Bike racks
 

Hi, I will be installing some bike racks in campgrounds for bike touring visitors. Can anyone tell me what type of bike racks work best for touring bikes? We will anchor them to the ground for security, so campers can lock their bikes to the rack with peace of mind. Thank you!

Interesting question.

Best for me are racks where your bike can lean on, i.e. avoid those where you slide your front wheel between posts. Impossible with front (pannier) racks.

Several variants. Quick google yields U-racks. Simple and effective.

In campgrounds, I would assume the bicyclists would want to keep their bikes in the campsites close to them. I like to string a cable around a picnic table bench to lock my bike frame to the table if a convenient tree is not available.

Not sure where your bike racks would be, is there a rack in each campsite?

^^This^^

Ditto the U-racks.

OP! Stay mindful of the weight of many touring rigs: bike, luggage, camping gear, food, everything else. Far more than a recreational bike will weigh. On my recent 5 day tour the whole shebang weighed 70lbs. Be sure that your racks are designed for that. I agree that the usual city park/school yard racks with slots for the front wheel will be a very poor design.

I would also prefer a rack at my campsite where I can see and hear it all night. Otherwise I'd forsake the racks and use a tree. It would be nice if the rack is narrow enough to fit between the saddle and the bars, not interfere with the front nor rear panniers. Great for us old farts that have no kick stands.

I'd plan on two kinds of visitors. Those stopping by to use facilities, see sites, etc, and those staying. Racks would be in different locations for the different types of users. As was mentioned those staying will want their bikes with them in their camp site. Most often they lock to a picnic table or tree, but a U rack might be nice there. Elsewhere, like outside office, showers, beach, and other facilities and attractions, U racks are also nice since panniers are not a problem with them.

Personally I usually find I can improvise a place to lock the bike in the campsite, so racks in the other locations may actually be more important.

Basically any rack where you lean the bike against the rack is fine as long as there is space for the width of the panniers. Take care to keep U racks (or other lean type racks) far enough apart for loaded bikes.

i'd never lock my bike up at a central spot, always want it with me.

so what other facilities do you have at each campsite? maybe you could weld/bolt a solid metal ring to something at an appropriate height to run a cable through. that something should be able to hold up a heavy bike leaned against it....for all the loaded tourbikes without kickstands.

Yes, the only places I have stayed where I leave my bike anywhere away from where I am overnight is when there was a secure place that the bike was locked up in where there was no unauthorized access to it. That was usually at hotels or hostels though, never campsites.

How do you mean the "always want it with me" thing? It can't be an absolute thing for me. I would feel like a prisoner to my bike if I carried that too far. If you just mean you insist on taking it to your camp site that is one thing. If you never go hike for a few hours, or leave it locked up and go to the beach or whatever attractions a camp has, or lock it up and go inside a museum, or whatever.

I would hate to lose my bike and/or gear but am willing to take some risk of loss in order to enjoy my tour. I weigh all that in to the choices I make including what I spend on bike and gear, what risks I accept, and so on. I think that it is more likely I won't ever have my bike stolen on tour, but it is far from a zero chance and I just have to accept that chance. It helps that I have gear that is pretty nice, but still cheap enough that I could write a check and replace it all without too much pain and on a long tour I could be going again in a couple days.

We typically leaned our bikes against picnic tables at most camp sites. When alone that worked very well because I only needed one side of the bench to sit at and it was easy to lock the bike on the other side.

When there are more riders it gets more awkward since there are more bikes and more seating and food prep area needed. We leaned our bikes against the ends of the table, but there was usually nothing to lock to there. Sometimes we moved the bikes to the sides to lock them (when turning in for the night or when leaving the site), sometimes we just locked them to each other (not very secure, but since we were there we accepted the risk level), sometimes we improvised something else. Anyway, maybe if there was something added to the ends of the table to lock to that would be adequate.

Given the choice, I'd still choose the U rack solution. Even a single rack would be okay for me (two bikes leaned against each side), but two U racks would be nice.

That said I never really complained when there was just a picnic table to lock to :)

always with me in a situational awareness sorta way. during the day, depending on location, can lock up and go into a store or museum for ten minutes to an hour. out in the boonies, can lock near a trailhead for a few hours. at night is when i mean i want it with me unless there are secure storage options. either locked to a pickanick table or fence at the campsite, or in the hotel room.

Another vote for U type rack and not a front wheel design. Even a bicycle height longer hitching post would work for several bikes.

When I read the question, my first thought was for well-spaced, U-racks, so I agree with that. But I also agree with everyone that mentions keeping their bikes close to them. You are especially sensitive to bike theft when it's your mode of transportation, and it is very inconvenient to park your bike at a central location when your bike is holding all your gear. A couple of U-racks at or immediately adjacent to the campsites would be welcome. I would not expect them to be heavily used if the bikes had to be parked out of view of the owner.

I would want the rack to be close to my site -- even part of my site, so that I don't have to leave the bike out of sight. The best racks seem to be the ones that make the fewest assumptions on how a bike must be shaped. At my work I sometimes am unable to get a spot at the long railing in the bike lockup, and have to hang my bike by its wheel on one of the vertical racks. Those things are terrible because if hung by its front wheel a U-lock doesn't reach the rack's U, and if hung by the rear wheel the rear derailleur comes in contact with the rack.

A U rack is simple and effective. I'd go with that.