Originally Posted by Adagio Corse
Hate to say this but I've seen beaters get stripped of their el cheapo parts. The people that strip/steal bikes often don't care that it's not worth much, they just do it for the hell of it. I've see single speed rickety cruisers with the handle bars missing, and a very upset owner wondering what the heck happened.
My bike gets locked. properly.
If they wanna steal cheapo parts they can go get a poorly locked bike out in the open at the library. this time of year, there are no less than 3 or 4 bikes out there, and more than half of them are locked in a way where one could pull the front and/or rear wheel, saddle/post and handlebars in under 60 seconds.
I have hundred-dollar bikes that I've been using all this time (a hybrid and MTB) without any unwanted attention so far. I'm not worried about being a victim of opportunity. That isn't going to happen. I'm worried about being a victim of a planned attack.
I can leave a crappy car unlocked in my parking lot and never have anything happen to it. A locked, alarmed lexus on 20" chrome wheels with a big sound/video system, though, would probably get tampered with where I work, if left overnight.