Originally Posted by chephy
That depends entirely on your situation. How far you ride, on what kind of terrain, what kind of road surface, where you lock your bike...
I think that's not a bad place to start. I mean, that's zero financial investment if the bike's in good shape (your parents do drive over to visit you anyway, don't they?
) and if you don't like it you can always buy something else later. Plus an older bike is less likely to get stolen - an important consideration if you leave it locked on campus.
Yes, I'll be going home for a few days next month, so I'll look into bringing the Bridgestone back up here then (unless my dad comes up here before then). I actually learned how to ride a bike on it last summer (yes, I'm a late bloomer--and I like using parenthesis), although I haven't mastered the tension shifters. Also, the handlebars would come loose and instead of "looking ahead" they would "look to the left about 45 degrees," so I'll need to fix that.
Since campus is so close, I think I should consider what type of recreational biking I want to do. To be honest, I'm not sure yet. Berkeley has hills to the north and east, bay-side bike paths on the west, and flat roads to the south--something suitable for all bike-types.
Anyway, I've got more thinking to do, but THANKS SO MUCH EVERYONE!