Sorry, but this has ‘why did my kids abandon me posts in /estrangedparents’ energy.
Taking up half the rack is a dick move. If the bike doesn’t fit, take the edge of it and lock to the outer post.
The only way I’d have 100% empathy is if there’s 2+ racks and plenty of open spaces.
I think he was just telling a story.
I would say locking perpendicular to the outside support is a good move, but on the one in the photo those supports can be unbolted, so not super secure either.
There was one bike locked to each end and one bike locked parallel to the front so I locked parallel to the back. It didn’t and doesn’t seem like an untoward thing to do. Those racks are impossible to securely lock more than four bikes to without lifting the front end of the bike over the top bar of the rack and slamming the downtube.
That’s how I always did it.
BikePortland used to have regular posts about locking up to staple racks properly. It’s kinda like parking lots when the snow covers all the lines. Most people are incapable of spacial awareness.
Well that was impossible because there was already a bike locked parallel to the front of the rack!
I’m done defending my lockup job from like 15 years ago.
cancelled
fair, and it makes you look bad if the others leave after you’ve locked up parallel out of necessity
I always had to take the end with my track bikes because they didn’t have clearance to get over the top bar
bing bong
I really need to come to this thread more. Probably the best one here.
This bike is causing a visceral reaction. Lots to unpack. Like I am grimacing and squinting looking at it, but also … nice.
It’s not like a HardRock is that great of a bike to begin with, so do whatever you want, but also … tf?
It’s just super weird to see one done up like this. It’s done well. It’s the best colourway of the HardRock and arguably one of the best paint jobs overall of that era from Specialized. They color-matched the ZIPP decals. [Edit - personally I might have done the fuchsia decals in the rear and purple up front to be contrasty]
I love it.
I hate it.
On the way to work months ago, I was lucky to encounter a lime scooter parked in the middle of the Burke Gilman. I stopped, picked up the scooter, and hurled it down the embankment parallel to the staircase leading to Husky stadium. Some scraggly dude appears at the bottom of the stairs and yells ‘Hey, what are you doing? I was using that!’. I got back on my bike and continued with my day.
I have done angry heaves of many Lime scooters parked on sidewalks but throwing one down a flight of stairs sounds orgasmic
The thing I noted when the scooters arrived on UT campus years ago was that the students weren’t using them to replace car trips, they were using them to replace walking. Maybe there’s some social benefit to expanding the definition of “walkability” but I’ve never been a fan!
This is a really good point.
Scooters should be banned from dense urban areas where walking normally occurs and only allowed in suburbs.
this is a system scale problem though; if you have a sprawling place without sufficient public transit where walking isn’t viable, scooting doesn’t replace a car because it can’t go as fast, isn’t allowed on the highway, or isn’t feasible to ride for 10+ miles which is trivial in a car. in southern california where leaving your immediate neighborhood means driving 20 mins on the freeway, there isn’t a functional car alternative. I imagine this is similar in much of Texas also
people use personal scooters extensively in Spanish cities instead of walking because it’s faster than walking or public transit for many trips, and driving doesn’t make sense due to the short distances and pre-car cities. what’s interesting is it seems to at least partially replace commuting by bike for single riders, though I see a lot of cargo bikes and longtails for parents. people going to work or across town to meet friends seem to frequently ride a personal scooter likely because they don’t arrive sweaty or need different clothing
i am a scooter lover when I travel. keeps me out of so many ubers.
Mrs Wednesday wondering how he keeps wearing out the wheels on his rolly bag
Similar thing in Stockholm. It’s basically the ‘get around the neighborhood quickly without sweating’ option for lots of kids now. Older adults all have city ebikes, i.e. a riser bar step-through with mudguards and a basket.
I think the scooters are responsible for some of the decline of bike riding in Swedish kids. They’re extremely convenient, and since the law now dictates that they can only be parked in marked corrals, or among city bike racks - no more leaving them all over the place - they’re a clear substitute.
Here we go again…
This has definitely softened my opinion on them. I think downtown and on campus, enforcement is pretty good, and the scooters aren’t strewn all over the sidewalks any more.
It remains an occasional problem in my neighborhood, which is 4-5 miles from downtown and campus. I’ll admit that if a scooter lands in my neighborhood, it probably replaced an Uber, or a car ride, or a bus ride, but then it inevitably gets dumped on some of our very precious sidewalk space. Which results in me making a 311 request, etc etc…
Yeah, they get left in odd places occasionally by dumb-ass riders (mostly tourists) now, but the freshly-charged ones are no longer left by the companies themselves in the middle of bike lanes. That shit was utterly infuriating, and I kicked a few of those fuckers over and off the path in my day.
