NeelsGap86

ever gotten a college loan to get a bike?

I have never gotten one nor do I know how they work.

I have no job and school is coming up soon. How much would I need (want)? $1,500. What would I get? Probably a fixie (to help with form) and another road bike (rain bike that is). Both Fuji's.

I have only ONE bike and if that gets screwed up, I'm done for the year.

Hmmm.

slickyricky

Don't waste your money on a stupid off the shelf 5-700 dollar fixed gear. The only reason people should spend that type of money on a fixie is if they will be racing track. Look in your area for "earn a bike" programs, where you volunteer your time in a community bike donation/building program and earn the right to build a free bike, fixie in your case. That is what I did this past year as a senior, then put what I would have spent on an off the shelf major brand fixie towards an even better new road bike. Instead of dealing with the hassles of a student loan, I put it on my credit card, where at least I will earn some air miles or rewards, where as you get nothing from the student loan.

NeelsGap86

I don't have a credit card either....

I should get one though.

photonick

With blue from American Express I got 6 months no apr thats a pretty sweet deal.

Frunkin

Student loans have much lower intrest rates though, and you don't have to pay them off untill you're done with school. Carrying debt on a credit card is stupid.

NeelsGap86

Can you tell me more about that?

I only have like...200 in the bank and that's it.

Machka 

I don't know how it works where you are, but here in Canada, you've got to be enrolled in a college or university before you can get a college loan. You also have to apply by providing all your budget information and estimated budget information so that they can determine if you qualify or not.

Although I've taken years and years and years of post secondary education, I've never gotten a student loan (I work my way through my education). But from what I understand they provide you with the basics ... not much more.

Then, when you finish school the loans organizations turn into loan sharks charging you a fortune in interest (more than my credit card!), and becoming very demanding about the repayment. My ex husband got a student loan, and the bank he had the loan through started removing large sums of money from our joint account without permission. We put a stop to that, but they figured they had the right.

Is that what you want?

If I were you, I'd check out the University's bicycle rental program. My University has a "Bike Library" for part of the year. Maybe yours does too:
https://www.su.ualberta.ca/services_a...Bike%20Library

If that doesn't work, then I'd just pick up a cheap bicycle somewhere. You can likely get something workable for $10 or $20 at the local thrift shop.


If you need money to pay for school, get a job. If your job doesn't earn you quite enough, look into a Student Line of Credit with your local bank.

NeelsGap86

I'm just looking for a secondary bike I could use. A rain bike if you will.

I mean, I have my Fuji SL1s and I take extremely good care of it. It is basically my training and racing bike.

I'm 22, still in school, and looking to cat up to 3 next summer, which is doable.

I'll be living and training in the north Georgia mountains. Pretty much doing 3 or 6 gap year round.

Still, I am sure MOST of you who were in college only had one bike that you rode all the time on.

Machka 

Depends which time I was in college you're talking about. When I went for my first degree, I only had one bicycle, but through all the certificates, diplomas, and now that I'm going for my second degree, I've had an ever increasing number of bicycles. I'm up to 7 bicycles now.


If you're looking for a rain bike as a spare bike, check out the thrift shops.

chainzawz

Was in the same position as you, just get a summer job or something, pick up off of craigslist, check ebay, thrift shops.

You would have to get a private (from a bank) student loan in which the interest rates are much higher then a stafford loan (the ones from Financial Aid that go DIRECTLY to your school...you won't see any of that).

In other words, no don't take out a student loan for a bike.

Ride the one you have to death, take great care of it, pick up a beater for 'rain' bike. No need to spend serious money on a new bike (sorry pcad...must hurt your ears).

Just pick up a beater!

Machka 

BTW - you say you've got $200 in the bank and no job ... but you're 22, so I'm guessing you're between years of University, and therefore have been out of school since the middle of April ..... so .... why don't you have a job? School costs a bit more than $200!!


Just curious.

urbanknight

Unless you've already had a credit card before or have paid off a car loan by now, the only credit card you're going to get is one with a $200-500 limit and a high interest rate (like 15-25%). I'd still get it, but just put small purchases on it to pay off at the end of the month to build up credit.

As for the bike, I wouldn't use a student loan for something I didn't need. Then again, a student loan does have the longest differed period I've ever seen.

NeelsGap86

I originally had a summer job lined up. I ended up not going because the hiring manager had lied to how much "free" time I would have had. It basically meant no time to ride.

Oh well.

urbanknight

If a Summer job has 40 hours or less per week, you should have plenty of ride time (how do you think we working adults find time?), unless you're taking like 6-9 units in Summer school on top of it.

streetlightpoet

Trust a guy who knows, it's not a good idea. Tough to hear, but you'd just be diggin a hole that will take a long time to crawl out of.

Machka 

You gotta pick your priorities! If you want your education, it might mean no (or less) time to ride.

Right now, I'm working 6-7 days a week most weeks ... one full-time and one part-time job ... so that I can afford my 4th (and final) year of University. It means I can't do anywhere near the amount of cycling I've done in past years ... I'm running about 1000 kms behind where I usually am at this time of year. BUT ... in a year I'll graduate with a degree I've wanted for 20 years, which should open all sorts of doors for me ... and with only a very small debt ... and then I'll be able to ride much more, unencumbered by a huge student loan.

Go get a job! In the long run, you'll be glad you did.

NeelsGap86

What you guys do, is amazing. To find time to ride while juggling work. I am horrendous when it comes to balancing my schedule.

NeelsGap86

Machka, can I ask what degree you are getting?

I still have NO clue what I want to do.

Machka 

Well, working gives you your schedule ... there's no balancing involved. You work the hours you're hired to work, and fit cycling around it.

Machka 

This degree is a Bachelor of Education.

I'm also a Engineering Technologist with Business Administration, majoring in Accounting.

nocondorfx

Last summer during my senior year I was taking 12 credit hours and working about 40 hours a week. Not enough time to ride as I wanted. Ended up just not going to one class and got a nice F on my transcript... I still think it was worth it.

And on that note, do not take a student loan out for anything but school expenses. Too many people I know have abused them for things they didn't need. I have a nice 20,000 I owe just to cover necessary student expenses.

If you want another bike, I suggest you go ebay some stuff and pick up something used.

MedicMan55

Yeah, taking out a student loan to buy a bike sounds like a bad idea. Sorta like using it to buy anything else, ranging from sports cars, to engagement rings.

Go to garage sales, and buy a bike from there, you'll find some cool stuff. I reciently bought a Peugeot for 10 bucks. Oh yeah.

Balancing school/work/cycling isn't that hard. Then again, I do go to school two days a week.

DScott

Do not borrow money for non-essential things like extra bikes.

Your loans will still be around long after the bikes are gone. The best thing you can do for your future is enter it as free of debt as possible. Debt at such a young age just restricts your options like nothing else, short of having a kid...

urbanknight

Well, when you graduate you will have 2 choices: 1, learn how to balance your schedule. 2, become a career student.

Seriously, being married made it even harder, but I will say it is still easier than college. I didn't ride at all in college (don't major in any type of art if you want to have a life). Now, I commute to work by bike and have an agreement with the wife about how much time I spend on the weekends riding.

dark13star

Actually, I consolidated my loans at 1.6% interest when I finished school, then paid them off with my first good job. I mostly worked my way through all my degrees, but I took some loans during my graduate and post-graduate studies. I was already teaching a heavy load for very little money and carrying a second job. At least I was on a free ride for tuition though. My loans were generally used to cover living expenses and I did buy a computer with my loan money once, but never a bike.