He probably means most valuable in terms of most valuable to the thief. A frame, while being more expensive, is probably harder to unload than a rear wheel.

Alan isn't listening to me... My point was there's no one in my area going around looking for bikes to steal. As such, there's no one with that magical cable opening tool in his pocket. If you leave your bike unlocked, someone may take it because they can. A cable stops that. It doesn't stop anyone who is determined.

Alan, on a campus, not a chance. My old college, no way would the cops catch a bike thief. I had a bike stolen, my girlfriend had one stolen, there were rusted out frames or wheels tied to the bike racks where the rest of the bike had been stolen... College cops might be the best when it comes to bike theft, but that doesn't make 'em good.

Plus depending how you cut the rim, you can still roll it along. You can't ride it, sure... but someone walking along with a backpack and a broken bike? You've got an excellent chance of getting away.

And don't be ********, I'm not going to try stealing a bike to prove a point on an internet forum. Neither are you. If I still had those old rims (which were trashed anyway) I WOULD cut 'em just to see how hard it is... but I don't, so we'll never know (unless you or someone else tries it). I can tell you from personal experience that cutting the tire (with an inflated tube inside it) was very short work.