Originally Posted by jeff-o

Criteria of a good rack:

- requires a lot of effort to cut/pull from the ground/damage
- Uses no bolts that can be undone to compromise the integrity of the rack
- cutting one or two segments should not expose all the bikes on a rack to theft
- should keep the bike upright
- should not damage the paint or contact any moving parts (derailleur, for example)
- should not allow bikes to become entangled with each other (ie. adequate separation)
- should accomodate bikes with wide tire widths
- should allow the use of cable and U-locks

As long as a rack meets these criteria, you can make it as fancy as you like...