Cyclepod: innovative bike rack or giant table lamp?

If you live in a city, biking to where you need to go is a cheaper, healthier, and more often than not faster way to get around than driving. But worrying about where to lock your bike up and how to protect it from the elements can be a hassle. Enter the British-designed Cyclepod, a bike rack that can hold up to eight bikes in 6½-foot diameter area that has an umbrella to protect your precious cargo from the rain. By supporting the bikes vertically, it not only saves space but also secures both the frame and front wheel, making it a more secure alternative to regular racks as well. It's already being used in a couple of places in the U.K., and it seems like a great replacement for the standard-issue bike racks we see scattered about our cities here — as long as you can get past the fact that it looks like a giant lampshade.

Cyclepods, via Cool Hunting