General Cycling Discussion - Bike(s) going to college...... what would you do? (Help!)

Hey fellas.. I know this a random post... but I need ya'lls suggestions on something here.

Next fall, I will be a freshmen in College... at Pittstate U. here in Kansas.

I will be wanting to take my BigHit Comp with me, and possibly my Haro Freestyle bike too.. as a campus bike (because nothing on it is quick-release).

Anyway... how would you guys suggest storing the bikes in my dorm room? How would you suggest I get the bike(s) to and from my room... just stroll down the hallway with muddy-ass tires? ( :lol: ) or do you have any other thoughts?.

I'm also wondering how many of my tools I should take with me because I do all my own car repairs, and I change my oil, rotate my tires.. etc. I'm (probably) going to have to be doing this right out in the middle of the damn parking lot... (which is going to suck).

Anyway... whatta U guys suggest? I'm ALL EARS on this one!

Do most colleges allow bikes inside dorm rooms (There's no way in hell I'm leaving my BigHit outside!)

Thanks in advance...

-Matt

most dorms are fairly small. the only way i think you'll fit a bike inside (if they let you) is to hang it by a wheel. and i've never seen ANY campus that allows students to work on their cars in the parking lot.

You might want to check with the people that are in charge of your particular dorm. When my son attended Ohio State they had a locked storage room in the first floor level of his dorm building. It was packed with bikes since it was first come first serve. He ended up with a beater mountain bike and just for convenience kept it outside and locked most of the time. If you have a nice bike I think most dorms would let you bring the bike inside unless it is a total mess. Then ask yourself if you really want a muddy bike next to your bed or desk. Just hose it off before you bring it in and you should be all set. Better to just give it a shot until you are told NO. Always easier to plead ignorance and apologize than ask for permission and get shot down.

A friend of mine just went through this-his college does not allow students to store bikes indoors in the dorms! Still, I helped him disassemble it, and bring it inside for storage in plastic garbage bags without anybody noticing....

Chances are, your college will not allow bike storage or repair inside. Any basement storage would be a risky proposition, due to notoriously high levels of bike theft on campus. Working on your car in a parking lot is also something that is not likely to be allowed..

Any decent-sized intitute of higher learning is a magnet for bike thieves, especially if it is accessible by bus from a major urban center. Professional or semi-pro bike thieves look for high-end bikes, especially ATB's. Better components and good condition will get your bike noticed, and chances are, it will be stolen within the first month. Best to just have a sub-$100 beater. Single speeds are perfect for nearly any campus (hilly campuses, such as Rennsalaer are an exception...) due to their low value, ease of maintenance, and simplicity.

Here's my two cents. Why not get an inexpensive folding bike? There are plenty of them out there to choose from (Dahon). Do not under any circumstance lock an expensive bike to a rack on a college campus. Bike theft is incredibly high and you'll lose it within a week as the students have access to liquid ice which will break the best U-Lock.

The best bike to use on campus would be a Huffy Cruiser under $100.00 at Kmart. Make sure you scratch it up real bad because even a new beach cruiser will get stolen quickly. If you have hills, find an LBS that can make a rear wheel with a 3 speed/coaster brake combo.

Thanks guys.

If I DO take my BigHit... it stays in my dorm with me... or is only OUT of the dorm when I'm riding it. I dont EVER leave my expensive bikes unattended.

:beer:

Originally posted by BigHit-Maniac
Do most colleges allow bikes inside dorm rooms (There's no way in hell I'm leaving my BigHit outside!)


have you thought about living off campus in an apartment? depending on cost it might work out for you. Near my university there are several apartment buildings within 5 miles of the campus... perhaps that is something you could check into.

leaving a nice bike outside is a bad idea on a college campus...

hang it up on a hook, but dont hook up the front wheel or your fork oil will travel right down to the top of the fork, can cause problems.
take off the wheels too if you need all the space you can get, and yeah, i would just wheel my steed down the corridor!

from some of the campus rooms ive seen there may not be enough room for bike no matter what you do. Last year i did have room and used to leave it in there, which was no problem. However I went to visit my friends just the other week, left my bike in their room, and the cleaner reported it. Porters came round said i had to move it or they'd fine me. Now i hadn't even brought a lock with me because i don't want to leave my nice bike anywhere but in a secure room. Finally after much wrangling they let me use the fellows special bike room which is underground, locked at night and has a video camera, but i still had to go out and buy the best lock i could find just for the few days i was going to stay there.

