Bus bike racks WTF?
 

Today was my first time taking my bike on the bus as part of my commute, and to my horror, when I got off, my bike was lieing against the bike in front of it, barely hanging on to the bike rack! The bus had just a minute earlier been doing 65mph on the freeway! Maybe I just had a faulty rack, or bad luck, or maybe this is a dumb question, but in all seriousness, are most bike racks on busses
compatible for 700c? It was the arm-over type, but the arm had completely fallen down and the bike was literally laying down! Bungees? Locks? (<<supposedly not allowed!?!)

Subscribing. I've always feared for my bikes safety, and thus never used a bus? What about theft?

Either the bike was put on the bus rack incorrectly, or the rack is defective.

I've been using these bus racks for years. I take a bus that regularly gets up to 70mph on a freeway. Never had the bike fall off. I always sit at the front of the bus to keep an eye on it, mostly to keep people from snagging it at stops.

Pay attention to the instructions. There should be a slot for the front wheel and for the rear wheel. Then there's a bar you pull up and over the front wheel. Pull it up all the way to the fork crown. Then give the bike a good jiggle.

They're supposed to be compatible with anything from 16" wheels to 28" wheels.

I used the rack as advised, but this was the problem - the front wheel wouldn't sit deep enough in the slot for the bar to get all the way over the wheel. No problem for MTB or BMX users. It seemed fairly "secure", i even got off at the stop before the freeway to check on it and it seemed "ok" but when I got off, it was just barely hanging on. Maybe defective?? Do you secure your bike in any additional way?

I've got a friend with a 29er that's occasionally been on the bus. Our transit ( in and around Seattle ) has the same type of racks described here ... so I'm guessing 29" is generally allowed.

29er doesn't count :P Just a 700c with big tire

But yeah, really, just everything should work on it.

Yours sounds like a defective rack, or you guys might have different racks than denver has.

When the arm that holds the front tire binds from lack of lubrication, it can bounce off the tire. You can tell a bad rack because the arm binds when you pull it out What I do is to use a bungee on all bike racks that are suspect and tell the driver to squack the rack.

I can't get the arm all the way to the fork crown because it is blocked by the front fender, and, if I could, it would probably damage the headlight. Even so, as long as the arm is sliding smoothly, there have been only a few times in hundreds of trips in which bungee has been needed. The racks are pretty reliable, and if the arm slips, it needs to be fixed.

Paul

I've got a fork crown mounted headlight, fenders and a relatively skinny tire on 26" wheels. I have no troubles getting the bike onto a bus rack and mounted securely enough to handle potholed roads. That means the arm ends up correctly jammed right up against the fork crown, between my headlight and the head tube. Since none of the local buses take the interstate, I don't know for sure about at highway speeds.

On a 28 or 29" wheel bike, it *might* be more problematic. But that's not something I'd expect from how much clearance I have when loading my bike.

My wife and I both use the buses in Sac from time to time. I have 700c and she has 26". We've never had any problem. It sounds like you got on one with a broken rack.

I drive a bus for a living. Here's what I have to say to any bikers:


-Make sure that its on there! If the rack is used properly, your bike wont fall off the rack.

-Don't leave anything on the bike that can fall off (helmets, bags, etc.)

-Keep an eye on your bike AT ALL TIMES!!! I've stopped a guy thinking of taking a bike off my rack! I gave him the evil eye

-If the rack is full, I can't let you on the bus holding ur bike, sorry. Its a safety thing. Your bike could become a projectile coming down the aisle in the event of a crash, hitting everyone in the way until i stop it with my back! No thanks.

-When its your stop, it's a GREAT IDEA to remind me to give you more time/space to get your bike. I may be tired and might not remember who owns it! I might just pull away with it. Just say, "I'm gonna get my bike, thanks"

-Please, please, PLEASE put the rack back up. If you don't, i have to do it. If I don't notice it, i may hit something with it. Plus its a dick move not to.


THanks and ride safe!

Why do they let strollers on? (Not trying to be an ass or anything, I really want to know the difference)

Strollers are supposed to be folded when on the bus. Most people don't, I don't mind as long as your child isn't in it and the brakes are on and you move it out of the way as much as possible. It irritates me when a parent has a kid in stroller and refuses to take the kid out. I usually say, "If I crash, you're gonna trust a stroller... WITH wheels to keep your child safe?"

The bike thing is policy, no way around it unless your bike folds. I have a few passengers with folders.

Very GOOD sound advice. I really do appreciate all the work the bus drivers here do.

Not an expert or anything on the subject but I assume a 20-40 lb metal object with bars sticking out of it is more dangerous than a 2-10lb cloth and plastic item with padding on it.

Strollers also have 4 wheels which makes them more stable than a bike with 2 wheels. In the event of a crash or sudden stop the movement of the stroller is more predictable.

