MRT2

Look for an old beater that might have been a quality bike back in the day. I have owned a bunch over the years that would qualify, maybe be a bit nice for a campus bike. Forget about good wheels. Sturdy is the order of the day as your son won't have time to remove his front wheel and secure it with the U lock every time he leaves his bike somewhere.

Here are a few I have owned, or still own.

Early to mid 90s Trek 800 - I bought one of these for my son as his first adult size bike when he outgrew the kid sized 20" wheels on his previous bike. A larger frame, maybe 20" would probably fit your son. These bikes are cheap, but durable.

1997 Bianchi Advantage - I still have this one in my garage, in a medium size frame. Your son would probably need a large. I replaced the chain, freewheel, grips, tires, and saddle. And that is about it. The frames on these Bianchis were really nice, so try to find one that is a little beat up so it doesn't attract too much attention.

Trek 7000, early 2000s - My wife still has one of these. Not too desireable as it is too old to be new, but not really old enough to have any cache with the C & V crowd. And it is aluminum. Good basic transportation.

Bianchi Milano - 8 speed with IGH. This would be almost too nice for a campus bike, because it looks so pretty, especially in Celeste blue. But the IGH would be great for a campus commuter.

70s or 80s Schwinn Letour - These were really nice bikes, and you might score one of these relatively cheap since they sold so many of these. I sold my 85 LeTour Luxe a few years back, and sometimes I regret is as my model came with Columbus tubing.

2001 Schwinn Moab - This was my son's first mountain bike. he rode the hell out of his on the trails, but such a bike could easily be converted into a campus cruiser with slick tires.

Trek 930 - Another bike almost too nice to be a campus bike.

Centaurious

Give it an ugly paint job, with a brush that was badly cleaned. Don't forget to slap some on the crank and derailleurs. Ugly bar tape helps as well. Replace any quick releases with regular hardware and scar them up with vicegrips. Vinegar soaked rags are great for getting rust started. I would suggest a cheap walmart bike but that will be stolen and sold on craigslist for 5 times it's purchase price.

CliffordK

Maybe a vintage Raleigh or Peugeot. Nothing fancy, just functional for a commuter. Does it ever rain in Texas? You probably don't need fenders, although a rear rack with center strip does offers some spray protection. Vintage Robin Hood?

If later he chooses to join a cycling club, then find the perfect lightweight. Or, start working on his racing bike now, for when he chooses to take it to school (he can take it into his dorm or apartment, right)?

oddjob2

As previously stated Lubbock is a huge flat campus. That being said, I think 700c tireds would be preferred.

Best Value Cannondale T500 @ $250
https://austin.craigslist.org/bik/6088771637.html

Donor parts bike looks like Ultegra STI tricolor $150
https://austin.craigslist.org/bik/6066210311.html

https://austin.craigslist.org/bik/6079989000.html

Looks like 19", will fit fine. $60 Trek 850
https://austin.craigslist.org/bik/5989779096.html

Early lugged, Trek 830 $100, 20"
https://austin.craigslist.org/bik/6028667053.html

Trek 1200 for $200
https://austin.craigslist.org/bik/6090876259.html

Trek 7.2FX for $200
https://austin.craigslist.org/bik/6047295095.html

Miyata 912, ask is a bit high at $320
https://austin.craigslist.org/bik/6047295095.html

Univega Activa Hybrid $50
https://austin.craigslist.org/bik/6037792343.html

Clang

Sloping top tube mountain bikes will fit with a lot more seat post exposed than what's shown in these pics.

The level top tube bikes from the 80's will always look larger.

Specialized RockHopper- $75 (Spicewood, TX)
https://austin.craigslist.org/bik/6090817294.html

top506

A milk carton ziptied to the rear rack is a proven and traditional carrier on a campus bike.

Top

The Golden Boy 

I gave Junior my 1990-ish Schwinn Sprint. After 2+ years, that poor bike looked like it had survived a decade in Liberia.

When we picked him up after graduation- he left it in the rack and actually said goodbye to it.

