Originally Posted by
Northwestrider
Yes, it happens so quickly it's amazing. I now always lock my bike with a cheap cable lock, even when I have the bike in sight . It slows them down only a little, but IMO will stop a majority of thefts
A cable lock is certainly better than no lock at all, but, judging by the high quality bikes listed in the "My Bikes" of of your profile, I highly recommend you get a good u-lock. Even thick cable locks can be cut easily within ten seconds using commonly used bike theft tools like bolt cutters.
An NYC news station did their own bike sting. They locked up a nice bike with a cable lock. 16 minutes later a thief walked up to the bike with a compact set of bolt cutters and rode off with the bike in about five seconds.