CrankyOne

About 99%. Don't do it. There is no need to 'kit' unless you're racing or on a training ride. Wear normal clothes.

g0tr00t

Friend of mine rode is NICE bike to school. He locked it up and would take the seat with him. He called me one day and asked for me to pick him up. He said that since the thieves couldn't steal it, they put 4 combo locks around his spokes. 2 in front, 2 in back....so yeah....get a bike off craigslist and do what I do. Park your bike next to one that looks better than yours

JohnJ80

man, that's a set of thieves with a vindictive attitude. At least those kinds of locks are easy to deal with using a short handle bolt cutter.

j.

MathBunny

I'll try.. the issue is getting all sweaty and all on the way to school. I'll work around that, that's a minor issue.

MathBunny

Oh my gosh... that's horrible!! Some people... urgh.

CliffordK

Actually, they can be opened with soda cans.
The thieves had probably stolen the locks they put on the bike.

Nachoman

Funny you say that. The kryptonite lock that I was using while attending Cal, in the early 80s, is now used by my son for his daily commute to school.


Edit.: GO BEARS!

caloso

Calder Benson

How is that? Not that I want to learn, but can't really see how it would be done.

bragi

I agree with this. I don't quite know why, but school campuses are magnets for bike thieves. Actually, if you pick up a cheap old use mountain bike or hybrid, you can probably get by with a single decent U-lock.

Saving Hawaii

There are practical advantages to Lycra. I don't mind street clothes in the summer but this time of the year I'm often commuting (to work) late at night with temperatures in the 30s. It sucks to wear sweaty clothes in weather like that. It sucks even more to put on some frigid not-quite-dry clothes for the return trip. My kit I don't have that issue. I'm comfortable the whole way. It's very dry when I'm done. It's never a bad experience. I struggle to avoid bad experiences with street clothes and less than ideal weather.

But do think about the cool... some baggier MTB garb would elicit fewer stares than your roadie kit. When I ride to the secondary campus I'm taking classes at it's shorts and a tee. No need to be that guy. If I have to go out to the main campus (15 miles away) it's kit all the way. I suppose I'm already that guy. Nobody rides a bike to main campus in the middle of nowhere. It's a lovely ride. People do most of it for recreation or training every day.

CrankyOne

The trick is to not ride so hard that you sweat and to dress appropriately. When it's in the 30's I usually wear jeans, mock turtleneck or oxford, maybe a sweater, jacket, and gloves. If I start to get a bit warm I unzip my jacket a bit. I'm only averaging about 15 mph and I'm on a Dutch city bike so it may take me a minute or two longer to get there but I'm dry and ready to go when I do.

I separate riding for transportation and riding for fitness. The former is a replacement for a car or bus and I want it to be simply and reliable and I don't want people to look at me like I'm a bit off-kilter. The latter is for Lycra and sweat.

tjspiel

I have a 6 mile (one way) commute and a lot of the year I could ride slow enough not to sweat much. Ironically, it's winter that would be the hardest. I wear a balaclava and almost without fail my head is sweaty by the time I get to work. Even if it isn't I have a pretty serious case of hat hair. My fingers will often go numb by mile 3 on really cold days only to be sweating a few miles later.

Riding any distance in cold/snowy weather is just hard work. There is no two ways about it.

I wear a mix of cycling and other athletic gear. Sometimes it can pass for "street" attire but it's generally not appropriate for work. However, it doesn't matter since I shower and change when I get there.

Not all of my transportation rides double as fitness rides but my commutes do. That way I don't have to worry about getting exercise in later and I don't worry about getting my clothes sweaty. I have a shower at work and a place to keep stuff. It works out really well for me but may not for a college student.