teewhy7588

I'm going away to Georgia Southern University as a trasnfer student this summer or fall and taking my Cannondale CAAD 8 road bike with me. And my goal for this year is to drive as little as possible so I was also wanting to get a bike to commute on, like run to the store, ride the whole quarter mile to campus and around campus, and around town without having to clip in. Since i plan on going to the store and stuff I would need a bike that can accomadate at least a rear rack. Any reccomendations?

nahh

something cheap, and ugly. It needs to be something that if it gets stolen, you don't care too much. An older fully rigid mountainbike would be your best bet.

I wouldn't take your C'dale everyday. save it for longer rides.

teewhy7588

Thanks, even though i would be using a u-lock should i still worry about it being stolen?

degnaw

Probably not, but that depends on a lot of things - Georgia Southern looks like it's in a small town, which should reduce the risk of theft to almost nothing, but theft rate is not always dependent on town size. If "it" is your cannondale, then the risk of theft will be greater than that of a cheaper bike. And finally, if the U-lock is a Bell from walmart, the risk of theft will be greater than if it's a Kryponite or Onguard.

PaulRivers

Do they get any snow there? Are you going to be riding it in the winter?

KitN

You should look into getting an old beater or "uglifing" a newer bike to make it look like an old beater. Or you could buy a folding bike which means that your bike can be taken with you, when folded, inside places that would otherwise frown at full sized bikes.

You should also invest in a quality U-Lock like a Kryptonite NYFU (the highest rated U-Lock on the market) or the Kryptonite Evolution Mini. (I have the Krypto Evo Mini. It's small, can fit in your back pocket and weighs about 2 lbs. I use it all over NYC and haven't had a problem yet.)

Even though you are going to a smallish university, a LOT of bikes are stolen off of campuses every year so you do have to take at least the basic of precautions like using a solid lock and practicing proper locking technique or buying a folder that's never out of your sight/possession.

As for shopping, running errand and carrying things on the bike, it's very easy. i do it all the time. You can buy a rack and use a bungie cord to tie things down or use a pannier or stuff things in your backpack or get a front basket or even use milk crates or kitty litter plastic jugs and tie them to your rear rack... there's tons of options. choose the one that works best for you.

Good luck.

Sawtooth

Beater, Beater, Beater!!!! At Arizona State, the issue was not theft as much as rampant vandalism. For no reason at all, *****holes would simply jump on and taco your wheels or try to bend your frame as it sat in the rack. The gene pool is clearly in need of chlorine!

I realized very quickly that my cannondale would not survive...so I bought an old Jamis MTB off ebay that was mechanically sound but pretty ugly. I still have that bike and love it.

nahh

+1. At Virginia Tech, vandalism is a bigger issue than theft. The biggest things people do are steal (QR) seatposts/saddles, slash tires, taco wheels, and steal QR skewers (the most dangerous thing)

There's also been some fully stripped bikes, with just the U-lock and frame remaining.

Using a U-lock pretty much insures your frame/back wheel will be there when you get back, but your expensive components might get trashed. Just get a beater that fits in with every other bike on campus, and secure it better than the guy next to you.

KitN

^^^ Bingo! Lock that thing down like there's no tomorrow.

martianone

+1. Also remove the FD, plus inner and out chain ring, install a ring guard [eg. salsa ring dinger].
Pragmatic for commuting, plus will keep your pant leg from being torn by the FD and keep you
cleaner.

Yan 

Buy a cheap beater; keep your nice bike in your dorm room and use it for weekend joyrides. Use a cable lock and a U lock.

teewhy7588

Thanks for the advice guys, I ran buy my bike shop and was talking with them and just like ya'll, they talked me out of buying a new bike or anything (good guys that actually care about the customers and not just about selling the product). They recommended that i just take my SS mountain bike and add a rack and street tires, the frame (which is a custom design from the shop itself) is matte black so it isnt too eye catching. And i would be keeping both in my apartment. Any advice on certain brands of bags or any other equipment aside from locks (everyone has been saying kryptonite so thats reassuring)

rumrunn6

Those racks that are mounted via a single rod to the seatpost are not good as stock. When there is a weight on the rack it will swing the seatpost (and seat) from side to side. What a dumb design. I added auxiliary legs to stabilize it. I also extended the arm so it wouldn't be right under the seat.

PLyTheMan

This is the rack I have. and it has done well for me, sturdy and easy to install. It fits my U Lock perfectly (onguard something or other) as the U part fits right in that slit that runs the length of the rack and I lock it in. Throw a bungee on top to keep it from bouncing around and I'm good to go. Just make sure you keep it bungeed down, for a while I didn't and now my rack is a bit banged up...

Full fenders are a good investment too, very nice to have on a commuting bike. I have some Planet Bike ones that were pretty easy to install. You may need some extra bolts though, the ones I got came with bolts that were too short for my settup, but it was an easy fix to find something suitable.

harry2110

Im going to use 3 cables one thru the rear frame/wheel, one thru the middle of the frame, and one thru the front wheel/fork. the locks are master lock padlocks

teewhy7588

Thanks again for yalls advice, would you recommend switching to a ridgid fork?

vegipowrd

I would do something a little different.
I'd convert a used, not-too-good-looking road bike into a single speed. You won't have to adjust the drivetrian once it's set up and small town thieves won't think it's worth their while. If it's a steel frame, all the better. There are also a ton of inexpensive single speed and fixed gears you can buy off the shelf now.

no1mad 

Fixed. And yes.

mlts22 

If you do ride clipless, I'd consider the Performance Campus Pedals, Shimanos M324s, Mallets, or some pedal that has a wide enough base for normal shoes, but has SPD capability.

Other than that, I think everyone said pretty much what is needed. I also second (or third) the advice of leaving the Cannondale in a secure location, and buying a beater. Then, if it gets lost/stolen/vandalized won't cause financial disruption. A beater doesn't have to be an X-Mart bike that is unpleasant ro ride on. A low end road bike, new or used, is good, as the bike serves two purposes -- gets you from point A to B comfortably, but looks so low in value that thieves don't bother.