The main purpose of a bike rack is to secure the bike when the rider is away from it. The bike is placed in the bike rack then secured with a lock to prevent theft.

There are other practical reasons for bike racks as well. A bike rack serves as a convenient place for a person to park his or her bike while at work or school, shopping, jogging in the park, playing at a playground, etc.

Bike racks are also used on vehicles to transport the bike from one location to another. These vehicles include not only the family car, but public transportation vehicles as well.

Bike racks can also be used for storage inside the garage. Many of these types of bike racks are mounted on the garage wall or ceiling to provide more room in the garage. Two-bar bike racks can be taken right off of a vehicle and stored onto a garage wall with the use of a garage mount. You can use either a ball-mounting device or a type-approval device for the garage mount. It is important to lock your bike to the bike rack even when the bike is stored within your home since many bikes are actually stolen from garages or backyards of private homes.

Bike racks may also be designed in the form of a “shell” or locker in order to keep the bike safe from not only thieves, but the weather elements as well. These forms of bike racks are generally found at transit stations or office structures where people will be located for many hours at one time. These types of bike lockers will protect the bike from the harsh rays of the sun, as well as from wind, rain and even snow.