Originally Posted by
sjnoor
At this point Im looking at replacing the chain, both the front and back gear sets, as well as all the brake cables.
How did you determine these items need to be replaced? Condition of the bike doesn't look bad, maybe you just need some things adjusted and not replaced. By front and rear gear sets I'm assuming you mean derailleurs. They probably just need adjusted not replaced and maybe cable replacement. Since you are in a college town see if you can find a bicycle co-op in the area.