@Waiting2exhale - maybe the middle? From what I can tell, cable locks are usually easy to cut, and even some of the thinner U locks can be cut. The one I mentioned seems to be plenty sturdy, and is a little longer so easier to reach through the rear wheel, frame, and bike rack. Some people suggest having a thick cable to also lock the front wheel and seat to the rack or U lock. It seems like overkill, unless you come out of class, your bike is gone, and you can’t get to your next class on time. Or you need to get home at night. There was another brand that was $100. (Kryptonite maybe.) Somewhere I read a comparison that said this one was plenty strong compared to the expensive one. Even if S takes a cheap bike, I don’t want the hassle of replacing it. We went through that with D.
OnGuard Brute LS U-Lock, 4.37 x 10.24-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008B9D0NG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_uOBDxb7VVCG48
@psychmomma, I’m definitely not going to look askew at seeking to hold on to a bike, used and beloved or otherwise.
I appreciate the depth of your response. Thx.
The university my daughter will go to, like many large universities, is like a city. (@texaspg will remind me that it is a city.) The whole freakin’ place is the city is the university is the whole freakin’ city. So, I actually am concerned about theft and one of your stated scenarios…needing to get home at night.
Maybe that’s just my issue though - no internal radar or map reading skills of any sort. She’s young and she’s a runner, so if she can’t take care of the bike, maybe she can take care of the body she stole from me. :))
Well, I ordered it, so will report back when he gets it and tries to use it.
@Midwest67 - that bike program is really cool. They should try that at all the really large campuses. The program that gets kids to forgo bringing a car, is pretty nice - includes a bell, lock, helmet, and bike, for the whole school year. If the campus bikes are easily identifiable by their color and style, maybe they are less likely to get stolen. It reminds me of in high school when teachers would have school bus yellow TI 84 calculators. They were clearly school owned calculators so less of a theft risk.
My school’s TI-84’s are bright yellow too! I always thought that was just something our school did. @psychmomma
@Midwest67 Florida State has a bike rental program for students as well.
http://sustainablecampus.fsu.edu/Our-Programs/reCycle-Bike
“Students are able to rent a bicycle for a nominal fee for the semester or for the academic year. The rental fee includes basic maintenance, a brand new helmet, a lock, and a free Bike Eat Shop Tallahassee (BEST) subscription. A BEST subscription allows members to receive deals at local restaurants and shops as long as they have the member sticker on their helmet.”
BBB is having special college shopping events at various locations across the country. Anyone ever been?
I’ll be honest-I find BBB to be fr more costly, even with the 20% coupons. Walmart, Target and Ross all beat BBB for pretty much all dorm items. Both Target and Walmart will ship to store, and if you’re lucky enough to live near or the college is near an Ikea, you will beat all three for many, many items. I get the cachet, and the one-stop appeal, but it’s not a cost-saving method, even with those coupons.
After shopping for D13’s dorm supplies, shopping for D16 feels easy-peasy. We have already been to IKEA. Amazon and Target are taking care of the rest.
I’ve gotten a few things at BBB because of gift cards but Target has good things as well.
Just placed an order for D16’s LL Bean boots. They’re already on back order! Expected delivery is early August.
For the Target college registry do you know if you can also select bath and beauty items? Laundry detergent, etc? If so it would be very helpful to pick all of that up locally in one stop without having to go aisle by aisle.
For those that are doing a ship to store near your school, how are you planning to do the pick up? I have thought about this for some of the larger items but not sure how it would work. We’d have to drive to the dorm first, unload the car, then drive to the store and back to the dorm for another unloading. It seems like it would be difficult to do on a hectic drop off day. I’m thinking it might be better to just wedge everything in the car and do it once - or maybe even get one of those storage bags for the roof of the car so everything fits in one trip. We have a RAV4 so its not huge, and we will have three people in it so we will have the back plus we can fold down have the back seat. Its not a huge amount of space.
We are putting a Class 3 hitch on the back of our Jeep Liberty and putting a small rack on the back @me29034
I feel like I’m missing something with regard to move in. Maybe because we’re flying? Why do you anticipate having to cram so much into a vehicle? What are the larger items aside from some storage bins? Help!
We are taking two cars the our Rav 4 will be entirely taken up by a large instrument and the musical paraphernalia that goes along with it. D hopes to be able to move all this stuff into the music building the day we arrive (the day before move in). The mini van will have all the other stuff some of it’s bulky like the microwave, bedding, rug, pillows …
Bedding, clothing , lamps, TV. I will have 2 people in the back seat leaving only the storage compartment . Some people are taking bikes. Our rack is small , only about 2 feet deep .
We might bring things you wouldn’t if you’re flying. Microwave, refrigerator, bicycle, plastic drawers/cubes, floor lamp, desk lamp, full length mirror, stick vac, printer, dolly. (When kids had a suite with shared bathroom we also had a bathroom garbage can, hanging shower caddy, toilet brush, plunger, etc.) At S’s school it costs $160 to rent a micro-fridge for one school year. We can bring these for less- we already had a fridge and bought a $40 microwave. Most of the things I listed are not even necessary, just doable since we are driving.
D wants to take three instruments (guitar, viola, violin). Bedding takes a huge amount of space (comforter, sheets, foam mattress pad), towels, lamp, plus all her clothes, and personal care items. And since we are planning to stay a couple days, both H and I will have small suitcase too. Once you start thinking what you need it seems to take a lot of space.
@Undercovermom1, yes, you can scan laundry items, food and other things with the registry scanner at Target. D tried it and it worked. She’s using it as a list rather than suggested gifts.
We’re flying in and will likely need two trips to get everything to the dorm, but we’re staying near the school, so it shouldn’t be too problematic. We’re flying in 3 large bags, and buying most everything beyond clothes, towels and sheets on location. We’re spending the extra $2 a week to rent a mid-size car (like a VW Passat, which is what I got ungraded to last time we traveled). It has a HUGE trunk, and there are only 3 of us, so I think we can make this work.
DD will not get her permanent dorm until labor day weekend when we will be back home, so she will have to do the move by herself. I’ve heard they have plenty of help of upper classmates during the move. We shall see. She will be staying in the temporary dorm for a week during pre-orientation program. She will be flying with two suitcases and we will also have her staff in our carry on bags. As far as large items, she will have to manage to buy them herself. Bikes are not very popular on her campus since many use bus. Upper classmates are giving away many items now for free, but I don’t know what will be available when she gets there. They have online service where people post things they need or want to give away or sell for a fraction of the price. It seems that they have very collaborative environment and people are eager to help each other.