Bike Shops in Fort Collins, CO

http://www.recycled-cycles.com/m/ Located in the Lory Student Center lower level.

The Bike Coop will teach you how to work on your bike! They also have great deals on parts and service, and help the community. fcbikecoop.org

I don't know of any classes, but I look at YouTube often. It seems to have a tutorial on anything you might need. Also most local bike shops will give you advice if you're buying your parts from them.

REI also hosts bike maintenance clinics on a periodic basis. They have an events board you can check out in store and online.

I'd echo what /u/The_Clementine and /u/cassma13 have said already, but also direct you to [Sheldon Brown](https://www.sheldonbrown.com/). Anything you want to know about taking care of a bike, he's likely written about. Dude is a bike wizard, with the beard to back it up. Changing a tube or tire is one of the easiest things you can learn to do on your bike. Learning how to do it yourself will save you *so much* money over time. Once you get the bike maintenance bug, some other common maintenance tasks that will save you from being nickel and dimed to death at local bike shops: * Brake adjustments * Derailleur adjustments * Drivetrain clean and lube * Installation of simple parts (racks, fenders, pedals, grips, tape, etc).

If you'd rather deal with a person than a store, I'll bring the tools and knowledge if you bring the beer and tire! Message me if you're interested.

Brave New Wheel is a super cool shop with great friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable people. You can go in and buy a beer there and chat with the staff.

Road 34 bike shop is awesome.

Road 34, Brave New Wheel are both great choices

[Fort Collins Bike Co-op](http://fcbikecoop.org) will let you fix your own bike using their tools with one of their mechanics guiding you for a small fee. Probably cheaper than any other place in town to fix a bike and you get the benefit of learning how to do it yourself.

Recycled cycles is alright from my experience. They have refurbished bikes for good prices.

edit: sorry this ended up being pretty long! I grew up here, and can defintiely recommend having a bike! At least before 2020, getting around Old Town on bike is often about as fast as driving (at least within a few miles) if you take traffic and parking into account. Depending on your schedule and class locations, being able to get from e.g. north to south campus in a few minutes can be a lifesaver as well. I'd also recommend checking out the bike trail system, which connects a lot of town (if sometimes indirectly), some of the neighboring towns, and natural areas. The Mason Coridor is handy for getting around Old Town, and and Spring Creek Trail has some surprisingly nice areas within a few minutes of CSU (you can also get to a King Soopers just south of campus). There's also a pedestrian/bike underpass near the Oval which can be a nice alternative to being stuck behind a train when it goes through campus. This isn't a definitive list (I've heard good things about the other places mentioned here), but a few palces I've tried and liked have been: -The Gearage sells pretty reasonably-priced new and refurbished bikes and parts; they also do repairs and rentals for bikes and other seaosnal outdoor equipment. They sell other gear and clothing on consigment (new stuff as well), and are one of my favorite stores in town for that kind of thing. They're across from Old Town Square, so you can take the MAX bus line there and walk for a few minutes (your student ID is good as a boarding pass). -I haven't been there in a while (I'm not sure how much has changed post-COVID), but the Bike Coop on North College probably gives the best price-to-quality in town for ~serviceable bikes for casual use (they occasionally get nice racing bikes and the like too). They sell ready-to-go refurbished donations, or "as-is" bikes quite a bit more cheaply if you're up for repairing them. They also do repairs, and sell used parts very cheaply. It's also a fun place to voluneteer, with some nice perks after enough hours (free or half-price parts, and a 'free' bike). It is a bit far afield if you don't already have a bike/car. -Incidentally, I would strongly recommend against getting a cheap Walmart/etc. bike over a used one if you're on a budget. Having processed a lot of donations at the Co-op, I can say these tend to be heavy, harder to repair (e.g. welded cranksets, borderline decorative frame suspension, etc.), and have lower-quality parts. You definitely don't need a new bike for getting around town--e.g. 90s mountain bikes make great commuters (I've been using an old Rockhopper for getting on 12 years now) -I know CSU has a newish on-site bike shop in the LSC (can't remember the name and haven't been there); CSU Surplus also sells impounded/abandoned bikes very cheaply, although these tend to be in sorry shape so it would be rare to find roadworthy off the bat. That said, they sell parts piecemeal, so it's a cheap way to get ahold of common (if lower-end) parts. It's also always kind of fun seeing what they have in stock in general.

They say get a bike, but very rarely do people actually need them - especially if you’re living on campus. I’d suggest Walmart or target and if you really use it, invest in a better bike once you’re off campus.

Try . Hey, https://www.twitter.com/lil_lady_rachel , can you help?

Kathy Hamilton, and yes, there are activities for the parents, you will be provided with an Agenda.....informational sessions, etc., and some overlap with the students' agendas, so you may see your student along the way. There is a family dinner, "carnival" type thing with a live band too; I believe that is the last night. But rest assured, you will receive everything you have a need to know beforehand.:-)

I have a senior from MD and we did the Bed, Bath, and Beyond thing too. I HIGHLY recommend that. You just go to your local BB&B, shop away, the boxes are there for you when you get to Fort Collins and then you can still decide if you want it or not, you don't pay until you pick it up, you can use your coupons still.... great way to go. We bought our son a bike out there too - from Walmart - nothing fancy and he used it a TON. When we moved him out from MD, we flew out like you did a day or two ahead, all we brought w/us were basically the personal belongings and then we shopped for the rest w/him while we were there. He didn't know his roommate either, but they did connect via FB once they were assigned, so they worked out some of the who is bringing what stuff, but there is any store you want/need there to get the rest. We then helped him set things up, took a few more runs to the stores with him, enjoyed the fabulous Ram Welcome activities and then said the hard goodbyes. We fly out for graduation this Thursday and I can't say enough good things about his 4 years at CSU. Good luck to your family.

Going back to your question on how long to stay my personal opinion would be until Sat. That way even if your son wants to hang around with other students you are still around for some last minute shopping. Besides you could take him or possible a new friend out for a bite to eat at Old Town (walking distance) with great restaurants and shopping, just a lovely area specially during the summer. Also you wont feel rush Leaving next day after moving him in.

New or used, bikes are hard to completely secure and are often stolen in FoCo. Get a functional bike for him, get a good U-Lock, and learn how to properly secure it. I wouldn't spend much more than about $200, because you still might have to buy one or two more if they still get stolen. Mountain biking is great in the area, but rent for now until he has secure indoor storage, which he won't have in a dorm. As previously mentioned, there is an on-campus store with used bikes, and Recycled Cycles has a pretty extensive selection.