A little later he went back and rode it to a friend's house and bequeathed it unto them.

I like to think that bike is still roaming the University of Minnesota campus...

sdn40

Kind of sad that the conversation about how to make the bike less desirable has become like talking about going to the store and buying milk.
Amazing what us humans become numb to. Makes me sad that we live in a world where such lengths need to be taken because of others lack of morales.

MRT2

Me too. I am a criminal defense attorney and in the 15 years I have been doing this, I have not once represented someone charged with stealing a bike. As far as I can tell, it is pretty much a consequence free crime, and that is sad since theft of a vehicle messes with the quality of people's lives in a way that, say, shoplifting does not.

A good start would be to actually treat bike theft as the crime it is. Like, installing surveillance cameras near bike racks, actually investigate the crime (as the cops do with, say, car theft or burglary, and even shoplifting), and have the cops use bait bikes to shut down organized bike theft, etc...

bikemig 

+ 1 on all of this. I promised my nephew who is starting college next fall that I would build him a bike and ship it to him. I have a 1987 specialized rockhopper sitting in the garage I paid $40 for. It has some issues but the paint job is in very good shape. I will rebuild the bike over the summer and ship it out when school starts.

bikemig 

This is exactly the bike I picked up to build for my nephew to go to college with, down to the painted stem (mine is yellow). I paid $40 for mine.

JReade

Single speed, fenders, rack. Flat bars. If he doesn't really "Like" cycling, then gears are just going to get in the way, and probably get buggered up fairly quickly getting tossed in and out of racks. Sounds like he just wants something to grab and go across campus, and work almost every time. There are a ton of "OK" single speed companies online. You could always do a conversion, but it's up to the $$ you want to invest.

wphamilton

I wasn't going to chip in since it's been many years since my TX Tech days, and I'm not that big on C&V but I can clarify on the climate. It does rain in Lubbock and it's usually pretty impressive so you probably wouldn't be out it. Also snow and ice believe it or not. I think an old mountain bike is the best bet.

Kevindale

I'm 6' even and ride 58cm road bikes. When I was fitted for a hybrid, I ended up with a 19" per the LBS, and it was fine. The sizing is completely different, and I suspect a 21" would be too big for someone 5'10". My 6'2" friend wanted to sell me his 21" frame used MTB and it felt big for me. My guess is your son could probably get by with a 17", though it will look tiny, and an 18" would be perfect, with a 19" manageable.

EDIT: Another advantage of an old MTB is he may fall into a crowd that hits the local trails on weekends, and if his campus beater bike is capable of some real trail riding, it would do double duty.

SJX426 

I wouldn't get excited either. In a way, I would make it really easy for me and him. If there was any indication he might like riding, other than getting from one end of campus to the other, then I would start investing time an money. Not without some kind of commitment on his end.

When I was in college, I kept my bike in my room. My daughter kept hers in a locked bike room in the dorm she was in. Hers was stolen a couple of years after graduation in her new apartment. I have a nice Pinarello for her but she won't take it until she has a secure place to put it.

corrado33

I'll have to disagree with you here. At 5'10" I ride 21" level top tube classic MTBs and I generally have a bit more than a fistful of post showing. Sure, I can ride an 18" or 19" sloping top tube mountain bike, but I'd feel too big on an old 18" level top tube mountain bike. Hell, I felt too big on an 18.5" sloping top tube bike... I'd suggest anything from a 19" (if he really wants to be able to put his feet on the ground) to a 23?" classic bike, or smaller sloping top tube bikes. Then again, if it is someone who isn't really good at riding bikes, they may prefer a smaller bike so they can put their saddle down lower...

You've gotta remember that old mountain bikes were essentially road bikes with more tire clearance, so they're sized in a similar way.

But then again, I tend to ride with my saddle high (my friend who is the same height as me cannot ride my bikes at all without lowering the saddle.) Maybe I have long legs?

ollo_ollo

1/2 my grandkids are thru college now and my oldest son is a fair weather commuter at his work in OSU. All suffered stolen bikes. Here is characteristics of a campus bike least likely to be stolen:

1.A Step-thru, 2.Black or Grey, 3.Dirty/Rusty, 4. Locked, 5. Old Mountain Bike.