In the event of a bad crash, EVERYTHING is going to the front of the bus. I would rather it be a fully loaded stroller than a large, awkward, metal bike!

I suspect that the bike rack was trashed. Sometimes the spring in the arm that goes over the front wheel is damaged or "sprung". I had my bike on a front mounted bus rack when the bus driver hit a pothole the size of the Panama Canal, while simultaneously slamming on the brakes to avoid hitting some dips**t who had cut her off to make a right turn. My bike somehow managed to stay on the rack, but it was thrown forward enough to bend the rear rim, (good luck trying to collect damages on THAT!). While putting the bike in the rack, I noticed that the arm was really loose and wiggly, but I was in a hurry and just threw the bike on the rack anyway - big mistake. For that reason I eliminated the bus portion from my daily bike-subway-bus commute, and just ride instead.

FYI - Japino - thanks for the sound tips and perspective from a bus driver. You guys have an extremely tough job and for the most part do it very well. Props to you.

I know a woman who has had her bike lifted from a bus rack TWICE on the same line. Amazingly she ran down both thieves and kicked their asses!

Lock your bikes to the bus rack. Some drivers give a lot of grief about locking, but I don't care.

I have used the back wheel! The chainstays allow the arm to go on the wheel better more like 2/3rds over and not 1/2 way like on the front. I allso have my U-lock on the ready to toss it on for all the red lights and cros-walks here in Detroit!

Hm. Here's a thought, how about wrapping the u-lock around the frame and a wheel before loading it on the bus. This way, if a thief does decide to lift it, at least they won't be able ride very far...

I put my commuter bike on the bus frequently as I often don't have time to ride my full 46 mile round trip commute (or am feeling lazy!). I've learned to quickly discern the condition of the rack, particularly its restraining arm, before loading the bike. Usually they're well maintained, but if the arm has a lot of play or stickiness to it, I'll ask the driver if I can use another slot on the rack. So far, they haven't refused this request.

Edit: Reason for asking the driver is most of them want you to use the outermost rack if no other bikes are present.

I'm an enthusiast about multi-mode commuting, but I wouldn't put a really nice bike on one of these racks- especially one with thin, light rims. I can't speak for other transit agencies, but I suspect that many have the same "use strictly at your own risk" policy with respect to bikes on racks that Metro Transit has in the Seattle area.

I think the buses in my area can carry only 2 bikes. So if the arms are FUBARed, then you either wait for the next bus which can be within the scheduled time but most often one would be fortunate if one ever shows up at all. For this reason, if I truly want to use transit as part of a multi-modal commute, I would have to get a folder.

Nice, lots of good info here. I'm convinced I just got a bad rack or in some unfathomable way, used it wrong. I hope to use the bus as little as possible, but I already catch the train at 6:30 and don't clock in until 8:30 if I ride from the end of the train line rather than use the bus. (Even with the bus, my round trip is 42 miles on a fixed gear with tall gears and two hills!) The bus saves a half hour on the commute, but it's definitely not worth the replacement cost of a run-over bike. I'll give it another go with adding my U lock to the equation and see what happens...

This seems to be the usual case in the US of A. When I was in Sweden last summer they had a very nice configuration where you could just roll on the stroller or a wheel chair from the center door and there was a space with fold up seats where you could secure it. On the other hand, they usually didn't have bike racks on the buses!

I commute with a bike with 20" wheels and I have to be careful the spring on the arm is strong enough to come all the way down to hold the 20" wheel securely. About one in ten aren't so I move the bike to the other position in the rack if it is available. Always give the bike a good tug and jiggle it a bit to make sure the arm is secure. The drivers tell me there have been cases where the bikes feel off and were run over by the bus - not a pretty sight I am sure. I also have to remember to shift into high gear so the derailleur won't bend against the rack. These days I rarely put it on the bus though, just when I'm running late.

I have had the OPs same situation happen to me. Restraining arm slipped off, and I arrived at my destination to find the bike laying at an angle in the rack with all of the bike's weight on the rims. I also have a problem because I have front racks on both of my bikes that can affect how far I can move the restraining arm up. On my 20", I put the restraining arm over the rack. The hook goes through the rack (it's rat-trap style rack), and it's very secure. Even so, one bus driver made me move the restraining arm down to the wheel. He said that was policy. We went a few stops and the arm slid off, so he said, "No, you're way was better. Why don't you go ahead and fix it."

I also have found that on a couple of racks the wheel base of my Long Haul Trucker is just just a little too long to let the bike sit all the way in the bottom of the trough. Problem is that trench that the bike sits in has a slop up at either end. I've been able to use those racks, but I make sure the restraining arm is good and tight, and I keep on eye on the bike while I ride.