azndude -
a friend told me this story ... his girlfriend wanted to start riding a bike with him. Nothing too fancy, just a couple trips on the beach (they live in Sou. Cal.) or a trip to the grocery store. She says, "i'll just get one at walmart." Being a rather rabid cyclist, he says, "no dear, we'll go get you a good bike, i'll help pay for it!" They argue, and a couple of months later, she stops by walmart on the way home from work and buys a cheapo mountainbike for $150. Bike is fine for a couple of weeks, and she's getting a little better riding it, so she wants to learn how to do a wheelie (sp?). He shows her, and as she lifts up the front wheel, the fork falls out. Needless to say she went straight over the bars and tore up some skin pretty bad ... (luckily she wasn't going all that fast)
moral of the story is, if walmart sold cars, would you buy one? if you are going to put your life in the hands of a two-wheeled machine, shouldn't it at least be made by a reputable company, and sold at a reputable dealer? And even besides the poor quality, who puts those bikes at Target/Walmart together? If its between Johnny stock boy and a professional bike mechanic, i think i'll take ...
as for what you are looking for, buy a used bike, uglify it, and strip it of all unnecessary parts (computers, pumps, etc.). Like someone said a bit earlier, they will get stolen if left unattended. And on a college campus, bikes are as good as gone. It is bike thief heaven. Craigslist is a good place to start, but be warned that everybody thinks their bike is worth more than it really is ... what i would actually suggest to you, is that you follow the advice from a previous poster and go to goodwill or the city dump. just be sure to take someone who knows something about bikes, because some bikes get donated or thrown away for a reason ...