This is really tough. A lot has to do with where he is going and how much he will be using the bike. Someone above said to get the lay of the land before deciding. I kept my bike vertical in my dorm room, but it was outside and locked up when I went to work or class; even a long bike like his doesn't need to take up that much room (or keep it behind the bed). Johnny above said that the Clem L will be too long for bus racks. I can attest that my 55cm Platypus is too long for bus racks and Amtrak, if he needs those transportation options. From a purely logical perspective, get a beater.
However, I know you (and you'll have to ask your son). How much joy is he going to get riding a nice bike to class and thinking of his grandfather when he does? How much will he be heartbroken IF the bike disappears? If a lot of joy, get him Dynolights so you'll know he's able to be seen, Hexlocks on the wheel set, saddle and seat post and two really good U-locks. Take the bags off the bike when parked. Teach him good and bad ways to lock up the bike. Show him what to look for (like unbolted bike stands and cut thru lock-to bars). Get good pictures of it and register for it on bike registry sites. Hide an air tag. Just make it harder to steal. Although I'm sure you'll be heartbroken IF the bike disappears, since it was your Dad's originally, you can physically replace it. Roberta On Saturday, August 5, 2023 at 10:54:39 PM UTC-4 Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > It nearly kills me to say it, but my older son will be heading to college > in a year. Freshman aren’t to bring cars to campus, so that leaves buses, > bikes, and your own two feet for transportation. My boys have grown up > riding Clem Hs; this son rides a 52 cm cast-off from my husband (who > doesn’t ride, sigh). > > My 6’3” Dad had a blue 59 cm Clem on order when he died suddenly in 2020, > and his blue Clem has sat, boxed, waiting for my boy to grow into it. I > lugged the gargantuan box up from the basement last week to see how if the > bike would fit. “Now that I’ve obtained optimal height,” my son is fond of > saying… > > Anyway, he’s 6’1” now (likely still growing) and I need him to decide if > he wants to stick with his old Clem H (that he was fond of) or settle into > this Clem L. Because whichever bike he chooses is getting new wheels, dyno > and fenders and going to college with him. At first he was opposed to the > idea of a new Clem; he liked his old Clem, thought it looked cool. But > after the - as he calls it - Big Bike was assembled, he really began to > like it. “It looks elegant,” he said. It really does, all long and lithe, > in blue and silver. He put his saddle and bags on the bike and we test rode > it tonight. He said, “I am really liking the Big Bike. I like that my knees > don’t have anything to hit (geez, were his knees hitting his bars?!) and it > looks elegant. It feels more at home now that I have my old saddle on it.” > > I have mixed feelings about sending him to college with this bike, because > it’s so nice. I also doubt he’ll be able to get it on a bus bike rack - and > I have no idea how often he will want to do that. His bike life is totally > unknown at this point. All I know is that I’m getting him dyno because the > kid has never remembered to charge a light in his LIFE and I will not sleep > at night without it.The 52 takes 650b wheels and the 59 takes 700c, so I > don’t want to buy the wheels until I know which bike he really wants. But > as of now, he wants his new bike. > > I know people will say we should just get a beater. I know why that would > be advisable, but I also hate to think of a Clem languishing when it could > be serving a noble purpose. I’d love for him and his Clem to journey > through undergrad together. > > I am wondering…has anyone gone to college or sent their kid to college > with a Clem? What do you have to say about it? Photos in the next post… > Leah > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/fd4ba9a3-de90-4043-b802-f9eb36d5dbe9n%40googlegroups.com.
