I’m a little late on this, but… The seriously cool “hoop” design has won the New York City CityRacks Design Competition design competition. The designers are Ian Mahaffy and Maarten De Greeve from Copenhagen.
What I like about this design: 1. Cool Euro-styling, 2. 2-point frame support, 3. No wheel bending.
The city expects to install about 5,000 of these. Here’s an interesting quote from the story : “‘The jury was convinced that the Mahaffy and De Greeve design will best meet the City’s bike parking needs and generate greater interest in cycling,’ Ms. Sadik-Khan said in a statement.” Is a cool-looking rack enough to encourage more cycling? Hmmmm… Does it do anything to increase subjective safety? I suppose it’s entirely possible that these racks will generate at least some interest. The word “trendy” pops to mind. But sustained interest?