Howdy! Bike newbie here. Similar to Spunny's recent thread, I'm looking into getting bikes for my son and I (and eventually my wife) for driving on all pavement and no more than 6 miles one way (most trips would be 2 miles or less). There will be no mountain biking or touring, just running around town.

I'm trying to spend as little as possible as this is mostly to reduce vehicle costs (though the exercise is needed, too) so even a $100 bike would need to be ridden over 1500 miles to pay for itself at current gas prices. He'll be commuting to college the next 4 years so it will be outside much of the time. Thus, I'm having trouble deciding if I should just get him a basic used mountain bike as a beater or get him something that will actually last him for many years to come (eg, Trek FX 7 series) and try to keep it clean through the rain and snow.

I think any bike can be used for pretty short commutes at least for a while. The only bike we had until recently was a garage sale buy my wife made decades ago for a 10-speed 27" road bike that is too big for any of us and only a few gears work right even after trying to adjust it, but I have ridden it to church and the PO. I even rode my youngest son's 20" a mile and back from the Scout Shop!

The used market is pathetic here. I had to drive over an hour to Indy to pick up the GT Backwoods I just got myself. Got the shifters working well enough but need to replace the cables and eventually the gears as some teeth are pretty worn/bent. FYI, the only LBS carries Trek.

Tis the season I guess.

You want one bike for all of you? Are you all about the same height?

I'd rather not have more than one bike per person, but it may come to that.

My son and I are the same size though he's much chunkier than me. My wife is a bit shorter but has the same inseam.

Where in Indiana are you?

Bike theft is rampant on college campuses. Students are usually in a hurry so it's tempting to skip the careful locking and just lock the frame, or a single wheel, to a rack or handy object.

For that, I'd personally prefer something that looks like a beater but rides well. My Globe Carmel already looks pretty generic with no gaudy logos, but rides well. I've added randomly placed stickers to rub some funk on it. I used stickers off fruits and vegetables over every nick in the paint, and used scissors to trim radio station bumper stickers for interesting artwork and logos. If I had a Specialized or Giant with those gaudy self-proclaiming brand names I've cover 'em up with Huffy logos. Or maybe something from Tractor Supply.

I'd prefer no quick releases and really should replace 'em on my bike. Some folks install theft resistant skewers - haven't tried 'em myself. My bike still has QRs, although I'm careful about parking and locking. Some places I even lock the saddle which has a QR stem.

I'd install bulletproof sealant filled tubes and puncture resistant tires to reduce the need for QRs. And I'd want tires with beads that gripped the rim snugly enough to not fall off when rolling on a flat, but not so tightly that I'd need three hands with levers and lotsa cussing to fix flats. In fact, that's what I did put on my own bike for local errands and mostly short rides, up to around 10 miles.

Campus security has a Rack Clearing of abandoned bikes, , then they sell them , (@ auctions?). get one of those .

Here are some thoughts on trying to "reduce vehicle costs" by using a bicycle.

The price of gas is only a small portion of vehicle ownership. The way to get the most savings is to get rid of it, but I know I really like my truck and also would want to have two vehicles available for my family, so I understand that might not be an an option. So you need to look for additional savings. If you have a nice new car, you are probably spending a lot - like a bike per month - on the payment. If you have an old car you are probably paying occasionally for repairs - like a bike per breakdown - and that also impacts your ability to be reliable. You can get some significant savings on insurance - like a couple of bikes per year - by getting on a plan that charges you by mileage, and taking bigger risks - like a bike per wreck - with your deductibles.

If the bike is going to be out most of the time in Indiana, I wouldnt personally go near anything new. Total waste of money since it will be stolen and/or beat up by the elements.
Something that is mechanically great but doesnt look nice would be best. This would be one of the rare times when a do it yourself paint job could be the best route.

Terre Haute
I've heard of the city police having such auctions in the past. Will ask the campus police.

Craig's List mountain bike with simi-slick tires replacing the knobbies.

The boss at the last job that I worked at was concerned about my ability to "reliably" cover all of the 1.4 miles from my house to work since I was a car-free bike rider, but set up another interview. The day before the interview she called saying that she had to postpone it for a few days because her car was in the shop. I asked why she didn't just drive another one. She said that she only had that one and I responded that I have four bikes----and you're worried about ME getting to work. I got the job.

Post #7 ! But I'd take it to the next level... IMO (of course) the o.p. and his family just may not be the bike commuting type. I lived in the midwest, they come by it honestly. I read today that below $1/gal. gas is showing up in the midwest this week. Reduce vehicle costs? How? Exercise? Walk, run, go to the gym. I'm serious. The only time in my life I have ever been hit by a car was in the Midwest (MI) where I was visiting. An old woman veered off her course and deliberately hit me hard. Knocked me right down, and yelled at me through the closed window of her car before driving off. Later my friends all told me I had it coming for being in the road. I belonged on the sidewalk. What was I thinking?!

That was 2002 and things may have improved slightly since then but ... I don't know. Cheap gas has a way of bringing the drivers back with a vengeance. The o.p. needing to find the cheapest bike possible and share them at that. Save the money, don't buy a bike. It won't get ridden for more than a month, if that, and a cheap bike is impossible to sell because cheap bikes are literally a dime a dozen.