anybody go to salford uni

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

hi all,

i'm starting at salford uni on a nursing degree. i'm wondering what bike security is like there. i know the cycle racks are inside the security gates and busy. just wondering whether to make / buy a cheap fixie / ss or just take my regular bike. it's a fair old commute 20 each way 2 & 3 times a week rotating. any suggestions / comments

cheers

shaun

 

[ColinJ]

I don't know about Salford university security, but I'd say in general that bikes are not secure at most UK universities.

A few years back I accompanied my stepdaughter to Sheffield university for her interview and spent some time wandering about the campus. I spotted bike frames chained to stands with their wheels and seatposts/saddles missing. I also saw wheels chained to stands and the bikes missing! There were several complete bikes chained securely to the stands - they had been jumped on until they were completely mangled.

A friend's son was about to go to university so his mum bought him a new mountain bike to commute in on every day. He locked it up with a big heavy U-lock. The bike was stolen in less than 2 weeks.

I'd assume that the bike would eventually get stolen or vandalised so I'd go for a cheap and nasty looking bike. Fixed or single-speed would be ideal because there would be hardly any bits for thieves to pinch and the entire bike wouldn't look like it was worth much. I'm not saying that it would actually have to be a crap bike, just that it should look like one! If it looks bad enough it might not even look like it is worth vandalising.

If you ask around, you could probably scrounge enough parts to make a s/s bike.

I parted with an old Claud Butler which ended up as a fixed wheel bike for MSeries. All I asked for was for him to pay for lunch in Leeds when I handed it over!

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

thats pretty much what i thought, but salford started BUG, bicycle users group. which has a white paper on security etc etc. just wondered if this has an impact on the actual bike security or if it was just hot air

 

[Jake]

I went back in 96, aweful place. I did media though. I dont think anything is secure in salford! its crime capital, even superglue your watch on! dont go through the underpasses etc etc.

If you really want to cycle, prob the best thing to do is get cheap bikes from the local shop which sells stolen bikes. Basically a disposible bike, which dont matter if its taken.

 

[wafflycat]

Depends on the uni... the uni my son goes to has a lot of secure cycle parking (purpose built structures contain sheffield stands - building accessed by keypad lock). Why don't you get in contact with your prospective university admin and see if the campus has any secure cycle parking facilities and if so, how you go about getting a place for your bike?

 

[trio25]

Your bike wouldn't be safe as it looks like a nice mountain bike! Get some form of road bike and it will be fine!

I worked there for a while and my bike came inside with me, its not too bad as uni's go but bike thiefs will notice if a nice bike is somewhere regularly and get it!

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

hi trio,

already thinking of a brompton. been on a demo and going to book again for longer ride over hebden bridge way next week. just to check on gearing etc

 

[trio25]

Bromptons are great, for short jouneys from the train station, over 5miles and they are a nightmare, well over 1 really. They are fun and amazing for what they do but no use if you are planning on riding there and back!

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

aaawww, now your asking for trouble!! bromptonians get really protective of the reptutation of their steeds

 

[thomas]

Depends on the uni... the uni my son goes to has a lot of secure cycle parking (purpose built structures contain sheffield stands - building accessed by keypad lock). Why don't you get in contact with your prospective university admin and see if the campus has any secure cycle parking facilities and if so, how you go about getting a place for your bike?

+1 UEA has some good cycle facilitates.

 

[HobbesChoice]

<runs to the aid of the Brompton>
I have a brompton bike (which I rarely use now as cycling longer distances) and I completely agree that if you plan to cycle much more than 5 miles it's not the best bike to get. The benefit is obviously that you can tuck it away somewhere inside the uni, but a daily 40 miles isn't something I'd use it for. I now cycle 18 miles each way and wouldn't attempt it on my Brommie!

Having said that, there is an organisation who have done the London to Paris on fold up bikes, so maybe I'm just a wimp!!! I just don't feel it has enough pull in it or speed to use it safely on proper roads.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

i agree it's not the best bike to commute to uni on, but i don't really have much choice. i have weighed up the pro's and cons of a hack bike. one thing i did forget to mention is that i will be doing blocks of placement training at hospitals / in the community. as i am doing mental health nursing means that i will be assigned to placements which may play host to drug addicts and other types of addicts which are synonymous with crime including theft of push bikes. this leaves me with folders, of which after research and test rides i have come to the conclusion that the brommie is the best option.

i test rode a brommie and i felt capable of being faster on the road than my fs mtb. the quality of the brommie was excellent. there is a thread on this forum or bikeradar where brommie riders rubbished the idea of it being capable of large distances, in fact some of the brommie riders claimed to have been doing huge distances with no problems at all.

 

[HobbesChoice]

Well it sounds like you'll feel confident enough on the brommie and isn't that half the battle? To be fair, I've never attempted a commute on my brompton, I always save it for when I just need to cycle to the station to get the train in. If other Brompton users who regularly use theirs on longer commutes have rubbished the idea of it being a short distance bike then their opinion is much more trustworthy than the person who has a Brompton but hasn't ever used it for along ride (ie. me!). I'd really be interested to hear how you get on with it.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

hehe so will my knees!!

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

thb it is a shame that i have to feel the need to buy another bike because i know my current one would be pinched. but that's another story. i mean lets be honest, how much extra hassle would it be on a multi million pound uni / hospital project to install 'caged in' style bike security near the security lodges?