Bicycle Deck

A cycle parking platform transforms a single car parking space into a fully equipped bicycle parking facility. At Fietsenrekhuren.com, this cycle parking platform is called the BikeHub: a relocatable platform with hot-dip galvanised bicycle staples, available in three sizes. Municipalities, provinces, housing associations and businesses use it wherever bicycles are currently left leaning against facades and trees. Available for hire and for purchase, delivered throughout the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

A bicycle platform is a relocatable platform with cycle stands that is placed directly on the ground without any modifications to the surface, typically on a car parking space or a paved area. Our version, the BikeHub, has been available since 2022 and has been developed into a modular system: the largest size measures exactly 4.80 by 1.80 metres, fitting precisely within a standard parking space. This transforms a single car parking space into room for ten bicycles, with no breaking, drilling or pouring of concrete required.

That low, clearly defined platform is what sets it apart from standalone racks on the street. The platform visibly marks where bicycles should be parked: a neat, orderly space rather than a collection of hoops. Cyclists also secure their bicycle frame directly to a cycle stand, which significantly reduces the risk of theft. To the surrounding environment, it looks like street furniture rather than a temporary stopgap, and that is precisely why an increasing number of municipalities prefer it.

The bicycle parking platform has established itself as a key instrument of municipal parking policy. The trigger is the same everywhere: in busy streets, bicycles are propped against building facades, lamp posts and trees, whilst the road itself is lined with parked cars. By converting just one car parking space into bicycle parking, it becomes possible to accommodate a far greater number of vehicles within the same square metres, and the pavement is freed up once again for pedestrians, pushchairs and wheelchairs.

The portable nature of the platform also makes it a politically convenient tool. Permanently removing a parking space is a sensitive matter; installing a platform on a trial basis is not. If the location proves successful, the platform stays in place or is replaced by a permanent facility. If it does not, the platform can be moved to another street before anyone has had the chance to lodge an objection. In this way, parking policy becomes something to test rather than debate endlessly; you can read more about this approach at bicycle parking for municipalities.

Residents and business owners are now proactively requesting platforms from their local authority, for instance, outside a café or office where the pavement is covered in bicycles every day. For these situations, there is a variant with an integrated kerb edge that connects seamlessly with the pavement, as well as a version with a planter, which combines the parking facility with a touch of greenery in the street.

The BikeHub is modular in design and available in three standard configurations, suitable from approximately four bicycles onwards:

• BikeHub M: 1.00 × 1.00 metres, pressed grid of galvanised steel with one bicycle staple: space for 2 bicycles
• BikeHub L: 1.80 × 1.80 metres, composite decking with two bicycle staples: space for 4 bicycles
• BikeHub XL: 1.80 × 4.80 metres, galvanised steel subframe with plastic decking panels and five bicycle staples: space for 10 bicycles

The modules can be linked and combined, ranging from a single parking bay to a long row along a shopping street or business premises. All configurations are built for years of outdoor use and require virtually no maintenance.

Not sure which size suits your street or site? Include a photo of the location with your enquiry. We will advise on the configuration and number of bicycle staples, and help you think through how the unit connects to the pavement and carriageway.

For municipalities and other clients, rental is the logical first step. A hired cycle dock is installed for a season, you monitor usage and gauge local reactions, and then you make the decision: purchase, expand, relocate or remove. This trial approach prevents budget from being tied up in a location that turns out not to work, and provides your council with far stronger arguments than any written report. You can read more about this approach at bicycle parking for municipalities.

The BikeHub has been developed for permanent and long-term locations: residential areas, station environments, shopping districts, business parks and temporary urban redesigns. Since 2022 it has been deployed in, among other places, Tilburg, Rotterdam, the municipality of Heusden and the Achterhoek region. The dock is not intended for events; for those we have faster solutions such as our rental racks, see bicycle rack hire for more information. If you are looking for standalone solutions for the same permanent locations, please also visit cycle stands.

Installing a platform is a matter of hours, not days. No groundwork is required: the BikeHub travels on pallets and is placed onto the existing surface using a forklift or pallet truck, where its own weight keeps it stable immediately. It is ready for use straight away. Removal is equally quick and leaves the parking area undamaged.

Repositioning is just as straightforward. If the trial period reveals that the platform would work better ten metres further along, that is a morning’s work. This makes the bicycle parking platform fundamentally different from a built or anchored installation, where any modification becomes a project involving permits and remedial work.

Maintenance is minimal. After every rental project, we inspect each platform for wear, damage and loose fixings. Should a bicycle staple or floor section ever become damaged, that individual component is replaced rather than the entire platform. This keeps costs limited to what is actually broken. The same applies to hired platforms, with the difference that maintenance is simply our responsibility rather than yours.

Would you like to hire a cycle deck for a trial setup, or purchase a BikeHub for a permanent location? Call us or request a quote by sending a photo of the site. You will receive a complete proposal including configuration, number of bicycle stands and price, with delivery and installation included, wherever the location may be in the Netherlands, Belgium or Germany.