I'll soon have a new ride. Like my last commuter bike, I never thought I'd spend so much money on a such a nice bike.

Now I'm wondering, what are peoples' experiences with uglified bikes? Does it really deter theft? Should I just slap some bumper-stickers on it? Or should I give it some gratuitous duct-tape and a "custom paint job" with orange/red/brown spray-paint, to make it look rusty?

Around here, just as many (maybe more?) cheap/crappy bikes get stolen, compared to bikes that are targeted because they're nice and expensive… But anecdotally it seems like a good lock, used properly(!), does more to deter theft than whether or not the bike is desirable. If that's the case, then there's no "tactical advantage" to making a bike ugly.

Well there are 2 types of bike thieves, ones that steal because they want to hawk the bike for parts or entirety, and then the ones who just want a bike to use. I've seen junk bikes with missing front wheels cos the owner forgot to lock the fronts, and I've also known people climbing fences to steal $15k carbon bikes left unsecured at home. Invest in good locks, be diligent in where you park and hope the next thief sees someone else's bike first! haha

Bike thieves are looking for the easiest bike to steal. The brand, condition, size, etc. have almost no bearing on the likelihood of theft. If it's vulnerable, it's gone. If it's fortified, they'll move on to an easier target.

Nope. Enjoy the shininess. Lock it well.

Haven't done any direct comparisons, myself. Haven't typically lived in spots where smash-and-grab type thefts occur much. Once, had a seatpost+seat removed from a bike where I still (stupidly) had the quick-release lever on the seat tube collar. My own bikes tend to be clean and well-maintained, though looking relatively low-cost as compared to many bikes today. (A bit "under the radar," you might say, in the hope it'll matter a damn.)

No idea whether any clear difference exists. But it's easy enough to see that a thief that's looking for something good will tend to gloss over the nearly valueless bikes sitting nearby. Probably balanced out by the vast number of thieves out there who don't much care what they take, so long as it works.

All a WAG, anyway.

Why buy a "nice" bike and make it ugly/cheap? Start with an ugly/cheap bike!

gm

I used to uglify them but then switched to the cheap bike approach.
Current favorite commuters/beaters are an old trek cruiser classic, a bikesdirect windsor clockwork and a lasalle stony creek which I have never seen another of but is a nice mid ‘90s plain gauge ishiwata mountain bike with mountain lx components.

Bikes are like women, you don't, get a pretty one and make her ugly. If ugly you want, start out ugly!

gm

Beauty or ugliness is in the eye of the beholder

gm

Start out with a beautiful, expensive bike like this:




Then you add some SRAM horse-head hydraulic brake levers:



Mission accomplished!

Uglification doesn't work. Plenty of old ugly bikes get stolen. An experienced thief knows the worth of bikes.

Store your bike at a secure location at work. Indoors preferably. I've even worked in an office where people took their bikes into their cubicles. It was a spacious office.

This is my attempt at ugly for my commuting bike. Also has 20 inch wheels which is considered a not serious kids bike.