Hey all, I'm currently in the market for a 'commuter' bike. I'm going to try to be as specific as I can about my situation, because I'm basically clueless on the matter (just have a couple of opinions here and there) and would really like some qualified opinions on the matter. (This post has gotten long, if you'd like, there's a summary at the end that gets most of the points across to save you time).

I'm a graduating senior in high school, and I've spent the past 9 months in Germany as an exchange student. The German (indeed, probably European) standard is generally to ride bikes as much as possible--and especially to and from mass transit. As such, I've gotten used to riding the bike a half-dozen or so kilometers a day, and have made longer 'treks,' which I treated as once-offs but had no problem pulling off and would gladly repeat (at the time, I was only willing to ride in fair weather, which is rarer here). I'd say my acceptable range is easily 20 km//12 miles--at least when flat. And that is, and will likely always be, improving. I've lost a lot of weight since coming here, not the least of which can be attributed to becoming more active; and the combination of keeping that weight off and saving me gas money is making the bike purchase idea a very good one in my mind.

My problem is in trying to get a bike for when I'm home. I have a bike already, but it's something I picked up at a tag sale for $30 about 6 years ago, and even then was crappy--I only rode it for fun on a couple of extremely rare occasions. I know that I can get this 20km range flat, but I've only had lower-quality bikes here (single, or 3-speed). On the bike back home I had an 18-speed, but that was completely unused because (and here's major problem #1 for me biking back home) I don't understand how to efficiently shift from 6th gear to 7th gear on an 18-speed bike. The only method I can think of is so much a pain in the butt that I figure I've gotta be wrong; that said, I'm really inexperienced in these matters and maybe simply educating me there will help me make this decision.

Now, my situation back home is as follows: I expect 4 to 10 mile commutes, mostly to work, but sometimes to see friends or go shopping. I've got some nasty hills (at least for someone of my experience with biking). My old strategy was to walk up them, or, more commonly on the biggest one, cut through a park which had made the hill a bit longer (not so steep a grade). Both of them are still possible, but I'd like to have a bike to take me up an actual hill properly--which most likely means getting a decent bike /and/ learning to properly use it. (For that I've got other nasty hills on backroads for practice).

Another key factor is college. I'm going away to Florida for college starting in August, and naturally if I get a bike I'd like to bring it with me. We haven't decided yet if I'm flying or driving down to bring my stuff, though we're leaning towards driving, and flying back for breaks. In that case, I /can/ bring pretty much any bike, but in any case I'm seriously leaning towards a folding bike. I've heard too many horror stories about bikes getting stripped, stolen, or damaged on college campuses, and while I'd gladly bring my bike in my dorm overnight, when I ride to a class I've got to have a folding bike if I don't want to leave it outside.

So, that leaves me in my current state: confused on the bike purchasing front. Money isn't a major concern. My father has told me he has no problem getting me a bike, and will probably gladly get one in almost any price range. I'd feel bad having him pay all of a more expensive bike, but can afford to pay half if that's the case. I'm currently leaning towards Dynamic (Chainless). I've heard mixed reviews from my searches on here, but one of the keys I like is the difference in shifting. Like I stated before, I don't like shifting beyond 6th gear on an 18-speed bike because it just throws me off so much, and with the country I'm talking about (while I'm home, at least), being able to shift more freely is a good plus. Even if the 7- or 8-speed shaft drives don't give the 18- or 21-speed ranges Dynamic suggests they do, they're already improvements over mine (and if they give 10- or 12- like I've heard once or twice here, actually a considerable improvement). I'm horrible when it comes to dealing with chains, but I can learn if getting a chained bike is seriously recommended. I've had bad luck with flat tires and therefore would like tips on tires to look out for (even aftermarket) to help with that, regardless of if the bike is chained or chainless. A light (preferably electric, I've run into too many problems with dynamo-driven systems here) is preferable but also can be added afterwards.

