On Fri, Jul 2, 2010 at 10:51 AM, Frank Gmeindl frank.gmeindl@comcast.net wrote:
gunnar,
Thanks for the report. Exactly as I expected. The stand-alone racks that we spec'd have the posts going into the ground a minimum of 11-inches into 8-inch diameter holes with concrete grout beneath the pole and in the space between the pole and the hole walls. If that were the case for the post-and-loop rack on Stewart & Van Gilder, it might be still standing.
Maybe next week I'll take a few photos of the rather flimsy system up there. The post is welded to a plate. The plate is probably 6x6" or so.
Besides the mounting system, what do you think of the post and loops themselves? Does the material seem sturdy enough? Does the finish look like it will last and not mar a bike's finish? Is the loop at the right height for locking a bike to it?
I didn't to play much since the whole thing was ready to fall on my toes, but I would say that the finish was nice enough, post and rings seemed solid enough, but some sharp corners perhaps around the rings and post. No rubber. Seemed like it might be a little short and the rings not quite large enough to provide enough surface to keep the bike from spinning around. Not awful certainly.
Next week I'll look more closely at these items.
Your man in the morning...
Frank
On Jul 2, 2010, at 8:57 AM, Gunnar Shogren wrote:
So me and DanC took a look see at the fine thing this morning.
There it was, standing erect right beside the nice new bus shelter on that new slab of concrete. Nice and green. Then I went up to it and it wobbled. And I noticed washers on the ground.
Freakin' thing was put in there using some heavy-duty screws (I remember using them for construction, forget the name) but definitely NOT concrete bolts or anchors. On further examination there are about 8 or more other holes drilled in the concrete, like the bolts didn't work last time, let's use the same crappy system in a slightly different spot. Saw a couple of the bolts snapped off, three were actually still in the concrete, so it appears that the washers were just a little too big and loose and the whole mounting plate just is able to come right out. So I didn't get a chance to lean my bike against it, I feared for my toes and bike and that point. I laid the post down, it needed to be put to rest.
Simply amazing. Your reporter in the morning.
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