I'm here at the University of Oregon in Eugene, where my daughter might end up for college. Lots of bikes here. I'm thinking about what sort of bike I'd send with her to school if she goes here.

The requirements:
- Easy to ride in town with normal clothes/shoes, the terrain is flat and roads are decent, typical ride would be 1 to 3 miles.
- Able to carry a heavy school backpack, not using panniers or other specific bike luggage
- Tolerant of sitting outside in the rain for days or weeks.
- Well lit and reflective, so that a college kid wearing dark clothing, who won't remember to charge batteries, will be seen
- Survives with absolutely zero maintenance or attention beyond an annual tuneup at a local bike shop
- Not a theft magnet, it will be U locked and should live in the key card bike corral most nights but will be locked at random racks around campus/town all day and might be left there overnight
- I seriously doubt it will ever go on "fun rides" or group rides or do anything but utility cycling, though I can always hope

The bikes we have that I could use as a starting point are (1) '90s "LL Bean" rigid MTB (this is a rebadged Specialized Hardrock with Gripshifts), (2) Dahon folding bike w/ 8 speed RD and fenders/small rear rack, (3) Peugeot UO-8 with VO porteur rack and VO fenders, MA40 rims, inline brake levers. Except as mentioned the bikes are otherwise stock.

What would you do? I could add plastic fenders and rack w/ big folding wire basket, city tires w/ reflective sidewalls to the MTB. Or wire basket to the Dahon. Or send the UO-8, maybe with upright bars instead of the drops. For lighting, I was thinking a generator hub and front/rear lights set to be "on" all the time, or a bottle generator with lights, or inexpensive clip-on lights that could be replaced cheaply after they are stolen. Maybe remove the toeclips and use rubber platform pedals, and stick on plenty of reflective tape. I could replace the geared drivetrains with single speed.

best bang for the buck new is:

https://www.fahrradmanufaktur.de/kata...-Acera-24-Gang

that's €400/$520 without shipping.

also available in "Trapez" for ladies

https://www.google.com/search?q=trap...hrrad&tbm=isch

I'd send her with the MTB if it fits.

I'd do the MTB conversion, maybe remove quick releases. Congrats on getting her to college...

Does she wear dresses and skirts much? If so, the Dahon could be a good step-through option. Otherwise, the MTB conversion looks like it would meet all of her needs.

Ha! A corrosion resistant nickel plated chain with SS inners will probably be the most expensive component on the bike.

IMO the generator hub would be a theft magnet.

Reelight 120 (flashes) or Reelight 150 (steady): always on, never needs batteries, no wiring/electrical connections. (examples only, not associated with vendors, many places to get these)

Alternate front, alternate rear.

College, limited space, I'd vote for the folder. But, let her pick. If you pick the wrong one she'll never ride it.

Yes, let her choose! She'll ride it more if it's one she likes.

As for lights, stay away from a hub generator. Or fancy wheels of any kind... the only things I've EVER had stolen on my commuter bikes are wheels, and bolt on vs QR doesn't make much difference there. Stick with a rack on the bike even if she doesn't use it much, because then she can bungy-strap something bulky on when she needs to.

That reminds me. A couple years ago I curb picked a Nishiki mixte that had been crashed. The down and "top" tubes showed evidence of stress from impact, with paint damage. But the tubes are still solid; near-gaspipe bikes are hard to kill. I stripped it for parts. The frame still sits in the garage. I could build it up from the parts bin. With upright bars, just a RD or even SS, unlovely wheels and nutted axles, a rack plus cheap fenders. I could find a chain guard in the coop parts bin. It would be ugly but functional. Mixte frame would accommodate skirts, chain guard would protect pants. I could stickerize it for even more ugly.

If she likes it, that sounds like an ideal bike for a college woman. I'm still partial to the idea of a dynamo hub so she doesn't have to think about lights, but whether you go that way probably depends on how serious of a problem theft is in that area.

One other thought: with a step through frame she won't need to swing a leg over the back, so a milk crate zip-tied to the rack might make a great addition. They are very handy to have and excellent theft deterrents.

I would avoid the folding bike...college kids tend to think they're kind of nerdy. A step through frame or mixte is definitely more accessible to a beginning female utility rider.

Thinking back, 18-22 year old me (with absolutely no knowledge of anything having to do with bikes) rode less than I should have because of (1) brakes in need of adjustment, and (2) messed up gears (adjustment problems, as well as broken derailleurs due to throwing the bike around.) If I'd known how to adjust my brakes or had a coaster brake, and rode a single speed, I probably would have grown to love bikes much sooner.

