Originally Posted by
Louis Le Tour
Your bikes and gear were where you left them when you got back because a common thief did not come along and steal them. If you're willing to take that risk it's your call. I just don't have another $4K+ to invest in my ride. To each his own.
Yes, you are correct, "to each his own", and I respect those differences.
However,
common thieves don't usually carry an angle grinder, industrial grade hacksaw or bolt cutters. It takes someone specifically targeting bikes to have those tools. Fortunately, most bike thieves don't cruise busy campgrounds with their tool bags.
The more bike orientated places like Portland and Eugene, OR; Seattle;and Paris, Amsterdam, and Seville in Europe are the places where people do roam around with those types of tools looking for easy targets. There is enough volume to to make it worthwhile.
Other places like Chicago, Detroit,and Cleveland get bikes stolen just because they are unsecured opportunities.
When we stopped for lunch at this diner in a "sketchy area" of Cleveland Ohio, The waitress told us to bring our bikes inside, because the panniers may not be there when we came out.
When we returned home from that trip, I fabricated some lightweight 3/32" stainless steel "security" cables for our Ortlieb panniers. They won't stop someone with a big pair of scissors, but they will deter the grab-and-go thief. Fortunately, most people don't carry a pair of big scissors either.
