maybe not so much a matter of expense but personal worth, but the question remains. every once in a while on campus i see a really nice bike jammed in to a rack between all the walmart specials, getting beaten up and scuffed to crap. kinda makes me cry... today i saw a 2000 Cannondale R3000 linky locked up and was saddened, it wasn't even put in the slot for the wheel, it was leaning up against the end, right on the rusty rack. maybe it's just me but i figure if you can afford a several thousand dollar bike then you can afford a bit of a "beater" bike to commute with? i won't even park my sub-$500 bike on the racks unless i absolutely have to!

Daddy bought it...

Depends on the rack and where it is.

If it's in a very well visible place, with good security patrols, and the rack is of a good design...any of my bikes.

If it's a poorly designed rack, bad location, or has little to no active security....beater bike.

....on that note, I really should buy a beater sometime....thinking "ladies" chicago schwinn road style bike....weird enough that it might not ever get touched

I know where you're coming from. I see that kind of thing everywhere here. I know you were talking about bikes in racks, but attached are a few examples of good looking bikes I've seen here either loosly secure or not at all. I do admit though, your bike is pretty safe here.







Catatonic, also attached is a beater which you may like:
(the daftpunk link is great)

If I were afraid of it being stolen/damaged, I wouldn't ride/leave it there. My bike is for transportation... so I'll lean it up against a rack, concrete post, whatever I'm locking it to. If it gets beat up, great, it's less likely to be stolen. If I can afford a $3K bike to ride every day it'll get the same treatment... although it is unlikely I'll ever drop $3K on a bike for myself. My bike was $400, and I probably have another $400 of parts I've put on (fenders, pedals, seat, frame pump, lights, etc etc etc). It has acquired scratches from stuff I've locked it to, from falling over, and general manhandling.

Although not always the case, but some people buy bikes at garage sales for a screaming deal and not realize what they got. My non-biking friend had bought a Bontrager at a garage sale for $10 thinking it was just a department store bike. She wanted a bike for school. When I told her that it's worth way more than what she paid, she got a better lock but she still uses it for school and locks it wherever it's convenient for her. As for the seller, my friend said the garage sale was due to a divorce so we figured the seller didn't know the bike's worth either.

giantcfrl, I know what you mean about bikes being safe where you live. When I was in Tokyo, I was amazed by how most people left their beaters unlocked! They just shove it between two other bikes and leave it. What really surprised me was that later in the evenings as people retrieved their bikes to continue home, sometimes there would be a lone bike left standing by itself a few meters away from several other bikes which are also unlocked. Sometimes, I saw a station attendant move the bikes closer together just to free the sidewalk of the bike clutter.

Does this bring back memories:
Starbucks:

McDonalds:

If I have to leave a bike locked outside for a long time, I lock up a $25 beater bike with a brand new Kryptonite NY lock and a cable.

One time a guy said to me "Your lock is worth more than the bike".
My answer was "exactly, who would bother with this bike?"

There is no guarantee that this will work 100% of the time, but it it the best you can do.

$200-$300 beater bike. That is the most I would risk at most racks. If I am thinking I am going to be stopping somewhere, that is what I am taking out, not my $1500 and up bikes.

Although, the worst feeling I ever had was when I was a kid and I put my bike (some cheap 10-speed I got for my birthday, I can't remember the brand, I think I was 9 or 10) outside my house to use the bathroom, in the 2 minutes it took me to pee, some bastard took it and was gone. Don't you love NYC? But it taught me a good lesson, first off.. secure your stuff... second if it has any value, people are going to go after it. So I just leave the good ones home if I plan on leaving them unattended.

A little bit of well placed contact paper or clear plastic tape can defray the scuffing damage and on certain racks you would be crazy to put your wheels in if they are any good as some racks de-true wheels like nobodys business. I commute 25 miles one way on a 1900 dollar recumbent. I could ride a crappy bike, but why would I pay that kind of cash for a bike I should be riding all the time? Why let the crap bike get my bulk mileage? If I am going to be riding something 7000 miles a year I would prefer it to be my nice bike that I enjoy. That is just my personal opinion. If my commute were a lot shorter I might have a different view but with the current length I just can't see riding crap for that kind of mileage.

As someone said above, it totally depends on the rack. Here we've got a locked cage, video surveillance, and the CHP station 10 feet from the rack. I'll put my good bike there anytime. It used to be the newest, fanciest bike in the building, but there seems to be a buying surge going on. (It's still the fastest, though... )

My strategies:

Main bike is (fast/good/pimped) folder that i can take with me inside most of the time. Plus even if i do leave it outside it's smaller wheels make it look 'weird' and presumably less attractive to bike thiefs.