FTFY

You would end up with a great campus rider. Just get one of the $20 single speed conversion kits if she could/would do SS.

I would pick a different starting point. Think Craig................as in list.

I wish I still made my Atlanta/Sacramento/Portland/Tacoma/AnywhereSouth loop. Right now I've got two girls MTBs in great shape, one still has the thingies on the tires, that you could have your pick of for $35. You'd save a lot of bucks and I'd double my investment.

There's a starter bike.

You want a $15 bike for that, not a $1,500 bike. I ran across an old Free Spirit 3 speed, and my daughter took it to college. Dependable, old enough that nobody cares about it, but not collectable enough to be too much of a theft magnet, either.

Relatively cheap security hardening to protect components in a target rich environment like college:

Velo Orange Anti-theft Skewers (allen with center post)


Anti-theft seat clamp bolt and seatpost binder bolt (allen or torx with center post)



A parts thief isn't likely to be carrying the tool needed to remove these bolts. While it is possible to use force to knock out the center post, with plenty of other bikes around, someone looking to grab a seat or wheel probably will just move along to another target. If you get these, make sure she carries the keys when she uses the bike or she isn't going to be changing a flat.

Thanks for all these ideas!

At present I am leaning toward building up the curbpick Nishiki mixte. I will try to find a used 3 speed hub and shifter, some upright bars, fenders and chainguard at the local coops. I will probably take a chance with the cheapest generator hub I can find, which I will try to disguise & uglify, and to protect with the linked VO antitheft skewers. Or a cheap bottle generator. Plenty of reflective tape on the fenders, cannibalize the reflective sidewall 32mm Kendas from the UO-8. The milk crate basket / pannier sounds both practical and theft-deterring. This will rescue a frame from the trash pile and should be a skirt friendly beater campus ride.

There is something neat about a beater bike that turns out to have tight, true wheels and be perfectly adjusted and a great ride. Sleeper bike.

As for the other bikes, my son will be going to high school next year and is outgrowing the small Novara hybrid he started riding to middle school. I might put him on the LL Bean MTB or the UO-8 as his school bike. His school bike leads a decent life, because it comes back to the garage every afternoon and gets regular maintenance. He'd be riding about 8-10 miles a day, with some modest grades to climb.

I made it for four years without even thinking about a bike light, everything on campus was well lit and being a dorm rat I never really went off campus at night.

After much thinking in the past, if she's not a cyclist then the rigid MTB... hands down winner. Profer to gear it low with a ss setup for cruising around, no maintenance. Much less attractive to thieves than other options. The folder would probably never get folded down and woud stay outside so sort of a waste.

Most Ann Arbor undergrads propel themselves on MTBs, many of the big box variety. Upper class men and women may trade up to a hybrid or road bike. Grad students and researchers appear to be the biggest market for C & V rides.

I'd recommend an internal gear hub, an old frame and fenders, cover that bad boy with reflective stickers until it glows. And as others have said, ask your daughter. Let her take the lead.

There you go, don't get all involved in being a parent. Listen to the kid.

Marc

Your daughter is a lucky girl. That sounds like a perfect campus bike for a woman. It also sounds like a fun project for you!

In place of a dynamo hub maybe try one of the cheap bottle dynamo sets. Enough light to get by and they're cheap enough that it does't hurt to replace it if it gets stolen.

I guess I should start scanning eBay now for decent but ugly campus bikes. And good locks too. I have twin daughters going next fall, one most likely at Michigan State, the other still waiting. But if our visit to E. Lansing two weeks ago is any indication she won't be needing a bike through the winter. Most bikes on campus were buried in the snow.

As I've visited college campuses the last few months, I've checked out the bikes that are locked up. Most are of the BSO variety, and this surprised me. I'd have thought that there'd be more vintage bikes, but maybe post-college Brooklyn hipsters are more likely to ride vintage (converted to SS with narrow bars of course).

If you need a bike in MI in a few months, let me know.

If you can straighten the mixte, it might be a good bet. A one or three speed coaster brake would be nice. Upright or semi upright handlebars. If she leaves the bike outside overnight, send her a can of wd40 every year and tell her to spray the bike every month. Maybe prepay the bike shop to take care of her bike for you.

I vote for a dynohub hub over a bottle. The bottles get knocked out of alignment. Use an anti theft skewer.