27, 2018 at 5:49:57 PM UTC-4, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 13:53, Sir Ridesalot wrote: Reading the thread about bus racks being to short for some bicycles got me to thinking about how the bicycle is supported in the rack. When I worked in bicycle shops we called those bicycle parking racks with the two low hoops to hold the wheels "wheel benders" as we often had wheel repairs that were caused by the sideways force on the wheels. I wonder if bus racks have the same problem at times if that front wheel hook is not supporting the bicycle from swaying a bit side to side. The wheel hook is what is supposed to prevent it from swaying. A wheel itself can't. Just imagine: While the racks on our buses are barely wide enough to squeeze in my 2.25" wide rear tire a 25mm road bike tire would make the bike almost fall over, considering that the slot is just around 4" deep. Some people who still run 23mm tires or even less would also risk marring their rims badly when the sides of the rims would bang against the steel tube of the rack rail all the time. You'd likely feel the damage immediately the first time you use the rim brakes. Another detail I noticed: The handlebar end of my MTB was very close to the windshield of the bus. Scary. I watched it on the freeway and while the bike "came closer" it didn't quite touch glass. Despite the panniers. That only worked because I had shortened the handlebar significantly a few months after I bought the MTB. What would happen if the handlebar touched the glass? Possibly a crack. Since it is curved glass that would cause an expensive repair and loss of service costs while the bus is in the shop. One can only speculate. Generally speaking, if you break someone's window, you get to pay for it, in some manner. Not if the rack was sub-par and caused the event. You mean if the bus company is nice enough to install bicycle racks that, as you previously wrote, fit many bicycles and your bicycle doesn't fit so a window gets broken it is the bus company's fault? Logically then it is to the bus company's advantage to get rid of the bicycle racks and thus avoid the expense of broken windows. |
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#12
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Bus racks
On 2018-08-28 16:27, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:43:58 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 18:13, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Mon, 27 Aug 2018 17:43:40 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 16:20, Frank Krygowski wrote: On Monday, August 27, 2018 at 5:49:57 PM UTC-4, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 13:53, Sir Ridesalot wrote: Reading the thread about bus racks being to short for some bicycles got me to thinking about how the bicycle is supported in the rack. When I worked in bicycle shops we called those bicycle parking racks with the two low hoops to hold the wheels "wheel benders" as we often had wheel repairs that were caused by the sideways force on the wheels. I wonder if bus racks have the same problem at times if that front wheel hook is not supporting the bicycle from swaying a bit side to side. The wheel hook is what is supposed to prevent it from swaying. A wheel itself can't. Just imagine: While the racks on our buses are barely wide enough to squeeze in my 2.25" wide rear tire a 25mm road bike tire would make the bike almost fall over, considering that the slot is just around 4" deep. Some people who still run 23mm tires or even less would also risk marring their rims badly when the sides of the rims would bang against the steel tube of the rack rail all the time. You'd likely feel the damage immediately the first time you use the rim brakes. Another detail I noticed: The handlebar end of my MTB was very close to the windshield of the bus. Scary. I watched it on the freeway and while the bike "came closer" it didn't quite touch glass. Despite the panniers. That only worked because I had shortened the handlebar significantly a few months after I bought the MTB. What would happen if the handlebar touched the glass? Possibly a crack. Since it is curved glass that would cause an expensive repair and loss of service costs while the bus is in the shop. One can only speculate. Generally speaking, if you break someone's window, you get to pay for it, in some manner. Not if the rack was sub-par and caused the event. You mean if the bus company is nice enough to install bicycle racks that, as you previously wrote, fit many bicycles and your bicycle doesn't fit so a window gets broken it is the bus company's fault? If the bus driver witnessed and blessed the way it was loaded, yes. Logically then it is to the bus company's advantage to get rid of the bicycle racks and thus avoid the expense of broken windows. That's what our power company PG&E pulled off. Instead of fixing fire danger prone overhead wiring they announced they'll simply cut power if there is high wind in summer. It is up to the political leaders to pull the charter if such behavior goes too far. As I said it is rather easy to build a bike rack that fits contemporary bikes. -- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ |
#13
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Bus racks
On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 16:58:45 -0700, Joerg
