Wow, that they knew to take the gunnar. Most people have heard of Trek, so that's the one I would have expected to be taken rather than the brand that few have heard of. Sounds like a serious crew.

ride a single gear bike, for some reason, thieves don't even double take.

When my Merlin MTB was my only commuter bike, I allowed the famously ephemeral decals to flake away without replacing them, then applied stickers to the frame. The rack, panniers, and frame bag did a god job of hiding what was underneath.

Anything with drops makes it a real target here. flat-bar with rusty bar-ends is better camo' imo

I had another thought for a theft-deterrent bike: get a police bike. I'd check your local laws first to make sure that you can't get in trouble for impersonating an officer. Every state's laws will vary. I know that you'd be fine in Georgia and Alaska, but I don't know about other places.

Botach Tactical sells a Fuji Police Special for $600. It's an aluminum frame with a sloping top tube, Rock Shox Recon front suspension, disc brakes, X7 all around, 36 spoke wheels, and an included rear rack. It would make a great commuter. If you want to give it that authentic cop touch, lock the rear wheel to the frame with a set of oversized handcuffs. Here is a link to one: https://www.botachtactical.com/fu20pospbi.html

Here in San Diego I was pulled over and interrogated while driving my black and white '74 BMW R60/6 police moto. The blue lights were covered with KC Hilites covers, but I was wearing a black leather jacket with POLIZEI on the back in reflective block letters. The officers called their supervisor for advice, then cut me loose.

Oh I donno... I used to ride an old rusted girls frame bike to college... some 5 miles either way. This wasn't a sleeper, there was nothing fancy on the bike... it was a POS. The only thing was I had taken apart all the moving pieces, cleaned and lubed them well and then put it back together... without cleaning any of the outside. I also put on decent platform pedals. Thing rode OK, looked like it had been left in the dirt. I didn't even have to lock it... could park it anywhere and it stayed.

I sold it for a 6 pack when I graduated. I didn't ride it to college every day... on some days I took the long (40 mile) route and rode the good bike, which I U-locked every time.

I imagine that would attract some attention from the boys in blue. The jacket more than the bike. But location is everything. Only an idiot would pull over for the POLIZEI in California.

I'm getting a Schwinn in a generally unatractive brown color. The more I look at it, the more I like it, and it runs great, but I doubt anyone would want it seeing as it looks to be more of a cruiser, and will often be surrounded by drop bar road bikes.

I would think most theives are looking for an easy target and oppurtunity. A nice bike seems like more of a risk. Easier to spot and identify and the owner would activley search for it. A Huffy or "junk" bike blends in better and is harder to recover. Make your bike unique, not ugly like you don't care about it. And lock it properly, even at home if it is valuable.

You obviously haven't seen Reno 911!

This is a good point but if you were going to steal a bike you would steel the nice bike because you think you could get $$$ for it instead of a huffy worth 50

the problem with making a bike look like crap is that Your bike looks like crap!!!! Id say everyone here on this site is proud of their bicycles and wants to share that pride with others. having a bike stolen sucks, I know but why bother owning/riding something that makes you look homeless. spend the extra cash and buy the right chains and locks, buy security bolts, get creative. dont give in to fear
.

Any lock can be broken by the right theif though. That's the problem.

There are two kinds of thieves: professional thieves and opportunistic thieves.

Professional thieves are really only an issue in maybe 5-10 cities in the US. They know value and will steal components as well as entire bikes. Keeping your bike inside is the only safe plan long term, as they will also cut locks. However, professional thieves are probably not interested in a beater bike.

Opportunistic thieves are the most common; here they will most commonly just steal a bike for their own use, although they may also steal a bike to sell to a friend for $20. Opportunistic thieves won't cut locks (if they owned the appropriate tools, they would have sold them for cash), so just locking your bike will generally keep it from being stolen (but see below). Where I live, a bike with drop handlebars is less likely to be stolen than a hybrid style bike because they are less popular with the street people who are the main thieves.

There is no real secondary market for bike parts where I live. However, people will occasionally steal an unsecured from wheel or saddle. Not because they can sell it, but more as an act of vandalism. So you do still need to have some reasonable locking strategy to deal with this...although simply not having QRs might be enough.

Had 4 bikes stolen so far. Commuter bike that I use as a means of transport AND fun must look like crap. Don't care if it makes me look homeless.

If I were a thief:
choice a) Ugly bike, good chain/lock
choice b) Nice bike, good chain/lock
choice c) Nice bike, bad chain/lock

A would be my last choice, when deseparate and there's no b, or c around.

I know this isnt a cure-all solution either but home-owners/renters insurance will replace stolen property, even away from your home or apartment. some locks come with a guarantee. the street cuffs I pictured a few posts ago have a $3500 anti theft policy.

For the handlebars, I use electrical tape. It's waterproof, holds up well, and protects your wrap from damage. I started using it to cover damaged sections and then just went whole hog.

For my seat, well, it says BELL in big letters on the side.

Both my bikes are in need of paint right now, and I think I'm doing one flat Olive Drab and the other flat black.

There are certainly many more cities than that, where professional bikes thieves prosper...There are most probably that many cities in California alone, where the pro bike thief may flourish.

That doesn't always work. I've had one stolen out from under me. All it took was a large car, 7 guys and some 2x4s.

Since then, part of my strategy is to not ride a bike I can't afford to lose.

I had what had to be the ultimate beater bike at the end of college. It was a 12-year old Montgomery Ward 10 speed that had spent a decade sitting on the porch in the weather and exposed to salt spray. The tires were cracked but somehow held air. The frame was literally held together with baling wire and turnbuckles because the downtube had pulled out of the bottom bracket. Just before finals, some jerk took the time to undo the turnbuckles and then stomped on the bike frame so it was no longer true.

No offense, but remind me never to live wherever it is that you live. Ouch.

One of my grungy commuter bikes is a Late 90's Trek Police bike and I don't really make it look too great. It seen plenty of miles before I got it so while its actually a pretty good bike it looks more like its on its last leg. That might change in a few weeks though its time for some new tires brake pads and cables and housings.

Road a Sears Free Spirit when I lived in Seattle, and never had it stolen even though I just kept it locked up with a cable lock downtown. On the other hand when I lived in Savannah my Western Flyer got stolen. Some people are just more desperate than others.

As for professional theives, I think you will find them in every large city. Here in Austin I witnessed some pros -guy jumped out of a pickup snapped through a lock and tossed the bike in back before the owner could even make it out the front door. Even pros are opportunistic though, I'm sure the guy simply went for the bike with the weakest lock, but I think if you have an escape driver you're a pro.

Here in Toronto, if you are outside a coffee shop say out by the nearest cement blocks, or stair case of the building across the street, try for a Coffee Time if there isn't one go for a Tim Hortons, drinking a coffee at around 1-3am you'll get offers to buy bikes for $50-100, doesn't matter if its a higher end road bike or a beater MTB.

Fact is, you cannot fence a $1,000 bike for anywhere near that amount, in the time frame many thieves want to be paid for it. So they end up trying first to get a low ball amount just enough so the average junkie can have their fix for the next couple days cause of the bike.

I'm sure there is a market for high end bikes being fenced for a pretty penny, but something tells me the average bike thief is more interested in a quick dollar then a prize. Which means a good lock, and not keeping it outside past midnight is probably the best deterrent.

Jim