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Mississauga cyclists were out in perfect sunshine weather for this year’s Bike to Work inaugural pancake breakfast at City Hall. Four police officers from the Peel’s cycling division were on hand to escort the planned ride from Riverwood Park to City Centre. Suddenly all the cyclists were strictly obeying the traffic signs like the ones saying “cyclists dismount and walk across intersection.”
We were treated at the pancake breakfast (in addition to pancakes) to a demonstration on how to load bikes onto the Mississauga Transit bus bike racks. Check out the video.[youtube 0Gt2wYCwl7Y]
Check the Mississauga Transit website and their Using Bike Racks page for further information. Mississauga Cycling has a section dedicated to using bikes on public transit in Mississauga and surrounding cities.
Mississauga bike maps
That recumbant bike may have actually fit because even though the front wheel was too small, the rear wheel appeared to be 22″. If that’s the case, perhaps it could have been put in rear wheel first and have the sping clamp come down on the rear wheel. I don’t know why I didn’t think of asking this when I was there. Some things to consider:
1. The rear fender may get in the way. Can the wheel clamp go over a fender safely?
2. Does Mississauga Transit have a REQUIREMENT that the front wheel go in first or is this just a recommendeation?
3. Is the wheel that steers required in the clamp for stability?
is there any known timeline regarding the implementation of these racks? would make my life much easier…
That’s me and my recumbent in the video.
Front wheel is 20″, rear is 26″ (mountain bike size). They were originally saying that these racks can accommodate wheels as small as 16″, but now the video says 22″. Fenders would likely get in the way if I were to put the bike in backwards.
Apparently these are the same racks that GO Transit uses on their buses. I’ve taken a different bike with 20″ wheels a number of times between Union-Hamilton and SquareOne-Hamilton without any trouble. Perhaps there’s a problem with how the racks were adjusted / configured?
Photo of my 20″-wheeled bike on a GO bus:
http://www.ibiketo.ca/blog/2009/04/17/all-go-buses-now-have-bike-racks
to answer my own question, and for anyone else wondering: JUNE 22, 2009.
i saw a bus go by today that had one part of the rack system attached – i guess the mount for the actual rack.
exciting!
Vic, I can’t recall the vendor of the bus bike racks being implemented by Mississauga Transit, but I suspect they are the same as the Byk-Rak racks used by the GO buses I have used. The technical specifications from http://www.byk-rak.com indicate 16″ wheels or higher should work.
I have sent out a request for information to both Mississauga Transit and Byk-Rak. I’ll post when/if I get a response.
[...] Monday, June 22, 2009 all Mississauga Transit buses will be equipped with a bus bike rack. Mississauga Bike to Work Day celebration had a demonstration. If you missed that demonstration or want to investigate further if [...]
I discussed in length with the vendor and Mississauga Transit of the issue of the recumbent bike with 20″ wheel not locking in. I want to remind people that Mississauga Transit it having two more demo days on June 18th and Canada Day. Here is some clarification sent to me from a trainer at Mississauga Transit:
” I reviewed the video you sent and it looks like the bike that was being used is a type of recumbent bike. I think. It appears that due to it’s design it was not able to be secured as it should be. As for the hydraulic device not working, it does not appear that this was the problem. We are using this same vehicle for daily training sessions and it is working as it should. In the video it looked like something was obstructing the full rotation of the locking device not allowing to secure the wheel properly. If it was held by the rack on the GO bus it should hold on our buses as well.
Also, I saw something on your web site that suggested that it might be possible to secure the bike with the rear wheel. Note; it must be the front wheel in the securing spot not the rear. The bike is held much more secure with the front wheel being held. It can not be secured with the rear wheel in the locking position.
I’m sure you can understand that the bike rack was designed for regular conventional bikes and that some of the modified bikes that are available may not be able to be held. Having said all that I have I want to invite you to more of our public awareness sessions that are coming up. This will give your group and your members another chance, and us as well, to see what type of bikes will work or not work with the bike rack. The exchange of information will be useful to all parties concerned.
I have attached advertisements for the up coming events. June 18th. and July 1st.”