<p>Going shopping this week for a hybrid bike for D to take to school in the fall (for biking around campus and for longer bike rides - lots of hills but no incredibly rough terrain). Friends have recommended a Raleigh SC-30 and Trek 7100. I know nothing about bikes (other than the sparkly blue Schwinn I bought in 1972!), so I thought I’d see if there are any CC recs before I start out.</p>
<p>my daughter has a nice mountain bike ( fisher I htink) and a beater bike for around campus
I would not recommend getting a nice bike for around campus</p>
<p>Some campuses and most police departments have bike sales that will get you a better bike at a better price. Walking around our local college campus, I would think a new bike would stick out. (Better get a rear fender - or risk a freshman stripe after the first surprise rain) I ride an older “Schwinn Frontier” - a little heavy but takes a beating. A back trap or front basket might be useful, as would a bell or horn (warn those pesky pedestrians) I also subscribe to the no helmet no bike rule.</p>
<p>My younger S just bought a hybrid bike for summer commuting to/from classes and water polo practice, and for touring-for-fun. It’s a Novara Metro, we bought it at REI about a month ago, he’s very happy with it.</p>
<p>Ditto the idea of not having the most expensive bike on campus. They regularly get stolen,bike theft on campuses is a big problem. Make sure whatever they get, its registered with the campus police and get two locks.Also get something you won’t cry over if it gets left out in the rain/snow.The kids vow they’ll take it to their room or the bike storage if that’s available and then they get lazy.By registering it with the campus police you’ll be able to file an insurance claim if its stolen.</p>
<p>My D bought a very cheap road bike (we traded the two kid’s bikes we had plus $40) and a very good lock. This has worked well, and she likes not having to worry about it.</p>
<p>Depends on the campus, but road bikes are often overlooked by college kids in favour of mountain bikes. If your D is planning to ride over some rougher terrain a hybrid might be a good idea, but weight might be a consideration, especially if she will end up carrying it up and down steps when she’s on campus, or to store the bike at home.
I would also definitely recommend looking for a second hand bike if you can, since it will be cheaper and much less of a temptation to magpie like bike thieves.</p>
<p>I agree with the rest about an expensive bike. Trek makes some excellent bikes at good prices. The 3700 is around $300 and the 4300 (I have this one) is less than $500 (with disc brakes!). My son has a Cannondale Jekyll mountain bike that I DON’T want him to take to school in the Fall (too likely to be stolen).</p>
<p>I like the community bicycles I saw at Davidson & Furman. ;)</p>
<p>SIGH… I guess it’s not just the admissions process that has changed since my day. I headed off to college some 30 plus years ago with my brand new 10-speed (there’s a term from the past) and logged an incredible number of miles on that bike over the course of 4 years. I never worried about the bike being stolen (though I kept a cheap lock on it) or defaced. It sat outside throughout college - wind, rain, and lots of snow - and lasted well beyond my college days. I appreciate the frank advice; this just kinda reminds me of when amusement parks first started putting metal detectors at their entries and I let out a big old sigh at that time too. (Just curious if posters’ experiences are that bike theft is a problem at just about every school - big, small, urban, rural, north, south …)</p>
<p>I think it depends on the bike
my daughters school has bikes allover campus but as there isn’t any guarantee that a bike will be there when you want one, many students bring their own
She is picking up a bike at a yard sale when she gets to campus- she may also bring her good bike down for longer trips- but if you are just going to ride around school, you don’t need bells and whistles- which also make it less likely it will look attractive enough for someone else to pedal off with</p>
<p>Well bike theft is definitely a problem on urban campuses…I did have a bike (admittedly it was absolutely brand new, and unsecured) stolen from inside a locked building with very restricted access. The astonishing part is that I got it back!</p>
<p>I think it depends on the campus and the particular bike. I don’t consider the Trek 7100 to be the kind of bike that would get stolen if it’s locked and I don’t think it’s particularly expensive. I have one of the early Trek hybrids and I’m going to replace it with a 7200 - I rode a friend’s and loved it. The only two things I would recommend would be to buy the guy’s version. The seat on the women’s version is uncomfortably large and there is not a place for a bike bottle cage.</p>