Hey guys. So I am beginning my sophomore year of college next year at UC Davis and I'll be living off campus now so I need something that I can use to commute around 3 miles to campus every day. I'm not sure if this matters but bikes are stolen here EXTREMELY often here. If you have drop handlebars and a bike that looks very shiny and new your bike is as good as gone if you park it outside instead of taking it into your home.

I'm 5'9 and I weigh 220 lbs (dropped 20 lbs the past few months and am steadily going down so weight shouldn't really matter). I'm looking for a multi gear bike (I don't like SS in this area because of extreme winds during the winter) either used or new. Not a big fan of stemshift if it matters.

Would it be best if I purchase new or used in this price range? I was thinking about something like this: https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...y/avenue_c.htm

I know this forum loves used bikes so I looked in my area (I live in Davis and could purchase here or I could purchase in Mountain View, CA, which is in south bay, when I go home for the summer) and couldn't find a whole lot.

Any recommendations? Especially regarding new/used. Thanks!

I would get a used, beat up looking bike if I was in your situation with the theft rate

Check out Trips for Kids Recyclery in San Rafael and Changing Gears in Alameda if you're able to go there. They have used bikes that have been tuned up in your price range. Trips for Kids definitely has some bikes that need work and more beat up looking for less also. I'm not sure about Changing Gears though.

If your area is anything like San Diego the Craigslist pickings are probably slim but it is possible to find something with persistence. If looking used, try to find a '90s rigid mountain bike like a Specialized Hardrock. They should probably run $120-150 for something worth riding. If theft is that bad I would go with something inconspicuous.

I live in a college town, and work very near the campus. My city is famous for its bike theft, but I think it's mostly because the college kids don't know the first thing about locking up bicycles. So my strategy has been to lock up next to a 1.2K bicycle that's secured by a cheap cable lock through the wheel to the rack. In a college town, there's ALWAYS one of those on every rack.