As someone that has never even considered locking a bike outside in NYC up until now, how prevalent *is* theft anyway? I've had two bikes stolen in my life (both out of garages), but I keep hearing horror stories of bikes getting evaporated even when locked up with enough steel to rebuild the terminator.

I'm looking at building a steel fix just to avoid parking my nice roadie on the street (plus, it's carbon, so it's bound to get smashed if locked..) Am I insane to even consider an even slightly nice frame? Should I be looking at a smashed beater to avoid the grip of the theftman?

-s