<p>journey919 - any luck finding a bike?</p>
<p>Colorado Mom, for a great Boston-area bike shop set your search engine for ‘Harris Cyclery,’ a revered operation a stone’s throw from Boston propper. Great shop, great service, new and used bikes.</p>
<p>bumping this thread based on related question in Parent thread</p>
<p>Check with a local bike shop for a nice used bike; shops take in trades from people upgrading and put the trade-ins on the floor for sale after tuning them up. If you continue your interest in biking, you can trade up too when you are sure you will stick with biking. Don’t get stuck with a new $1000 bike that ends up not being used after your initial interest wears off like so many people buying expensive exercise equipment they end up using as coat hangers.</p>
<p>Some bikes are very expensive. I remember shopping for a triathlon bike a few years ago and getting a surprise. I spotted a nice bike hanging on a tall bike rack in a bike store and saw the attached price tag price of $299. I asked the bike salesman to please put the bike on the ground and stated to him the $299 seemed a good deal. He brought me back to reality real fast when he informed me the $299 tag was for the bike rack–the bike was priced at something like $3000!</p>
<p>Some colleges are starting to have loaner bikes
[Bicycle</a> Friendly College Campuses|Cycle and Style](<a href=“http://cycleandstyle.com/2010/08/bicycle-friendly-college-campuses/]Bicycle”>http://cycleandstyle.com/2010/08/bicycle-friendly-college-campuses/)</p>
<p>2) Bike Shares: colleges are acquiring fleets of bikes that can be loaned out to students by the hour, day or week to allow them to bike as much as they need. Most colleges are discovering that a bike rental program works better than the free-to-anyone programs which sadly result in bike abuse. Colleges that have a fleet of loaner bikes include: University of Arizona, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Washington, University of New Hampshire, Castleton State College, Westminster College, Northland College and Pitzer College. St. Xavier College in Chicago has a very modern European-style bike loan program.</p>
<p>It is worth doing a web search at your student’s college.</p>
<p>If a student just needs a bike for bouncing around campus, a bike under $100 from Wal-Mart or Target is fine. I see more “Huffy” bikes on my campus than any other brand.</p>
<p>OP here. Believe it or not I still haven’t bought a bike! Our budget was a little tight the past two months but maybe this month it will work. In the meantime, I’ve been riding my husband’s bike which has been fine for the short term. It’s interesting to hear the suggestions we college bikes - good to know as well.</p>
<p>Journey, if you are still looking for a bike try the Revolution Cycle down in Crystal City! My son, who was doing the bike repair, is working there now. (It is his pay the rent job while he looks for a real job) Just look for the tallest, skinnyest guy in the place!</p>
<p>Thank you Lololu! Crystal City is quite far but I am going to try Revolution Cycle in Rockville. I am thinking of going today actually… Hope your son enjoys his job!</p>
<p>journey: if you are in NoVa, check out Spokes - they have good bikes & will fit you. Another chain of stores in MD/VA is Performance. They do not fit you to the bike but they do have a large selection in a range of prices.</p>
<p>Craigslist for metro DC is another option for a commuter bike. They have a section dedicated to bikes.</p>
<p>If you plan to ride the C&O Canal, get ‘street slick’ tires - they have less drag/friction on pavement than knobby mountain bike tires but still have good traction on the gravel. (Skinny road bike tires will be destroyed on the C&O. Been there, done that :)).</p>
<p>This company has a ton of information about bike tires and a lot of different tires in stock: [Helpful</a> Information-BikeTiresDirect.com 116](<a href=“Helpful Knowledge Base of information - 116 116”>Helpful Knowledge Base of information - 116 116) </p>
<p>Personally, I like the Gatorskins for durability and flat resistance. My D did her cross-country ride–4000 miles, including the Katy Trail through Missouri (250 miles of gravel) using Continental Grand Prix tires–only needed to replace them once.</p>
<p>journey, did you buy that bike yet? 
I had to confirm that my memory was correct, and my son just sent me a picture of the original “Big Wheel Bikes” sticker that is still intact on my 1977 Fuji s10s that he is currently riding from Boston to the west coast. He left Chicago this morning. I bought the bike new in Washington D.C. Big Wheel Bikes is celebrating their 40th anniversary this year.</p>