Originally Posted by Lurker1999
Why not just use a mini U-lock. Even for a 10 minutes lockup it's better than a cable. A
Kryptonite Evolution mini weighs only 1.85 pounds, fits into many pants pockets and is Silver Sold Secure rated. Better than any cable lock out there and just as handy. For a "quick" lockup you could even not bother with the Sheldon Brown method (which takes a bit more manipulating of the frame into position) and just lock your top tube to any convenient object. It's still more secure than using a cable lock.
The Mini U is somewhat useless in that it would only protect the rear wheel and the frame...not the front wheel. If you live or work or go to school in a high crime area you should use a full size U bolt lock and then you can remove the front wheel and place alongside the rear and lock the wheels and the frame. If you don't lock the front wheel and you have quick release hubs then that wheel could disappear.
If you live in a very low crime area and are able to lock the bike in a high traffic area and will only be gone for a short while, a thick cable works fine. No thief will want to spend 2 or 3 minutes hacking away at a cable. I use to lock my bikes up all the time in Santa Barbara California and left them all day outside of work and/or school as well as outside of my apartment and never had a bike stolen using just a medium thick cable!!! But that area back then had a low crime rate even though at the colleges bikes did get stolen, but most of those were locked with silly pencil thick cables or those little tiny chain things and then used those cheap school locker combination locks!
But like I said before, if you live in a high crime area what's the point of trying to lock up your good bike? Any good thief will defeat whatever lock you put on it! Thus it would be more prudent to save the money you would spend on expensive locks and buy a use $25 to $50 bike or go to WallyWorld.