Commuting Conundrum
 

Hello all!

I usually lurk in the touring forums but recently I have been facing a commuting issue. I am just starting a 5 year program at my new university (University of California Irvine). I live on the third floor of a building with no elevator. I currently own a Trek 520 touring bike valued at $1400 dollars which would perfectly suit my needs for commuting the half mile to school and half mile to the grocery store as well as occasional longer commute of 10+ miles. I am looking to be as car free as possible.

The problem is that I need to leave my bike outside of my apartment on a crowded bike rack. The obvious answer is to get a cheap bike yet I may want to do some shopping and need a rack that will stand up to some decent weight. I don't think theft is a very big concern but then again I may eat those words if I put it to the test with my baby Trek 520. Plus I am worried about weathering though I do live in Southern California (sunny and some rain in winter).

Any ideas on what to do? My three ideas are:

1) Just use the Trek 520 with a good lock and don't worry about theft (Irvines pretty safe) or weathering or rough treatment by others.
2) "Cheap" bike (which?) that does what I need.
3) Get an REI commuter (or something similar) that's a bit more expensive ($400-$800) but will be fun to ride/have that I can view as a 5 year (longer?) good investment while saving my 520 for touring/recreation rides stored at my parents near by house. Less tragic than 520 if stolen.

Any help or similar experiences would be great! :thumb:

Seneca

Just half mile. I would walk with no problems.

+1. I wouldn't even consider a half mile a commute. Save your good bike for the 10 mi + rides and just haul it up the stairs.

And good luck in your program. Makes sense to plan if your going to be there for 5 years.

As someone else in a five-year program who just got done with a four-year program (ie, college), I'd recommend walking that half mile with a good set of headphones and an iPod. I walked the 3/4 mile distance to class daily in undergrad, and the music made it an awesome 18 minutes.

Agreed...not worth the worry of running downstairs every 4 hours just to make sure it's still there. Better yet jog the half mile to add to your legs for those 10+ on the bike.

Even though you live 1/2 mile from UCIrvine, its a good idea to have a bike to get around the school (its big enough), rahter than walk all over the place.

My suggestion is to go down to the local diso**** store (Sports Authority, Target) and get a single speed cruiser bike for $100, spend $20 for a basket to put on front, and use that as your daily commuter and grocery-getter machine. Get a good lock, too. Might also want to buy some spray paint to "ugly up" the bike's frame to make it less desirable to thieves. Keep the Trek in the apt. for those longer weekend rides.

Wow, derogatory terms from the 70's.

i use my bike for my daily .7mile commute to classes and my 1.4 mile commute to work. its not a big deal at all going up to the 3rd floor, you'll get used to it. however you do risk leaving your bike around campus.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I have been walking thus far, and surfrider has a point. I often need to get "around campus" which certainly adds to my commute. I just calculated with my friend and we estimate it's more like a mile each way and another mile walking around campus. That's time I could be putting into study!

I think I will follow surfriders advice. The big reason to not bring out my 520 every day is because I am worried I will ding the walls of my apartment over time. But weekends (once in a while) should be fine.

Thanks for your opinions everyone, any other idea, let me know!

Seneca

What will you be studying?

Glaciology.

Figuring out how ice sheets behave and how much they will contribute to sea level rise.

Seneca

Sweet! We need more scientists concerned with the environment. Best of luck with the program.

I'd suggest you get on craigslist right away, and that you buy yourself a fair used bike for your short commute. You'll be happy that it isn't pretty, and you won't risk loss of your good bike. Always nice to have an excuse to buy another bike. I'd save the nice bike for the longer rides.

Glaciology. Cool. I helped map such things, carried way too much in soil samples for too long. Worked on a project that distinguished ridge top diamictons from bordering glacial deposits. They were older mudflows. Pretty cool.

Schwinn Skyliner, WalMart. I'm tempted by one myself!

Target, Schwinn Clear Creek with rack $180

Disassemble & reassemble. I'm tempted myself.

I plan to keep mine inside when I move on campus. As for walls, meh. Easily cleaned.

