If your business or organisation is looking at cycling parking, whether a new facility or to upgrade the existing provision, there are many things to consider when deciding what type of cycle parking you need to provide.

There are basic principals –

• It needs to be visible, accessible and convenient
• Located as close to the facilities or entrance as possible
• Secure
• Cater for different types of bike
• Have plenty of room to access the bikes
• Have sufficient capacity, ideally to allow for an increase in the number of existing cyclists
• Be easy to keep maintained

Who are you catering for?

Above these generic requirements, however, you will need to assess the needs of your particular user audience, or audiences. People sometimes have quite a narrow view of who a typical cyclist is, but the reality is that people of all shapes, sizes and ages ride bikes.

 

Cycle parking options range from simple Sheffield stands which are cost effective and very easy to access to secure compounds with access control.

What space do you have?

Cycle parking takes space, so the physical limitations of the area you have will also factor in your decision as to the type of cycle parking you install. You may have multiple areas for example, in a retail environment or business premises, you may have a secure compound at the back near the staff entrance for employees and simple open stands at the entrance for visitors or shoppers.

Proximity to entrances is key. If over 20m from their destination, the temptation will be for people to secure their bikes to other points such as lampposts that are nearer!

You may have to take over part of your car park and there are options such as two tier cycle racks which maximise the number of bikes you can have in an area.

Cycle Parking Options

Cycle Stands or Racks

Cost effective and versatile.  These can be fixed as surface mounted or in toast rack formation and allow fixing points for frame and both wheels.

Virtually maintenance free these are ideal for short term cycle parking and public spaces.

Sheffield stands are the most common but also available in Toast Rack formation or M stands which have a contemporary design.

Cycle Shelters

Cycle Shelters provide essential covered parking when cycles are left for longer periods of time. They can be used in conjunction with cycle stands.

These are highly flexible and can be designed to fit in different formations (such as facing formations) and come with options such as powder coating, cladding options, lockers, CCTV and lighting.

Cycle Compounds

When additional security is needed, if bikes are to be kept for long periods, compounds are a good solution.

Usually clad in UV PET-G which gives all round visibility, they can also be clad in other materials such as perforated stainless steel, steel weld mesh or wood.

Access control options include key pad, swipe card, key fobs or proximity cards.

Two Tier Cycle Parking

When space is at a premium, two tier cycle parking systems provide double the capacity of traditional cycle parking systems.

These systems can provide excellent value for money on a ‘cost per parked cycle’ basis.

Cycle Lockers

Cycle lockers are ideal for environments where you need to offer extremely secure cycle parking facilities and are ideal for public spaces, train stations or areas exposed to the elements.

Lockers can be single, double, have smart access control systems and secure cycle lockers for rail environments