wrote: On 2018-08-28 16:27, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:43:58 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 18:13, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Mon, 27 Aug 2018 17:43:40 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 16:20, Frank Krygowski wrote: On Monday, August 27, 2018 at 5:49:57 PM UTC-4, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 13:53, Sir Ridesalot wrote: Reading the thread about bus racks being to short for some bicycles got me to thinking about how the bicycle is supported in the rack. When I worked in bicycle shops we called those bicycle parking racks with the two low hoops to hold the wheels "wheel benders" as we often had wheel repairs that were caused by the sideways force on the wheels. I wonder if bus racks have the same problem at times if that front wheel hook is not supporting the bicycle from swaying a bit side to side. The wheel hook is what is supposed to prevent it from swaying. A wheel itself can't. Just imagine: While the racks on our buses are barely wide enough to squeeze in my 2.25" wide rear tire a 25mm road bike tire would make the bike almost fall over, considering that the slot is just around 4" deep. Some people who still run 23mm tires or even less would also risk marring their rims badly when the sides of the rims would bang against the steel tube of the rack rail all the time. You'd likely feel the damage immediately the first time you use the rim brakes. Another detail I noticed: The handlebar end of my MTB was very close to the windshield of the bus. Scary. I watched it on the freeway and while the bike "came closer" it didn't quite touch glass. Despite the panniers. That only worked because I had shortened the handlebar significantly a few months after I bought the MTB. What would happen if the handlebar touched the glass? Possibly a crack. Since it is curved glass that would cause an expensive repair and loss of service costs while the bus is in the shop. One can only speculate. Generally speaking, if you break someone's window, you get to pay for it, in some manner. Not if the rack was sub-par and caused the event. You mean if the bus company is nice enough to install bicycle racks that, as you previously wrote, fit many bicycles and your bicycle doesn't fit so a window gets broken it is the bus company's fault? If the bus driver witnessed and blessed the way it was loaded, yes. Logically then it is to the bus company's advantage to get rid of the bicycle racks and thus avoid the expense of broken windows. That's what our power company PG&E pulled off. Instead of fixing fire danger prone overhead wiring they announced they'll simply cut power if there is high wind in summer. It is up to the political leaders to pull the charter if such behavior goes too far. I believe that in most, if not all, cases the generating plants are the property of the electric company. If the local government were to "cancel their contract" where would you get electricity from? Or do you propose that the local government, in some manner, perhaps by a tax increase, purchase the generating plants? Of course once furnishing electricity became the responsibility of the local government it would become a political factor, like road maintenance? As I said it is rather easy to build a bike rack that fits contemporary bikes. But, according to your posts, the racks are already installed so you are talking about replacing them with a larger rack? Perhaps an increase in fare for cyclists until the new racks are paid for? And, another thought comes to mind. Will your big brawny "new" racks safely safely carry a slick, slim, road bike? Or will we need two sets of racks? |
#14
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Bus racks
On 8/28/2018 7:27 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:43:58 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 18:13, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Mon, 27 Aug 2018 17:43:40 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 16:20, Frank Krygowski wrote: On Monday, August 27, 2018 at 5:49:57 PM UTC-4, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 13:53, Sir Ridesalot wrote: Reading the thread about bus racks being to short for some bicycles got me to thinking about how the bicycle is supported in the rack. When I worked in bicycle shops we called those bicycle parking racks with the two low hoops to hold the wheels "wheel benders" as we often had wheel repairs that were caused by the sideways force on the wheels. I wonder if bus racks have the same problem at times if that front wheel hook is not supporting the bicycle from swaying a bit side to side. The wheel hook is what is supposed to prevent it from swaying. A wheel itself can't. Just imagine: While the racks on our buses are barely wide enough to squeeze in my 2.25" wide rear tire a 25mm road bike tire would make the bike almost fall over, considering that the slot is just around 4" deep. Some people who still run 23mm tires or even less would also risk marring their rims badly when the sides of the rims would bang against the steel tube of the rack rail all the time. You'd likely feel the damage immediately the first time you use the rim brakes. Another detail I noticed: The handlebar end of my MTB was very close to the windshield of the bus. Scary. I watched it on the freeway and while the bike "came closer" it didn't quite touch glass. Despite the panniers. That only worked because I had shortened the handlebar significantly a few months after I bought the MTB. What would happen if the handlebar touched the glass? Possibly a crack. Since it is curved glass that would cause an expensive repair and loss of service costs while the bus is in the shop. One can only speculate. Generally speaking, if you break someone's window, you get to pay for it, in some manner. Not if the rack was sub-par and caused the event. You mean if the bus company is nice enough to install bicycle racks that, as you previously wrote, fit many bicycles and your bicycle doesn't fit so a window gets broken it is the bus company's fault? Logically then it is to the bus company's advantage to get rid of the bicycle racks and thus avoid the expense of broken windows. It's a non-issue, important only in Joerg's mind. If the bus company had a problem with broken windshields, they'd have fixed the racks or protected the windshields long ago. -- - Frank Krygowski |
