<p>I have a sort of expensive bike, is there a good possibility it will get stolen during the year? I'm staying in Bates and will definitely lock it up, but I'm not sure if I should just buy a cheap backup bike instead of bringing down my nice one.</p>
<p>S’s nice LOCKED UP bike was stolen outside of Maxcy fairly quickly his freshman year…in fact, a whole row of bikes were stolen.then he bought a used/beater type bike to replace it. word to the wise.</p>
<p>Bates is on the “sketchier” side of campus. If you go down past Bates towards the Roost, it’s quite a different image than that of the Horseshoe.</p>
<p>That being said, no way in heck would I ever bring a nice bike to campus and leave it outside. I know way too many who had theirs stolen. Mine was an old bike and I left it outside of Maxcy all year long and had no problems.</p>
<p>The people I knew with nice bikes took theirs into their room. If I were you, I’d see if I could find a reliable, but old-looking bike to use.</p>
<p>Make sure that you use a U-lock. Those are the best things. Also, make sure to lock your wheels with your bike. There are frames left all around campus on the bike racks. The wheels were stolen, so the owners never bothered to collect their bikes.</p>
<p>Article in Alumni magazine mentioned that USC has an abandoned bike program run through Office of outdoor rec. They collect bikes abandoned at the end of the school year and sell them to students and faculty. One student quoted said she got a mountain bike for $20. Might be worth checking into since wouldn’t be as invested in it if something happened.</p>