Bike Parking and Repair Stands

Bicycle parking

Parking

The City of Ottawa offers a number of options for parking your bike:

Free parking at all city-owned parking lots and garages
Red bike racks at various Transitway stations
Bike racks at City of Ottawa client service centres, community and recreation centres
Blue Velocity bike racks on the street (April to November)
Ring-and-post racks at various locations throughout the city
Bike Corral Program – Bike corrals (currently three) are installed from April to November. These corrals take one car parking space and hold up to 12 bikes.

Want to request a bike rack on a public street?

If you want a bike rack on a street that is within an on-street paid parking area where there are Pay and Display machines for motor vehicles, please send the request for a ring-and-post rack to travelwise@ottawa.ca

Advertising-based bicycle parking is offered in partnership with Velocity Media for locations on the public right-of-way in the central area of the City. If you want a bike rack on a street that does not have paid parking, please forward your request for a Blue Velocity Media bike rack to Dean.Johnson@Ottawa.ca

If the request for a bike rack is at a City Facility, please contact the City Facility directly.

You can also request a bike rack by contacting the City of Ottawa at 3-1-1.

Locking your bike

Always try to pick a spot in a busy, public place to lock your bike. Follow these tips to keep your bicycle safe:

Buy the best lock you can afford
Lock your bike to something solid
Lock your frame and your wheels – use two locks (one U-lock and one cable lock) to secure more parts of your bike.
Remove your quick release items or replace quick release fasteners with bolts for added security
Disguise or personalize your bike with stickers, paint, etc.

Bike Repair Station

Tube Replacement Instructions

Remove the wheel from your bike.
Inspect the outside of the tire for glass or anything else poking out. Remove if found.
Deflate the tire completely by letting the air out of the tube.
Opposite the valve, wedge two tire levers (not a screwdriver!), next to each other, between the tube and the rim.
Hold one tire lever in place and slowly work the other lever away from you, prying one side of the tire off of the rim. The edge of the tire you are prying against is called the bead.
When one side is removed, remove the tire levers and pull the other bead off the rim.
Inspect the inside of the tire for glass or anything else poking out. If there is a large hole in the tire, such that the inner tube can poke through, you may need to apply a temporary tire boot, and consider replacing the tire.
Inspect the band of rubber, plastic, or cloth tape on the rim. Make sure it is covering the spoke holes on the rim.
Put one tire bead back on to the rim.
Inflate the new or patched tube a bit. This will make the next steps easier.
Put the valve through the proper hole on the rim.
Slowly work the tube inside the tire and on to the rim.
Put the other bead of the tire back on the rim. If possible, do not use tire levers to do this. Use your hands instead.
Once both beads are on the tire, using your hands, pry between the rim and the tire and make sure the tube is not sticking out anywhere. Do this on both sides of the tire.
Inflate the tire to the pressure range recommended.
Re-install the wheel onto your bike.

Manual Pump - Instructions

1. Read the pressure range from the side of the tire.
2. Remove the cap from the tire valve. On Presta valves, loosen the tip of the valve.
3. Connect the tire valve to the pump nozzle and flip the lever up.
4. Using both hands, move the pump handle up and down. Stop when the desired pressure is reached.
5. Flip down nozzle lever and remove the nozzle from the tire.
6. Replace the cap on the tire valve. On Presta valves, re-tighten the tip of the valve first.
7. Happy riding!

Locations of bike repair stations in the City of Ottawa

Videos: Bicycle Repair Stations

Video Transcripts

Changing Tire

*Guitar strumming*

How to change a tire

Place seat onto stand
Remove wheel from bicycle
Deflate the tube by pushing valve
Break the seal between the tire bead and the rim
Use the leaver to pull tire bead over the rim
Slide lever around the wheel
Remove the tube and hang safety off the ground
Remove tire, and inspect tire and wheel for debris and damage
Re-mount one tire bead mount tube at valve hole
Tuck the tube into the tire
Starting at the valve stem mount the other bead hook
Apply pressure evenly with both hands around to the opposite side of the valve stem inflate your tire (see “how to pump a tire” video)
Remount wheel into frame

Patching Tire

*Guitar strumming*

How to patch a tire

Before you watch this:

complete steps 1 to 7 of “how to change a tire”
Inflate tube as full as possible (see ‘How to pump a tire’ video)

Maneuver tube to listen and feel for air escaping
Identify the puncture and circle it with a marker
Open your patch kit
Choose the sandpaper, sand an area larger than the patch, until darker
Apply glue
Spread glue to a larger area than the patch
Wait 3-5 min for glue to dry
Test by touching edge (glue should be tacky)
Select patch from the kit
Firmly place the patch
Roll finger to make sure the full surface area is covered

Now, refer back to ‘how to change a tire’ at the appropriate step:

If the tire may be damaged, proceed to Step 8. Otherwise, go to step 9.

Perform a visual inspection before riding

Pumping Tire

*Guitar strumming*

How to pump a tire

Remove valve cap
Presta valve and Schrader valve
Loosen Presta valve and press to release air
Unscrew Schrader cap, and place pump chuck
Place the correct style of pump chuck onto the valve and lock into place.
Note: there are 2 different slots in the pump head depending on which type of valve you have
Pump and monitor the gauge.
Inflate to recommended PSI, and defer to lower range on tire
Close lever to unlock
Screw in Presta valve, install valve cap and tighten lock ring
Preform a final visual inspection before riding

Troubleshooting the pump:

*guitar strumming*