Universitys can be really crap about bikes, i can understand if everyone kept their bikes in their room then all the rooms would be filthy, but i'll be damned if i'm keeping my nice bikes in the rain and ready to be nicked. Besides which I keep them so clean that they couldnt' possibly get the room dirty.

ok, well this is old info as i was in the dorm in 1989-90...

but i had a very small dorm on the 4th floor and i carried my road bike up the stairs and hung it from 2 hooks over my bed in my dorm room. no one ever said anything about it. it worked great!

now a MTB is a little dirtier, but the way my dorm was no one would have cared i think and i could have probably sprayed it off in the common shower room. but i guess some dorms are uptight - ours wasn't.

as to the idea to get an off-campus apartment: my personal opinion is that it's a good experience to live at least one year in the dorm --- you can have your own place the rest of your life, but 24/7 activity of the dorm you can't ----- alternately you could befriend another MTBer with a place and store in basement, although then it's fishy b/c you're not actually there.

and yes, university towns are horrible for bike theft. i fortunately never had mine stolen, but my girlfriend's beater was stolen outside a dorm while locked to a sign. we think the lifted the bike about 10' off the ground and the lock off the signpost rather than cutting the lock - some work for a crappy 10speed.

if you have a nice bike at least put junk tape or an old seat or something so it doesn't look flashy!

Just a couple more things about bikes and dorms:

The last dorm room I was in was brobably all of 10'x12', and was inhabited by 2 students. D@mn little roonm for bikes in there.
Secondly, even cheap stuff gets stolen on the bike racks outside of a dormitory. One night, a friend had his seat and seatpost stolen. 50 others had them stolen that same night around campus, too!

Get the bikes insured keep them locked up at all times while not in use :D when u park em up and lock them up take the seatpost off maybe one tire too including ne lights, cycle computers and anything that is moveable!!! ;)

Take all the essential bits of bike maintenance bits with u because leave ne thing at home u will be waiitng a long imt e to get it back and there is nothing more frustrating!!! :D

I've looked for insurance for my bike before, never could find a company that insures bikes in the US.. if you know of any I would love to know about them.

I have my BigHit under our homeowners insurance... it's Insured for $2,000 with a $500 deductable...

Originally posted by VegasCyclist


have you thought about living off campus in an apartment? depending on cost it might work out for you. Near my university there are several apartment buildings within 5 miles of the campus... perhaps that is something you could check into.

leaving a nice bike outside is a bad idea on a college campus...

Most colleges that I have visited requred you to live on campus for freshman year unless you are going to commute. I don't know about Pittstate U. Also, some will not allow you to take your car either in freshmen year, in some places there is simply not enough parking!

Yeah.. I have to stay in a dorm Freshman year :rolleyes:

oh well...

I'll get it... heh.

Store the bike in the trunk of the car.

dude you can most likely keep it in your room; I keep my brand new masi road bike right next to my bed and when I hit the sack at night; just move it to in front of my desk. I think they'd be understanding seeing as how your bike is for a more serious sport use and considerably more valuable than all the huffy's outside on the racks. if they say something you can always dispute it at a board meeting of sorts, that are held periodically. by all means, if you have the space do it, plus it impresses the girls when they come up to your room and then it's like your bike is a conversation piece they have to ask about.

When I went to college, it was more expensive to stay on campus. Get a few buds to get a house with you as soon as you can and you'll not only save money, you will be able to do what you want. (Not suggesting activities that involve kegs, funnels, or girls) :D

If you don't know how big your room is, then I wouldn't take your bike with you when you initially move there. Your best bet might be to get to school, scope out what the scene is like (how big your room is, whether there is secure indoor storage in your dorm, etc), and then get your bike shipped if you decide you can safely keep it somewhere. When I was in school I just kept a beater bike in the indoor storage room for my first two years... then when I lived in an on-campus suite I moved my nicer bike up and just kept it in the common room.

I've looked for insurance for my bike before, never could find a company that insures bikes in the US.. if you know of any I would love to know about them.

the best way as someone else said is through renters/homeowner's insurance.

a basic renter's insurance policy should cover bikes, but make sure to read it b/c sometimes they'll exclude high-theft items. as a student since you probably don't have a lot of stuff (computer maybe? + bike + electronics?) try and get the insurance sum down to like $10k or less and also REDUCE the deductable to $250 --- usually the standard deductable is like $500 or $1k.

you should be able to find a cheap renter's policy for less than $100/yr. i had a policy with a $250 deductable that was like $120/yr --- and i split the cost with my roommate as you usually cover a "Household" --- of course for your average college student this is still expensive...

anyhow, renter's insurance for a college student would be really responsible as i didn't even think about it until a few years out of school when i had some stuff to steal.

alternately, you might get it to qualify under your parent's homeowner's insurance. it's wacky, but sometimes these will cover stuff that isn't even stored at the home -- check with your parents and ask about the coverage for a bike at college and the deductable (note, my sophomore-year-college-girlfriend's apartment got burgularized and her camera and my radar detector were covered under her parents homeowner's insurance even though her parents lived 210 miles away -- wow, radar detector - that was back in my "car days")

When I was at Purdue it was technically forbidden to store bikes inside. Freshman year there was no place to put it. After that, make friends with your r.a. and use common sense when bringing it in (i.e., don't drag in a bunch of mud) and you won't have any problems. As was said before, most schools forbid you to work on your car in their lots.