When i still used racers and other bikes i simply made sure they looked like sh17. and had good locks. I love to cycle and cycling on a bike i love is what it is all about for me,.. but it is not about the Bling so much...

So i would leave a bike worth $ 1000 or maybe even $ 2000 locked up on a rack with 1 or even 2 good locks as long as it looked like an $ 50 ride. It is easy to make a bike look like a$$ (without affecting the performanc at all). And if you are handy and willing to be creative it is even not so hard to make a bike look caca but make sure all your mods are reversible. For example using black bar tape to cover all the tubes, sprinkling gravely water on rims to simulate rust very effectively etc.

Another trick (non-reversible) i have employed is using a centerpoint/engraving machine to etch my name or ZipCode in Top tube in large letters then painting that in bright white.

On a rack in a public area like a school etc, I would rack up to a $50 dollar bike I bought from the Goodwill or garage sale and use a mid price lock. Any lock can be defeated so why lock up a good bike? I was at a college years ago and some bike thieves stole an ENTIRE rack with 12 bikes on it! That's right, the RACK and BIKES were stolen!!!

I only lock my 6 year old cheap raleigh to a bike lock and I just use a small cable lock.

I was shocked on my trip to Toronto when I saw these 30 year old bikes locked up with heavy duty u-locks. I couldnt believe how these bikes were locked. Where I live they could tie a string around the bike and it wouldnt get stolen.

The clear plastic tape is exactly what I use on my commuter and it works wonderfuly. I also have a sheet of foam on the top bar for leaning against poles.

Steve

That Goodwill on Gandy is calling your name.

At Steve/Giantcfr, nice wheels! But, but... that back fender/mudguard,.. my god, 'tis fugly! Just an opinion.

My biggest fear is not loosing the whole bike, but loosing things like my suspension seat post / saddle / underseat bag. You can get a cable lock that is long enough to secure the quick release wheels, but how do you reliably keep the above safe? It looks pretty dumb walking around with your helmet and seat assembly!

Steve

I would have to be out of my mind to lock a bike next to those beaters. I can assure you, those nice bikes jammed won't be there for too long. Soon, the department store riders will try to steal or brake components on the "nice bike" and then you'll never see such a bicycle parked there an wonder why? I had a nice bike and it took a beating from all the crooks who tried to steal it on the rack!

Public bike racks used to be a good way to secure your bicycle about 75 years ago. Today, bike racks are a bad idea that only the inexperienced cyclists will use until his bicycle is attacked! It's sad to say but bike racks attract the worse crooks on the planet. If you visit this forum, there are monthly horror stories about forum members expereince with bike racks. Type in the search word "bike rack" and you'll read story after story of bikes ripped off! I suspect, 70% or more bike thefts occur on bike racks go unreported.

On a college campus, you have to find a spot in the parking lot far away from foot traffic. It might mean walking to class but it's better safe than sorry. Unfortunately, it's safer to park in a lot with motorist than a bicycle rack with cyclists.

I agree. It took me about eight months to finally get one. It is very normal here to have a removable fender for the wet weather. The problem is I'm too lazy to take it off. It would take me a whole 15 seconds.
Steve.

It's weird isn't it. I see this bike almost every day and am fascinated by it. Notice the Cinelli Stem and Handle bars? This is the guy's commuter. Maybe it's some type of cycle cross bike. Cycle cross bikes are quite popular here. Inside his clothes store he also has on display an old Bianchi Road Bike which appears to have never been ridden.
Steve.

https://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y21...ikes%20Around%

what kind of bianchi is that? anyone know?!

I just had another look at it tonight, and it's called a Bianchi Dolomite. I can only find a few details in Japanese so maybe it was only available here.
Steve.

I'd leave ANY of my bikes in a rack if I needed to - they can be replaced. I normally don't, however, because there are few places I go that have racks. The more expensive the bike, the less time I'd leave it in the rack. Also, some of my bikes are more attractive to miscreants than others. My full-campy Outback would be an attractive target, but my home-converted fixed-gear (with my name all over the tubes) probably wouldn't be.

The ONLY bike I've ever had stolen was a Sears single-speed coaster that I parked (sans lock) behind the A&P grocery where I worked when I was about 17. When I went home that night after work, I forgot that I'd parked the bike in back, and the next afternoon, it was gone...

Other than that event, bikes don't seem to be targeted much by thieves around here. Guess we're just lucky!

Hmm only 148,000Y for one of those dolomites....might have to hire a deputy service to get me one.