The keys, then, I suppose, come down to:
-Ease of shifting
-Ease of maintenance
-Capability in hilly terrain
-Ease of security
-Folding (big plus, not required)

For aftermarket parts, or upgrades on a purchase, I'm looking for tips on:
-Tires (puncture-resistant, would be nice)
-Lighting system
-Any other recommendations for a commuter//college student bike

And, about my situation:
-Commuter, currently estimated 12-15mile range (on a 3-speed bike in flat terrain)
-Major newbie to bikes (If you've got more than one sprocket on the pedals (ie more than 6-8 speeds, generally speaking) I'm not currently skilled enough to get beyond it)
-Live in hilly CT, will be studying ~9 months of the year in flatter FL
-Willing to learn

Oh, hey, if you would, mention if you read the whole post or just the summary. If I notice a key factor I forgot in my summary due to that, I'll add it in. Thanks.

Thanks for your time and input!
Charlie

No brainer. Get a nice geared bike for home and leave it there. When you get to FL, pick up a cheap mtb, or perhaps a fixie/ss.

For a college bike: nothing shiny, new or expensive. Spend your money on the locks. Yes, 2. At least a good U-Lock and another secondary lock.

I'm not sure I understand your difficulty shifting your current bike. There's really not much to "knowing how" to do it. I would almost bet that something's not adjusted right and that's what's making it difficult to shift. If you get a new bike, my guess is that you'll be amazed at how well it shifts by comparison. I don't know much about the chainless drives but I would recommend dropping that as one of your criteria because you're going to severely limit your choices. I think a good quality folder might be a good choice. Dahon and Bike Friday make some good folders.

https://www.dahon.com/

https://www.bikefriday.com/

I have a chainless and I like it (https://www.dynamicbicycles.com/buy/Bikes.php?prodid=53). I get to bring it into my office so I don't have to worry about it getting stolen on the street. If I had to street park it I would not ride around on something so nice.

For college, I agree with no1mad above. Get a cheap basic bike. Any nice bike is just going to get mangled or stolen.

Shifting on a derailler bike is pretty easy. You don't actually have the number of speeds it claims. Instead, think of the bike as having "uphill" speeds and "downhill" speeds (for a bike with 2 big chainrings in the front) or "hill", "normal" and "downhill" speeds (for a bike with 3 chainrings in front). So about 90% of the time, you just change the back gears. You only change around in the front if the terrain changes.

Florida is supposed to be very flat. You can probably get by with a single speed bike very easily there. The hilly bits in CT will call for more gears... how much, I'm not sure. A lot depends on how strong you are and how much biking you get in.

I wouldn't bother trying to go for a chainless bike. They're not common, and it's tough to find one that's more than a 3 speed.

If you decide to go for a folding bike, I'd make your decision based on customer service. Bike Friday doesn't have a lot of dealers, and is supposed to be very good at helping customers without a good local bike shop. Dahon seems to be a better choice when you have a local bike shop that sells lots of Dahons and is used to their quirks. So if you are at school most of the time and have a nearby (walking or city bus ride away) Dahon dealer, they'd be a decent choice. Both Bike Friday and Dahon sell bikes that should work in CT as well as in FL.

You don't shift a bike through the gears in numbered order like a car.

Think of it more like a 4 wheel drive truck. You have "high" and "low" range (corresponding to the big and small front gears on the bike -- on some bikes I guess you also get a "medium" range), and your regular 6 (or 8 or 10, whatever) gears in the back.

You pick the appropriate range (front gear) for the terrain that you're on and then just shift up and down through the back gears.

When the terrain changes significantly (like you start going up a mountain) then you reconsider your "range" and pick a new front gear.

I've been looking into the Sidekick from Dynamic. Interestingly, despite the generally increased costs of a chainless, the Sidekick (their folding model) is cheaper than any other folders I've seen (also the cheapest of the Dynamic bikes available). Sidekick: https://www.dynamicbicycles.com/buy/Bikes.php?prodid=60

I agree with the general assumption that I won't need anything really special in Florida. Back home in CT I will need something more. The idea of getting a second, cheaper bike at college makes sense, but is it also necessary if I do get a folding bike?

As for the general help on a multiple, I guess 'range' is the word, bike, that explains a lot. Here I was always figuring that I had to start from 1 and move on. My family, believe it or not , is not much of a bicycling family. Still, when terrain changes abruptly, how does one shift the range to accommodate for that? I suppose it's not all that hard--when down shifting to go up a hill, you don't have to change much, and when up shifting, simply stand to get the bike moving and continue on from there, right? If I'm riding top gear on a 'hill' range, I might as well not be on the hill range anyway, I suppose, which makes the shifting from top in the hill range to top in the 'normal' range a problem that shouldn't come up often.