Best Bike for College – Your Best Commuter and Get-Around Bike

If you’re going back to school and starting to think about your first bicycle, then the best bike for college may be closer than you think.

When choosing the best bike for college you want to think about a mixture of comfort and utility to get you to and from class, along with getting around town to do some light errands.

Some of those errands can include target runs, groceries (so you may or may not want to include a basket with your purchase), stopping by a friends’ dorm room or apartments, or stopping by your work-study opportunity in case you need to drop off some files.

Having a bike for college is really helpful to get around campus quickly, efficiently, and it doesn’t hurt if the paint job looks good as well.

In this post you will learn about what Routeonecycling.com has to say about the best two options for bicycles in college. There are too many ways to get a hold of them for a reasonable price as well.

You will learn about some of the easiest ways to come across a low cost bicycle for you as a lost salary college student. Finally you will learn about our specific favorite bike for college and why.

Where can I get a good bike for college?

You can get a good bike for college in many places. Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Not-for-profits, and your school’s Dean Of Students Offices are great places to start.

These are all marketplaces and resources for students to begin your search if you want to find a bicycle at a reasonable price below retail. We go into more detail below on each of the options and how to get your hands on a good bicycle. Make sure your bicycle fits correctly when purchasing.

Craigslist.com

Craigslist.com will always be the go-to for used bicycle purchases as a student. Make it a point to meet somewhere public, and try using a virtual money transfer rather than cash.

Chances are if you are purchasing the bicycle in a college town, the person will be a college student, or affiliated with the college as well. When buying off of craigslist, the most important thing to check for is rust, and making sure that the bicycle shifts correctly (outside of bike size in relation to you as the owner, too).

A brief search shows that you can find reasonable options at around $200-$400. Try for the end of the semester for even better deals. If you absolutely do not want a used bicycle, here is a great bicycle for under $200 new.

Facebook Marketplace & For Sale Groups

These student groups abound with people looking to offload their items at the end of the year. Senior Sales are frankly amazing to get anything that you could possibly want from Target at bottom dollar.

Bikes at the end of the year go for ridiculously low prices as people are looking to help them move on to their next owner. These are typically other students, and it’s also a great way to make a friend when meeting up to purchase the bicycle. Prices tend to be lower than Craigslist through these options.

Check areas around senior apartments for people leaving signs that advertise free items as well. Tip: If you see an older 1980’s Schwinn bicycle, buy it as fast as possible. Those bikes will survive apocalypse.

Not for Profits

There are plenty of Not-For-Profits in my city that operationalize the collection of bicycles in the area and may sell them for a small profit. One that I have worked with will work with colleges to fix their older bicycles in trade for some new bicycles from time to time.

Great opportunity can be found by going to these not-for-profits to see what bicycles they have available.

School Dean Of Students

If you go to a school where your Dean of Students is highly organized, speak to them about what programs (if any) that they have to collect bicycles at the end of the year.

If they don’t have one, there might be an old bicycle in the back closet that someone who worked in the office years ago left – and they’re happy to give away.

Who knows? Serendipity happens. Deans of Students offices are happy to help when they have the resources, bandwidth and availability of time to do so.

Best Bike for College

There are two types of bicycles we recommend for college depending on your needs. Road bikes are excellent commuter bicycles if you are going a bit further of a distance, and you also enjoy exercising from time to time.

Hybrid bikes are great if your campus is small, want to be comfortable when you are riding, and will not be towing very many items outside of what is on your backpack.

Road Bikes for College

We typically recommend a road bike for college because they are extremely customizable. If you happen to be going to the grocery store and it’s a further distance, you can add a basket very easily. New tires are very easy to come by and the standard sizing and accessories are easy to work with.

Bicycle shops also enjoy working on these bicycles as this is the highest volume type of bicycle that they see. So if you do bump into any problems, the repair pricing will be lower for you as well.

The added benefit of a road bike is if you plan on going for longer rides, you can use it to do so as well. With a simple road bike, you can go on very fun 10 mile bike rides to get your head grounded and more relaxed from thinking of the millions of things going on in school.

Hybrid Bikes for College

Hybrid Bikes are great if you know that you are specifically using it to get to and from class, and there are not many hills around. The seating position of hybrid bikes feel more like you are sitting in a chair. This is good for short distances and allow you to get to and from your classes reasonably comfortably.

If you are trying to use the bicycle for anything other than going to and from class, a road bicycle is recommended.

What can I use my bike for in college?

You can use your bike for getting to and from classes, visiting friends, professors and family and much more.

It is great to have a bicycle to get to work faster, or get to athletics and clubs across town. You are also able to use it for exercise and as an alternate for running to clear out your head.

Conclusion

If you are going back to school and want to have a bike in college, road bikes and hybrid bikes are your best choice. They’re fantastic options to work with and you will be able to enjoy getting around the town while also doing so at a very low price point.

If you need to get anywhere around campus, it will take mere minutes to do so rather than longer if you were to walk.

It is more than a fun time to be able to ride for exercise and enjoy the mental uplifting feelings that you get from enjoying a long ride around campus.