Originally Posted by Ziemas
I perfer chains as they give you many more options of where to lock up to. In many cases with a U-Lock you are SOL if there isn't a parking meter around. With a chain you can lock up to light posts, traffic lights, supermarket overhang posts, etc. Try that with a U-Lock!
Nothing against chains (will get one one of these days), but 95% of the time I park my bike, there's something secure enough to ulock it to within 20 feet of wherever I'm going. And this is in Columbia, SC where bike racks might as well not exist - in Portland, that number's more like 100%. The other 5% of the time, I have to go as much as 50 feet away. Not a big deal, and in most areas a u-lock is more than good enough. Outside of the biggest/most bike-friendly cities, I doubt most bike thieves even carry bolt cutters (much less know how to bust u-locks), there just aren't enough bikes locked up in public to make carrying specialized tools/having specialized knowledge lucrative.