#15
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Bus racks
On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 21:49:49 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote: On 8/28/2018 7:27 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:43:58 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 18:13, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Mon, 27 Aug 2018 17:43:40 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 16:20, Frank Krygowski wrote: On Monday, August 27, 2018 at 5:49:57 PM UTC-4, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 13:53, Sir Ridesalot wrote: Reading the thread about bus racks being to short for some bicycles got me to thinking about how the bicycle is supported in the rack. When I worked in bicycle shops we called those bicycle parking racks with the two low hoops to hold the wheels "wheel benders" as we often had wheel repairs that were caused by the sideways force on the wheels. I wonder if bus racks have the same problem at times if that front wheel hook is not supporting the bicycle from swaying a bit side to side. The wheel hook is what is supposed to prevent it from swaying. A wheel itself can't. Just imagine: While the racks on our buses are barely wide enough to squeeze in my 2.25" wide rear tire a 25mm road bike tire would make the bike almost fall over, considering that the slot is just around 4" deep. Some people who still run 23mm tires or even less would also risk marring their rims badly when the sides of the rims would bang against the steel tube of the rack rail all the time. You'd likely feel the damage immediately the first time you use the rim brakes. Another detail I noticed: The handlebar end of my MTB was very close to the windshield of the bus. Scary. I watched it on the freeway and while the bike "came closer" it didn't quite touch glass. Despite the panniers. That only worked because I had shortened the handlebar significantly a few months after I bought the MTB. What would happen if the handlebar touched the glass? Possibly a crack. Since it is curved glass that would cause an expensive repair and loss of service costs while the bus is in the shop. One can only speculate. Generally speaking, if you break someone's window, you get to pay for it, in some manner. Not if the rack was sub-par and caused the event. You mean if the bus company is nice enough to install bicycle racks that, as you previously wrote, fit many bicycles and your bicycle doesn't fit so a window gets broken it is the bus company's fault? Logically then it is to the bus company's advantage to get rid of the bicycle racks and thus avoid the expense of broken windows. It's a non-issue, important only in Joerg's mind. If the bus company had a problem with broken windshields, they'd have fixed the racks or protected the windshields long ago. One might also speculate on whether the majority of the bus riders actually care whether bicycle racks are installed, or not. |
#16
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Bus racks
On 8/28/2018 8:20 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 16:58:45 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-28 16:27, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:43:58 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 18:13, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Mon, 27 Aug 2018 17:43:40 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 16:20, Frank Krygowski wrote: On Monday, August 27, 2018 at 5:49:57 PM UTC-4, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 13:53, Sir Ridesalot wrote: Reading the thread about bus racks being to short for some bicycles got me to thinking about how the bicycle is supported in the rack. When I worked in bicycle shops we called those bicycle parking racks with the two low hoops to hold the wheels "wheel benders" as we often had wheel repairs that were caused by the sideways force on the wheels. I wonder if bus racks have the same problem at times if that front wheel hook is not supporting the bicycle from swaying a bit side to side. The wheel hook is what is supposed to prevent it from swaying. A wheel itself can't. Just imagine: While the racks on our buses are barely wide enough to squeeze in my 2.25" wide rear tire a 25mm road bike tire would make the bike almost fall over, considering that the slot is just around 4" deep. Some people who still run 23mm tires or even less would also risk marring their rims badly when the sides of the rims would bang against the steel tube of the rack rail all the time. You'd likely feel the damage immediately the first time you use the rim brakes. Another detail I noticed: The handlebar end of my MTB was very close to the windshield of the bus. Scary. I watched it on the freeway and while the bike "came closer" it didn't quite touch glass. Despite the panniers. That only worked because I had shortened the handlebar significantly a few months after I bought the MTB. What would happen if the handlebar touched the glass? Possibly a crack. Since it is curved glass that would cause an expensive repair and loss of service costs while the bus is in the shop. One can only speculate. Generally speaking, if you break someone's window, you get to pay for it, in some manner. Not if the rack was sub-par and caused the event. You mean if the bus company is nice enough to install bicycle racks that, as you previously wrote, fit many bicycles and your bicycle doesn't fit so a window gets broken it is the bus company's fault? If the bus driver witnessed and blessed the way it was