<p>I want to get a bike, but I don’t know whether or not to get one that can change speeds. Is it really necessary to have a 3 or 7 speed bike, just for riding around campus or downtown? Or will a no speed bike do the job?</p>
<p>There are some fairly big hills at CP and the ride back to campus from downtown might be tough without gears. I would think a bike with gears would be the best.</p>
<p>My daughter just bought a Cannondale “commuter bike” from REI. It has 24 speeds and can go on both streets and unpaved roads. IOW, we went with the multi-gear bike.</p>
<p>Yeah, fixies(bikes with a single gear) are annoying and uncomfortable to ride withthe SLO hills. I suggest going to craigslist and to find a multi-gear bike with commuter tires(700x23 to 700x35ish), since it will be pretty cheap.</p>
<p>My daughter was given a brand new beach cruiser without gears for Christmas from her boyfriend’s family. I tried to tell her that she should at least have *some *gears. But, she didn’t want them. Oh, WELL! I guess she’ll find out for herself. ;)</p>
<p>^^^good workout ;)</p>
<p>Thanks for the input everyone! I think I’m going to go for one with gears! :)</p>