Originally Posted by
JaccoW
I'm not sure you read
my second post that was right behind that one? I live and have lived in cities with bikes parked everywhere. Residents are often sick of other people parking bikes against their homes so most windows have a "no bicycle parking" sticker. And with the sheer number of bikes you often won't find an empty rack or fence to park your bike.
And if they fall over they
are in people's way. Or you come back to a bike with broken derailleurs or scuffed paint instead. Because people bump into other people's parked bikes by accident. Or because they just don't care.
But that is my experience. Yours might differ.
I've ridden bikes in high-density cities up and down the East Coast of the U.S. for many decades, and I've never before heard of a "No Bike Parking" sign, much less seen one. You're fortunate to live in a city where so many people ride bikes instead of driving. The OP lives in Alaska, where the likelihood of encountering "No Bike Parking" signs is, I would guess, pretty low, as would be the case for nearly everyone reading this thread.
Riding in cities, I carry a U-lock to secure the bike to a parking meter and and a lightweight cable lock to secure the front wheel to the bike frame---no kickstand needed. Anywhere else, I lean the bike against a tree or whatever's available or prop it by a pedal on a curb or lay it on grass. Never any damage to any of my bikes from doing that, which is more than can be said for bikes with kickstands, which, if and when they fall, invariably fall drivetrain-side down. When that happens, the derailleur or dropout can bend, with the consequent possibility of the derailleur running into the spokes at some point.
So---not everyone wants a kickstand, and better-quality bikes generally should not have chainstay-damaging kickstands installed. If you want a kickstand for a better-quality bike, look into the kickstands that attach at the rear of the bike.