<p>Son needs to purchase a bike this weekend. He is OOSS and already on campus. He should be able to get a ride to a local big box store. He will be able to lock his bike infront of his dorm.<br>
What are the things he sould look for or avoid. He is in the south so snow will not be a factor. </p>
<p>Multi gears?
high handle bars?
thin tires?
big tires?
light frame?
sturdy frame?</p>
<p>Get something ugly, and not trendy. Less likely to get stolen. Re: the other criteria…it depends on the terrain and distance. If it’s hilly, he’ll want multi gears. If not, no. If he’s not racing, I don’t think the weight is an issue. Yes…sturday frame. Re: tires…personally I would suggest a hybrid. A “road bike” has very thin tires, and a mountain bike very fat. I would go with a hybrid. To be honest, if you’re going to a big box store, you’re not going to have a ton of different options. Just buy an inexpensive bike.</p>
<p>Has he checked Craigslist?</p>
<p>He shouldnt have any problem picking a bike out if hes been on campus a while. Fashion dictates what kind of bike kids ride on college campuses. The fashionable bike at my DDs college (urban, in the South and no hills) would be a lightweight, single-speed with dropped handlebars, and simple caliper brakes (easier to maintain) - and probably not new, but a beater. For the real bike punks on campus, it would be a fixed gear too.</p>
<p>I would make sure he has a helmet, of course, and not to spend too much money on the bike. Also, invest in a U-lock since most chain locks can be easily defeated.</p>
<p>Craigslist is an excellent idea, and some communities have a “Plan B” Bike Shop or similar place where you can pick up a bike cheap and get access to tools for maintenance and repair.</p>
<p>He might also join the local Freecycle group and post a “wanted” notice.</p>
<p>I had an old bike that I got rid of through Freecycle; it went to a grad student who didn’t care that it was ancient, said “Bull(hockey)” on one side of the frame where “Panasonic” should have been, and hadn’t been dusted in at least twenty years. I was happy to get rid of it, and the grad student was happy to get it for free!</p>
<p>Helmet, helmet, helmet. Also front and rear lights (you can buy a rear light that will clip onto a backpack, and the front light should be easily removable from the frame and easy to store in a backpack, otherwise it’ll be stolen off the bike.</p>
<p>Why do I say this? Because a guy in my freshman dorm died of a head injury sustained in a collision with another bicycle at night - neither rider had lights or a helmet.</p>
<p>Otherwise, any piece of junk will do, as long as the chain doesn’t jam and the tires don’t go flat.</p>
<p>Advice from D’s college – cheap bike, expensive lock.</p>
<p>cheap cheap cheap, it is very likely to be stolen, my Ds was stolen in her underground parking garage which has security in a safe city</p>
<p>WashDadJr bought an $89 mountain bike (big tires, lots of gears) from Wal-Mart. He locked it to a bicycle rack on campus when he left in May and figures he has a 50-50 chance of finding it there when he gets back. (sigh)</p>
<p>Excellent helmet, excellent lock, very ordinary, inconspicuous bike. You want potential thieves to find another bike on the rack to be more attractive than yours.</p>
<p>I say this as a parent of a son who had bikes stolen three times during his undergraduate years.</p>
<p>S’s first bike we shipped to him was stolen.Woke up one morning and the whole rack row of bikes were gone. Bought a used bike from a local bike store for the 2nd one,with a good U lock and had it etched for ID by the campus police. Was probably <50-75 bucks.So far its lasted a year and a half.
Have your S try a local bike shop near his campus for something used if he can get a ride there.</p>
<p>Get a bike on craigslist and repair it so it runs well. </p>
<p>Make absolutely sure your child wears a helmet. My daughter’s helmet saved her life 8 weeks ago when IT broke the car’s windshield when she was hit. Four weeks later the helmet I bought her boyfriend (because his helmet strap was broken) was similarly trashed when a drunk driver hit him.</p>
<p>Second the ugly, used, cheap bike.</p>
<p>My nephew had 2 bikes stolen from the U of Miami. The first was very nice, the second, not so nice. The third was not worth stealing so he still has that one. My SIL believes there is a geniune racket down there where they steal the bikes and ship them out into international waters quickly so they can’t be recovered.</p>
<p>WashDad- at our UW he’d have a zero chance if he left it at the dorms, they remove bikes abandoned there at the end of the school year. UW here tells students to get the cheap, ugly bike and a good lock.</p>
<p>Yes, definitely get a cheap one! D1 had a nice Trek bike and it was boosted right from in front of her dorm.! Funny thing was about 5 months later she was walking to her on campus job and saw an unlocked bike that looked just like hers. No one was around so she checked the serial number and it was her bike! It had a lock wrapped under it , she tried her combination and Voila! It opened! She took it back. Now she uses my old cheap bike and leaves hers home with me.</p>
<p>I’ll join the chorus.</p>
<p>Get an el cheapo bike. Craig’s List is a good idea if the seller is local or if shipping costs don’t exceed the price of the bike. Don’t forget the ads in the the local sunday newspaper. Any bike that is comfortable for your student will do. Tires are replaceable, so don’t shy from buying a MTB with fat tires, just switch to narrow “city type” MTB tires. It seems to be a fact that nice looking bikes get stolen from college campuses, regardless of the lock. Finally, anyone who rides a bike without a helmet is on a fool’s errand.</p>