I think one just has to accept the reality of campus bikes. My oldest knows that he is welcome to one of many very nice road bikes in the Mancave. However, he and I have readily agreed that his campus bike is expendable and if it is stolen neither of us are going to be upset about it. He road a 1989 Trek 1200 for a year and a half before the cable was cut. Now he is riding a 1987 Trek 520 that cost me all of about $125, again, expendable, but this time with a U lock. Bottomline is that it is transportation. An old MTB with street tires would also be a good choice. Now that he is in his own apartment (thank God, no more roommate issues -- I should have done this from the outset) he might take one of my Ti bikes as his weekend rider while continuing to use the 520 for daily transportation. There was a story I read in the last few months about the facilities staff at U of Texas using dremels to cut U locks off of the many abandoned bikes at the end of the term.