Originally Posted by
Retro Grouch
My philosophy:
The first lock that you get, regardless how cheesy, is about 90% effective because it forces the thief to bring some kind of tool with him.
To improve on 90% effectiveness you engage in a progressively more expensive game of high tech one-ups-manship that you will always ultimately lose. Any lock can be cut or defeated, it's just a matter of time and tools.
I agree. Some things like jet engines need to be complicated, but for those things that don't need to be complicated, I like to keep them as simple as possible. I use a piece of chain that I removed from a set of winter tire chains. (The outside chain, about 4 ft long.) It has a nice weight, secure but not really heavy. I usually use less than a foot of it at a bike rack, but it can go around a sizable vertical post. And a regular small padlock. Of course I'm not driving anything exotic or expensive, which is also a nice security feature, and saves a lot on lock up arrangements.