Here in Toronto, if you are outside a coffee shop say out by the nearest cement blocks, or stair case of the building across the street, try for a Coffee Time if there isn't one go for a Tim Hortons, drinking a coffee at around 1-3am you'll get offers to buy bikes for $50-100, doesn't matter if its a higher end road bike or a beater MTB.

Fact is, you cannot fence a $1,000 bike for anywhere near that amount, in the time frame many thieves want to be paid for it. So they end up trying first to get a low ball amount just enough so the average junkie can have their fix for the next couple days cause of the bike.

I'm sure there is a market for high end bikes being fenced for a pretty penny, but something tells me the average bike thief is more interested in a quick dollar then a prize. Which means a good lock, and not keeping it outside past midnight is probably the best deterrent.

Jim