loaded, yes. Logically then it is to the bus company's advantage to get rid of the bicycle racks and thus avoid the expense of broken windows. That's what our power company PG&E pulled off. Instead of fixing fire danger prone overhead wiring they announced they'll simply cut power if there is high wind in summer. It is up to the political leaders to pull the charter if such behavior goes too far. I believe that in most, if not all, cases the generating plants are the property of the electric company. If the local government were to "cancel their contract" where would you get electricity from? Or do you propose that the local government, in some manner, perhaps by a tax increase, purchase the generating plants? Of course once furnishing electricity became the responsibility of the local government it would become a political factor, like road maintenance? As I said it is rather easy to build a bike rack that fits contemporary bikes. But, according to your posts, the racks are already installed so you are talking about replacing them with a larger rack? Perhaps an increase in fare for cyclists until the new racks are paid for? And, another thought comes to mind. Will your big brawny "new" racks safely safely carry a slick, slim, road bike? Or will we need two sets of racks? John you don't get modern political administration. The road bikes go on that _other_ bus route across town, but not between 6 and 9am and only with a bus pass showing current 'road bike' stamp. -- Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org/ Open every day since 1 April, 1971 |
#17
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Bus racks
On 8/28/2018 9:01 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 21:49:49 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote: On 8/28/2018 7:27 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:43:58 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 18:13, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Mon, 27 Aug 2018 17:43:40 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 16:20, Frank Krygowski wrote: On Monday, August 27, 2018 at 5:49:57 PM UTC-4, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 13:53, Sir Ridesalot wrote: Reading the thread about bus racks being to short for some bicycles got me to thinking about how the bicycle is supported in the rack. When I worked in bicycle shops we called those bicycle parking racks with the two low hoops to hold the wheels "wheel benders" as we often had wheel repairs that were caused by the sideways force on the wheels. I wonder if bus racks have the same problem at times if that front wheel hook is not supporting the bicycle from swaying a bit side to side. The wheel hook is what is supposed to prevent it from swaying. A wheel itself can't. Just imagine: While the racks on our buses are barely wide enough to squeeze in my 2.25" wide rear tire a 25mm road bike tire would make the bike almost fall over, considering that the slot is just around 4" deep. Some people who still run 23mm tires or even less would also risk marring their rims badly when the sides of the rims would bang against the steel tube of the rack rail all the time. You'd likely feel the damage immediately the first time you use the rim brakes. Another detail I noticed: The handlebar end of my MTB was very close to the windshield of the bus. Scary. I watched it on the freeway and while the bike "came closer" it didn't quite touch glass. Despite the panniers. That only worked because I had shortened the handlebar significantly a few months after I bought the MTB. What would happen if the handlebar touched the glass? Possibly a crack. Since it is curved glass that would cause an expensive repair and loss of service costs while the bus is in the shop. One can only speculate. Generally speaking, if you break someone's window, you get to pay for it, in some manner. Not if the rack was sub-par and caused the event. You mean if the bus company is nice enough to install bicycle racks that, as you previously wrote, fit many bicycles and your bicycle doesn't fit so a window gets broken it is the bus company's fault? Logically then it is to the bus company's advantage to get rid of the bicycle racks and thus avoid the expense of broken windows. It's a non-issue, important only in Joerg's mind. If the bus company had a problem with broken windshields, they'd have fixed the racks or protected the windshields long ago. One might also speculate on whether the majority of the bus riders actually care whether bicycle racks are installed, or not. Sacramento Transit seems to think that two bicycle carriers per bus are adequate. This may miss the larger trend: https://www.cato.org/publications/po...sit-apocalypse -- Andrew Muzi www.yellowjersey.org/ Open every day since 1 April, 1971 |
#18
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Bus racks
On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 21:07:09 -0500, AMuzi wrote:
