<p>Some questions -</p>
<p>Do you ride a bike around campus, and if so, how has it been? How many people ride? Do you ride around NY? I hear that bike theft is rampant in the big city, and I was wondering if that also applied to Morningside Heights. How do you make sure your bike doesn't get stolen?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Use a lock and chain??</p>
<p>The people on the facebook group said that you have to keep your bike in your dorm..</p>
<p>with a shtty bike a shtty lock will do, just make sure you lock it to something to prevent opportunist thieving. If you have a good bike get a better lock (doesn't have to be a top notch lock). no-one rides to class or anything, it's all far too close with stairs, ups and downs. But riding in the city is perfectly fine (just make sure you have good street sense). there are also bike paths along the river which i take all the time. Biking saves $2 when you would otherwise use the subway, these add up over the months, it's also the fastest way to get around the city in the day time, comparable to the subway quicker than a cab and miles ahead of the bus.</p>
<p>I rode basically everywhere, including to class in Mudd when I lived on 114th. I had two bikes stolen and another one stripped (wheels, seat, brake pads, the works). Yes, i'm a slow learner.</p>
<p>Here are my learnings, so that you may learn from my mistakes:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Do not **** around with ****ty-ass bike locks. Security up in Low Library has a guy, Ricardo Morales, who will sell you top-quality locks that he gets at a wholesale discount, and he'll sell them at cost. Get the Kryptonite New York u-lock or chain lock, those are the only ones worth having.</p></li>
<li><p>Do not under any circumstances chain your bike to scaffolding. sure, it looks like a bunch of metal stuff that's secure, but it can be undone quickly to slip your bike out.</p></li>
<li><p>Do not leave your bike on the street overnight under any circumstances. Physical crime is very low in the columbia neighborhood, and most property crime too, really - but bike theft is tremendous. Not even in outdoor supervised bike racks is anything safe. Bring it indoors. If you have room in your room, great. If you don't, try to find a spot in the basement. Sufficient security for the basements is just chaining your wheel to the frame, which prevents wheeling the bike around easily, so students won't be tempted.</p></li>
<li><p>For short-term lock-ups while you're in class or dropping something off or what-have-you, the local bike racks (and anything to hook up to, really) will do just fine. The problem is extended periods of time, especially overnight.</p></li>
<li><p>you don't need a helmet just to get around campus (frankly it's more of a liability than is really necessary), but use one if you're venturing off-campus at all. it takes a while to feel comfortable biking among the taxicabs and a little extra peace of mind doesn't hurt.</p></li>
<li><p>The best bike store near columbia is Metro Bikes on 96th just east of broadway. The # is 212-663-7531, and the manager's name is Dave. They are a great bunch of guys there, the mechanics will often do small tune-ups for you at no cost (always tip the guy), and if they get to know you they have a ton of great advice. If you want a good bike at a good price, get the Trek (I used to have an 820, now I have a 7000, the 7200 is a nicer frame for $100 more). The Trek 7000 is like $230-240, and is a great bike for all city purposes.</p></li>
<li><p>Trek bikes look a lot nicer than they actually are, so they'll be targets if you have one. One solution (which Metro Bikes suggested to me) is to take a little rubber hosing - they'll do it for you if you ask nicely - and wrap it around the various frame bars so that it looks like you're covering up a poor paint job or something. Just wrap up the frame in some black rubber. The bike will look like much less of a bike, but it'll still run the same. I don't know for sure that me doing that has made a difference, but I also haven't had a bike stolen since then either.</p></li>
<li><p>Brake pads wear down quickly in the city, from a lot of rapid stopping and starting. Get those adjusted (and replaced if necessary) when appropriate. If your chain gets wet it'll rust, guys at a bike shop will have some anti-rust oil that they use. should help keep things going.</p></li>
<li><p>If you keep a bike at Columbia, you absolutely need to do the Five</a> Boro Bike Tour one of your years. it'll occur right around finals time but it's 100% worth it, literally one of the 20 most awesome experiences of my life.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>that's all I got on bikes.</p>
<p>The only people who bike in manhattan are 1) delivery boys, and 2) the olympian wannabes zooming around the loop in central park.</p>
<p>^there are actually many normal people who ride for pleasure on a good day in the parks and a few on the streets. it still makes sense to ride a bike around the city, it's really quick, good exercise, in the day time I still find it the ideal form of transportation in manhattan as a college student, even at night it's great to ride. I once went from mid town east to columbia, by the rivers around the southern tip of manhattan at 3am, it took an hour and a half but was a really peaceful and mind-clearing ride.</p>
<p>Is it safe though? My family lives outside the city, and when I suggested to my father that I buy a bike, he replied with a very firm, "No, you're going to get yourself killed." Is riding in NYC streets that dangerous? If so, any tips on how to reduce the danger (excluding "don't ride your bike")?</p>
<p>it's comparable to riding a motorcycle, you definitely need to be aware of what's around you, cars always leave space for you on the street, i've found it quite easy and safe to get around on it, I'd never ride without a helmet, delivery guys do it for a living, I think it's pretty safe. In the day time when there's traffic its safer, because the cars are going slower/just as fast as you are. manhattan also has many streets with bike lanes, those are very safe, it's possible to get from anywhere to anywhere using primarily bike lanes.</p>
<p>basically, under normal conditions, cars will see you. the issue is, how will they react to you - it'll generally be in one of two fashions:</p>
<p>(1) You are asserting yourself as a car in the street. You occupy the center part of one lane and force the other cars to treat you as if you were a car (which you have a right to do). You signal with your hands, stop at red lights, and/or move over to let faster vehicles pass.</p>
<p>(2) You are a pedestrian, albeit one that moves faster. You stay to the extreme side of the road, and/or the sidewalks when necessary. cars will pass you and give you just enough room as they pass, but not much more. you won't get ceded a lane, just a little space. if you run red lights, from the side of the road, nobody will notice or care. (this is how delivery bikers operate)</p>
<p>other cars need to know whether to treat you as an equal or an inferior on the road. taxis will recognize and respond to both these behaviors pretty easily, although some may choose to be aggressive with you if you're acting like #2.</p>
<p>for a few years, i had a pretty poor helmet, and chose not to wear it because it obscured my peripheral vision. this was a calculated safety decision - peripheral vision is key to biking safely in new york.<br>
- I am <em>constantly</em> checking behind me to see what's going on there as well as what's in front of me, which is different than what you're taught as a driver.<br>
- you have to expect that some drivers will run red lights right as their light turns red, so always look.
