From Rotterdam to Tokyo: the world's most hi-tech cycle parks

Businesses and cities are installing state of the art parking facilities for the swelling ranks of cyclists, but will they pay to park?

For all those cyclists who leave their bike at the station only to spend the rest of the day worrying it will be stolen or vandalised, there may be hope in the form of a German-designed tower.

"When you get to a train station these days, you see 150 metres of bikes. We need much more compact solutions," says Nick Child, managing director of Cardok, which will distribute the Radhaus tower in Britain. (Radhaus is a pun on the German word Rad, which means bicycle, and Rathaus, which means city hall.) "We need much more compact solutions."