Originally Posted by
RubeRad
You might deter casual, stupid, lazy, or drunk bike thieves, but a determined thief will have tools and/or be willing to destroy part of your bike if he wants a part he can't otherwise detach. But he will also know the values of things, and if your townie is generally cheap enough to be not worth the risk/effort, it should be left alone.
I was mostly thinking along the lines of carrying only a U-lock, so the front wheel would be vulnerable. Not necessarily to a bike thief, but to some drunken joker or someone who sees a free wheel for the taking.