On 8/28/2018 8:20 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 16:58:45 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-28 16:27, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:43:58 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 18:13, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Mon, 27 Aug 2018 17:43:40 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 16:20, Frank Krygowski wrote: On Monday, August 27, 2018 at 5:49:57 PM UTC-4, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 13:53, Sir Ridesalot wrote: Reading the thread about bus racks being to short for some bicycles got me to thinking about how the bicycle is supported in the rack. When I worked in bicycle shops we called those bicycle parking racks with the two low hoops to hold the wheels "wheel benders" as we often had wheel repairs that were caused by the sideways force on the wheels. I wonder if bus racks have the same problem at times if that front wheel hook is not supporting the bicycle from swaying a bit side to side. The wheel hook is what is supposed to prevent it from swaying. A wheel itself can't. Just imagine: While the racks on our buses are barely wide enough to squeeze in my 2.25" wide rear tire a 25mm road bike tire would make the bike almost fall over, considering that the slot is just around 4" deep. Some people who still run 23mm tires or even less would also risk marring their rims badly when the sides of the rims would bang against the steel tube of the rack rail all the time. You'd likely feel the damage immediately the first time you use the rim brakes. Another detail I noticed: The handlebar end of my MTB was very close to the windshield of the bus. Scary. I watched it on the freeway and while the bike "came closer" it didn't quite touch glass. Despite the panniers. That only worked because I had shortened the handlebar significantly a few months after I bought the MTB. What would happen if the handlebar touched the glass? Possibly a crack. Since it is curved glass that would cause an expensive repair and loss of service costs while the bus is in the shop. One can only speculate. Generally speaking, if you break someone's window, you get to pay for it, in some manner. Not if the rack was sub-par and caused the event. You mean if the bus company is nice enough to install bicycle racks that, as you previously wrote, fit many bicycles and your bicycle doesn't fit so a window gets broken it is the bus company's fault? If the bus driver witnessed and blessed the way it was loaded, yes. Logically then it is to the bus company's advantage to get rid of the bicycle racks and thus avoid the expense of broken windows. That's what our power company PG&E pulled off. Instead of fixing fire danger prone overhead wiring they announced they'll simply cut power if there is high wind in summer. It is up to the political leaders to pull the charter if such behavior goes too far. I believe that in most, if not all, cases the generating plants are the property of the electric company. If the local government were to "cancel their contract" where would you get electricity from? Or do you propose that the local government, in some manner, perhaps by a tax increase, purchase the generating plants? Of course once furnishing electricity became the responsibility of the local government it would become a political factor, like road maintenance? As I said it is rather easy to build a bike rack that fits contemporary bikes. But, according to your posts, the racks are already installed so you are talking about replacing them with a larger rack? Perhaps an increase in fare for cyclists until the new racks are paid for? And, another thought comes to mind. Will your big brawny "new" racks safely safely carry a slick, slim, road bike? Or will we need two sets of racks? John you don't get modern political administration. The road bikes go on that _other_ bus route across town, but not between 6 and 9am and only with a bus pass showing current 'road bike' stamp. Probably not :-) My only excuse is that I live in a country where if you want to ride your bike, go ahead. But no bikes on the bus, or the sub-way for that matter. These stupid people here think that a bicycle is a transportation device and if you are utilizing your transportation device why do you need to take the bus :-) .. |
#19
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Bus racks
On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 21:15:53 -0500, AMuzi wrote:
On 8/28/2018 9:01 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 21:49:49 -0400, Frank Krygowski wrote: On 8/28/2018 7:27 PM, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:43:58 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 18:13, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Mon, 27 Aug 2018 17:43:40 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 16:20, Frank Krygowski wrote: On Monday, August 27, 2018 at 5:49:57 PM UTC-4, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 13:53, Sir Ridesalot wrote: Reading the thread about bus racks being to short for some bicycles got me to thinking about how the bicycle is supported in the rack. When I worked in bicycle shops we called those bicycle parking racks with the two low hoops to hold the wheels "wheel benders" as we often had wheel repairs that were caused by the sideways force on the wheels. I wonder if bus racks have the same problem at times if that front wheel hook is not supporting the bicycle from swaying a bit side to side. The wheel hook is what is supposed to prevent it from swaying. A wheel itself can't. Just imagine: While the racks on our buses are barely wide enough to squeeze in my 2.25" wide rear tire a 25mm road bike tire would make the bike almost fall over, considering that the slot is just around 4" deep. Some people who still run 23mm tires or even less would also risk marring their rims badly when the sides of the rims would bang against the steel tube of the rack rail all the time. You'd likely feel the damage immediately the first time you use the rim brakes. Another detail I noticed: The handlebar end of my MTB was very close to the windshield of the bus. Scary. I watched it on the freeway and while the bike "came closer" it didn't quite touch glass. Despite the panniers. That only worked because I had shortened the handlebar significantly a few months after I bought the MTB. What would happen if the handlebar touched the glass? Possibly a crack. Since it is curved glass that would cause an expensive repair and loss of service costs while the bus is in the shop. One can only speculate. Generally