- buses are easy to navigate because they're slow-moving, but they may not see you. it's a tradeoff.</p>
<p>It took me a couple years to really get used to biking in the city. It really gets the adrenaline going and is a very ADD activity - you're constantly processing a ton of inputs. (biking in the park or on the bikepath, recreationally, is much more relaxing, of course). However, with a good helmet and some common sense, it is certainly safe. I've been biking in the city 5 years now and have had one very minor accident, which was avoidable if I hadn't been so aggressive (taxi hit me doing about 3 mph in an intersection when it was unclear between the two of us who was going to go and who was going to yield). despite occasionally biking on sidewalks when necessary, i have never hit a pedestrian, but that takes very good balance and control.</p>
<p>so to sum up, it's not that big of a risk, but it takes a lot of getting used to, and may not be the kind of thing you'd want to do unless you're temperamentally suited to it. but if you are, it can save you a lot of time and money and hassle. (example: going cross-town takes forever by foot or by public transport, or costs a lot in a cab. but a bike goes crosstown really quickly)</p>
<p>I want to resurrect this thread now that I've been accepted into Columbia. Thanks again to Denzera, those posts were extremely helpful.</p>
<p>My question is - how much room is there inside a dorm for bike storage? I'm a long distance road rider and want to eventually get into road bike racing, so I have a nice racing bike which I want to bring. Obviously it's not suited for romping around the city though, so I was thinking of getting a crappy bike for street riding. </p>
<p>Would two bikes be excessive to store inside a John Jay single or even a Carman double? Could I keep a nice one in my room and stash a yucky one in the basement (or even outdoors - how bad is it, really)? </p>
<p>Lastly, what's the school's attitude on students keeping stuff like bikes in dorm rooms? </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I've kept a bike in my single room, it's doable, a bit of a nuisance, but I loved her enough that I didn't want her to be ruined outside, there's enough space in a john jay single to do this but you can't have any other extra furniture. I would suggest keeping the racing bike at home and bringing a normal road bike for nyc, this you can keep in your room. if you are very into biking then bring both and lock the road bike outside, they have open bike parking spaces, your bike will have to face the elements.</p>
<p>If you want to just keep your racing bike in dry storage, you'll want to take off the wheels and use some nails to hang the frame on the wall.</p>
<p>There is room in a carman double to put your bike, but your roommate won't appreciate it very much. Many dorms have bike racks outside the dorm, but that's more for temporary or intra-day use than for overnight / long-term stuff. Even if you have the lock you ought to have (get the Kryptonite New York U-Lock from Ricky Morales at the security office for $50), thieves may strip parts or otherwise damage your bike if you leave it out unattended for too long too often.</p>
<p>If you live in hartley-wallach there's probably some room in the basement. There's really no room in the carman basement, and no public basement in JJ worth speaking of. Furnald I'm not actually sure, there might be room there.</p>
<p>And if you're going to leave it somewhere temporarily and you don't have something firm to chain it to, remember the old trick of chaining the wheel to the frame. That way, nobody can just hop on it and bike off - they'd have to heft the thing and carry it wherever. Prevents theft of a more casual sort.</p>
<p>edit: Actually, let me reverse myself - if you properly arrange your carman double, and don't bring any additional furniture into the room, there is probably space for a bike on your half of the room. that's one bike - the other, you should leave with your parents or, at worst, nail up on the wall.</p>
<p>Bike riding among students at Columbia is fairly uncommon. Are you planning to do so for the exercise? Or to save money? I'm not sure it's worth risking your neck. NYC drivers are crazy.</p>
<p>^this is an exaggerated opinion, delivery boys ride bikes for a living, they seem to do ok. If NYC drivers are that crazy don't cross the street either or ever take a cab. Riding a bike is pretty safe, drivers leave you enough space, definitely make sure you wear a good quality helmet fastened tightly to your head. There are also tons of bike paths at central park and riverside park so most of your commuting can be done on paths which are relatively harmless. Overall don't choose to bike unless you are confident riding on busy streets, you need to be very conscious of what is around you.</p>
<p>Denzera,</p>
<p>Are you sure you can buy a Trek 7000 for $230-$240? I checked prices around town and they are selling for around $350</p>
<p>Hi guys,
I am in New York University and I ride to college everyday, however, I do not keep the bike at home. Instead, I rent a space in a <a href=“http://www.centralpark-newyorkcity.com/bicycle-rentals/”>bike rental Central Park</a> bike shop. My apartment is a size of a bike, so I had no option :D</p>