P.S. UCI has a pretty kool cycling team, check them out.
UD

Get a two-legged kickstand on your 520, so you won't have to lean it against the wall.

Another solution for medium distances is to get a folding bike. Easier to get in, easier to bring in stores and buildings.

Oop! looked like I didn't spell check properly and the software picked up a derogatory term due to transposed letters in the word "discount." Sorry about that!

BTW: What I suggested is what I did. I live only 1 mile from work, so no reason to spend big $$$ on anything more than an inexpensive beach cruiser with a basket. And I did spray paint it, too - its one ugly 'machine'! Also use the cruiser for runs to the market and other short errends. Call it "the proper tool for the job."

I got my first good bike stolen in Irvine. Left it in the enclosed back yard of my employer for 4-5 minutes and got nervous even though no one could see over his 7 ft fence. Went back to lock it up - Gone. Cops said "Oh well you were only 5 blocks from Irvines' High School in the Woodbridge area. Some kid saw you go in there and took it as soon as you went inside." Lock whatever you buy.

Speaking of Glaciology I have a story for you I'll PM

One mre thing for Seneca:

How do you like the Trek 520? I'm looking at getting a touring bike and would appreciate feedback; positives or negatives would be appreciated, especially if you've done any tours or long distance rides on it.

Thanks

I'd say that you want a good running older bike that looks like crows have been gnawing on it. Find a suitable bike that was in the mid to upper range way back and get a bike shop to rebuild it. It'll cost you but the bike will ride superbly and with the "crow gnawed" look hopefully it won't draw a lot of attention.

Just get one that has fender and rack mounting eyelets on it and then set it up with some really horid looking fenders and a rack. A little rubber ducky honker that warns pedestrians of your approach will further chase away any thief with a shred of self respect.

If it's not gnawed enough looking then do a little disfiguring of your own. Then just wax the damaged areas with a good car wax to resist any rusting. Or rub on some boiled linseed oil to cover it up so it won't rust but still looks like heck.

Two of my best riding bikes are old "crow gnawed" bikes from the late 80's for one and mid 90's for the other. They really knew how to make some excellent steel frames back then. Look for an older high end mountain bike since any of the early road bikes are going to be targets for the fixie crowd suppliers. Besides, an old high end rigid fork mountain bike would make an excellent short hop commuter and errand getter thanks to the more upright seating position. Just stick some platform pedals on it and enjoy the ride at a little slower pace.

I really like the Trek 520. I replaced the saddle with a Brooks B17 and the rear rack with a tubus cargo rack (though this needed a little work to get it to fit and there may be better alternative racks) everything else was stock. I did a one month tour from Vienna to Amsterdam along the rivers. Mostly the roads were good though there were some gnarly portions (deep loose gravel). The bike performed excellently, no mechanical issues and only one flat tire near the end of the trip. I really like it and wouldn't mind buying again. If you look in the touring forum the darling (as I can see) seems to be the Surly LHT partly (as I understand) because it's customizable. Other complaints about the Trek 520 is the gearing is too high, and many replace with a lower gearing for those steep mountain climbs. I think eventually I will do this, if I ever get around to those alps (they're calling).

Anyway the Trek 520 is a highly regarded work horse, and I don't have any real complaints, just keep in mind this is my first touring bike and my experience and wisdom in this area is limited. Do a search in the touring forum and you will find TONS of info!

Seneca

@BCRider yeah I will bide my time and keep my eye out for a good deal, I do check Craigs list and if I can find a "steal" then I'll go for it.

Is there a reason you can't keep it inside? It's only 2 flights of stairs.

I need to keep it at the back of my apartment and I know that during my five year stay I will undoubtedly be bumping walls, tracking in dirt and such. That's primarily why actually.

Seneca

Get an Xooter Swift for around campus,
keep the 520 for longer rides.

[QUOTE=surfrider;7330919]Oop! looked like I didn't spell check properly and the software picked up a derogatory term due to transposed letters in the word "discount." Sorry about that!

When Annc said 'derogatory terms from the seventies', I though the issue was the word "disco".