speaking, if you break someone's window, you get to pay for it, in some manner. Not if the rack was sub-par and caused the event. You mean if the bus company is nice enough to install bicycle racks that, as you previously wrote, fit many bicycles and your bicycle doesn't fit so a window gets broken it is the bus company's fault? Logically then it is to the bus company's advantage to get rid of the bicycle racks and thus avoid the expense of broken windows. It's a non-issue, important only in Joerg's mind. If the bus company had a problem with broken windshields, they'd have fixed the racks or protected the windshields long ago. One might also speculate on whether the majority of the bus riders actually care whether bicycle racks are installed, or not. Sacramento Transit seems to think that two bicycle carriers per bus are adequate. This may miss the larger trend: https://www.cato.org/publications/po...sit-apocalypse One might ask, "why public transportation" when according to current figures the average U.S. family owns 1.968 autos? https://bit.ly/2Dz12vo |
#20
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Bus racks
On 2018-08-28 18:20, John B. Slocomb wrote:
On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 16:58:45 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-28 16:27, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:43:58 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 18:13, John B. Slocomb wrote: On Mon, 27 Aug 2018 17:43:40 -0700, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 16:20, Frank Krygowski wrote: On Monday, August 27, 2018 at 5:49:57 PM UTC-4, Joerg wrote: On 2018-08-27 13:53, Sir Ridesalot wrote: Reading the thread about bus racks being to short for some bicycles got me to thinking about how the bicycle is supported in the rack. When I worked in bicycle shops we called those bicycle parking racks with the two low hoops to hold the wheels "wheel benders" as we often had wheel repairs that were caused by the sideways force on the wheels. I wonder if bus racks have the same problem at times if that front wheel hook is not supporting the bicycle from swaying a bit side to side. The wheel hook is what is supposed to prevent it from swaying. A wheel itself can't. Just imagine: While the racks on our buses are barely wide enough to squeeze in my 2.25" wide rear tire a 25mm road bike tire would make the bike almost fall over, considering that the slot is just around 4" deep. Some people who still run 23mm tires or even less would also risk marring their rims badly when the sides of the rims would bang against the steel tube of the rack rail all the time. You'd likely feel the damage immediately the first time you use the rim brakes. Another detail I noticed: The handlebar end of my MTB was very close to the windshield of the bus. Scary. I watched it on the freeway and while the bike "came closer" it didn't quite touch glass. Despite the panniers. That only worked because I had shortened the handlebar significantly a few months after I bought the MTB. What would happen if the handlebar touched the glass? Possibly a crack. Since it is curved glass that would cause an expensive repair and loss of service costs while the bus is in the shop. One can only speculate. Generally speaking, if you break someone's window, you get to pay for it, in some manner. Not if the rack was sub-par and caused the event. You mean if the bus company is nice enough to install bicycle racks that, as you previously wrote, fit many bicycles and your bicycle doesn't fit so a window gets broken it is the bus company's fault? If the bus driver witnessed and blessed the way it was loaded, yes. Logically then it is to the bus company's advantage to get rid of the bicycle racks and thus avoid the expense of broken windows. That's what our power company PG&E pulled off. Instead of fixing fire danger prone overhead wiring they announced they'll simply cut power if there is high wind in summer. It is up to the political leaders to pull the charter if such behavior goes too far. I believe that in most, if not all, cases the generating plants are the property of the electric company. If the local government were to "cancel their contract" where would you get electricity from? Or do you propose that the local government, in some manner, perhaps by a tax increase, purchase the generating plants? It's about the distribution, not the plant. Utilities in America run on the cost-plus basis which means carte blanche. They could let them run the power plants that way but allow competition in the distribution. Even Germany did that which, compared to a the US, is much less capitalist. Of course once furnishing electricity became the responsibility of the local government it would become a political factor, like road maintenance? Everything is a political factor these days. As I said it is rather easy to build a bike rack that fits contemporary bikes. But, according to your posts, the racks are already installed so you are talking about replacing them with a larger rack? Perhaps an increase in fare for cyclists until the new racks are paid for? No, I already explained that. When a design flaw is discovered they should try to get the vendor to perform the corrections for free. Munis have enough clout to tell them that else the biz in their direction could shrivel up. That's a good motivator. Competition can be a wonderful factor. Old American saying: If you don't take care of your customer someone else will. And, another thought comes to mind. Will your big brawny "new" racks safely safely carry a slick, slim, road bike? Or will we need two sets of racks? If designed correctly it will hold both reliably. -- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/ |
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