My son's college bike from the 80's survived the longest: A 58cm, grey, Super Le Tour. Actually stolen a few Summers ago, locked, off his front porch in Salem, OR and not on campus. Don

ollo_ollo

Further FYI, some of the bikes that were stolen: Raleigh Retroglide step-thru, a IGH bike, lasted 3 years at OSU. Pristine blue Schwinn Breeze step-thru 3 weeks at OSU. Pristine Schwinn World Tourist 1 month+ at Princeton...you get the picture Don

SkyDog75

Whether it's long legs, sizing differences on pre-1990s bikes, or something else, your old mountain bikes are WAY on the large side.

I'm also 5'10", or about a quarter inch shy of it. My road bikes tend to be in the 53-55 cm range and I can be comfortable on bikes up to 56 cm. My '97 mountain bike has an 18" frame. Based on other '90s MTB's I've ridden, anything over 19" is uncomfortably large. There's no way I'd be able to comfortably ride one that's 20+ inches.

clubman 

I asked my son what he needed in a University bike and the only prerequisite was flat bars. So be got a $60 road bike with 6 speed thumbies and a rack. Beer can be bungied down and teens tend to not like mudguards. He was pleased and the budget was cheap enough that nobody cries if or when it gets ripped off.

Robofunc

I would only add one thing to the good advice in this thread—insist that he keep it in his dorm. Rules against this kind of thing be damned. Space can be made (hang it from a wall, ceiling...).

It wasn't too long ago that I was in college at a similarly large and flat campus with only my bike for transport and I can tell you that it doesn't matter one bit what it looks like—a bike locked up outside, especially over night, is at high risk of theft. Period.

Clyde1820

^ That was my first thought.

On campus, left alone for long periods, so a "nicer" bike might well become a theft magnet. Even if an older, '90s vintage bike were swiped, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Lots of them out there.

Locally, just had a Trek 970 SHX come through CraigsList. Was up there for weeks, until it sold at $150 (didn't need a thing). (I think a buddy of mine picked it up, but I haven't asked him yet.) In the right size, a bike like that can ride well, be comfortable, be high-performance enough to matter when the ability is needed, but isn't so obviously valuable that it's likely to be the first thing swiped.

The Specialized StumpJumper and RockHopper bikes come to mind, too. The austin.craigslist.org listings currently show three Rock Hopper bikes in the Austin area for <$100. Might be a good choice. Add a rear "spring" rack and fenders, and it'll be a low-cost campus bike that won't turn many heads and likely won't be the first unit swiped.

squirtdad

one option might be late early 80's bike (even late 70's ) bike boom bikes. think univega, nishiki. think suicide levers and a stem shifters.... most of these had eyelets for racks etc. Unless they are suddenly cool. Look like grandparents bikes (in many cases are), can fit fenders.

but other than that for any bike

Rack

Good lock/cable combo that can go through the wheels.

corrado33

Interesting. I also ride a 54 cm road bike. Please note that the MTBs I'm talking about are NOT ridden on trails. They're mainly cruisers and bad weather bikes. My actual mountain bike is a 19" modern bike with a sloping top tube.

The stand over space on both of the 21" bikes is about the same as my road bikes. 21" is ~ 53-54 cm.

If the bike is ridden to be a cruiser/simple commuter, a larger mountain bike is ok. It all depends on what he's comfortable with.

CliffordK

Here is a Raleigh and Robin Hood.

Vintage Raleigh Made in England Bike - $50
1965 Robin Hood English 3 Speed Cruiser by Raleigh - $115 (South Austin)

They've been taking a beating for 50 years. What could a few months on a college campus do to them? A good tune-up would be beneficial.

Really, you need a little more input from your son. Perhaps acquiring and cleaning up a bike could be your last father/son project to do together. Plus, get some motivation from your son, and he might actually take more of a part of the care and maintenance of the bike. Not just something that Dad buys him.