Originally Posted by
lambo_vt
I understand that. Let's posit that I will be locking up a beater-ish bike on a low-risk college campus during the day for classes, and the bike will be stored in my apartment at night. I'm leaning towards buying one of the chains and calling it good to go... I guess my reasoning is I can lock the wheels and frame with a chain whereas a U lock would require a cable or something. What do you think?
I used to ride a mid-level mtb when I was in college and just locked it with a u-lock. Never had any problems (and this was in New Orleans, where opportunistic crime is big business).
I still think it would be prudent to follow the OP's advice and use a u-lock and a chain-type lock. He's right about how effective it is to make your bike harder to steal than the next one on the rack. The only reason not to take that extra step is if you can get another bike for less money than the cost of the lock (in the event that your bike does get stolen without the second lock).
And don't feel too secure in the idea that your bike is a beater and no one would want it. You must have wanted it enough to pay some amount of money for it, so there is a thief out there that wants it enough to cut through your lock and take it.