I personaly wont leave my bike locked up anywhere I cant see it, the only time I do lock it is if I go out to get a takeaway from the chinese or the chip shop & even then I only lock it as they both have glass fronts on the shops so I can see the bike all the time Im in the shops.
Im so paranoid about my bike if I go out without it I will lock it too the cooker in my kitchen so if anyone breaks in they will have to cut the lock off somehow or try & steal the cooker as well
With my last bike I used to leave it outside the odd garage/shop if I needed a drink or something & if I didnt have a lock with me I would put it so I could see it from in the shop & then get a couple of coins & pull the brakes on full & jam a coin in the brake lever gap so if anyone did take the chance of trying to steal it they would find that the brakes were jammed on & that would give me enough time to run out & stop them riding off.
Its not a great anti theft device but it works well enough to let you leave the bike for a few seconds as if someone does jump on it they wont know why the brakes are jammed on & it gives you the time you need to run out & stick one on them..
As for if I have ever had a really nice bike stolen then yes I have.
I had just saved up & bought a brand new mountain bike which was very expensive for me at the time (about 1988/89 as I was still at school), it was a Look bike (dont know if this make still exists but it was quite a big make then) & it had a full Deore DX groupset which was very nice quality.
Being young & stupid I lent it to a friend when it was less than 2 weeks old for him to bike home, get something then return straight away with the promise he wouldnt let it out of his sight.
He returned hours later with some story that he biked back & left it outside a shop (which I told him not to do) to get something only to find it had been stolen, I never believed him tbh I think he sold it as he was an older boy who was allways in trouble with the police & soon after he stopped coming over.
I still cling to the hope I will see him again now & find a way to exact some well deserved revenge on him (what goes around comes around so they say)..
Im so paranoid about my bike if I go out without it I will lock it too the cooker in my kitchen so if anyone breaks in they will have to cut the lock off somehow or try & steal the cooker as well
With my last bike I used to leave it outside the odd garage/shop if I needed a drink or something & if I didnt have a lock with me I would put it so I could see it from in the shop & then get a couple of coins & pull the brakes on full & jam a coin in the brake lever gap so if anyone did take the chance of trying to steal it they would find that the brakes were jammed on & that would give me enough time to run out & stop them riding off.
Its not a great anti theft device but it works well enough to let you leave the bike for a few seconds as if someone does jump on it they wont know why the brakes are jammed on & it gives you the time you need to run out & stick one on them..
As for if I have ever had a really nice bike stolen then yes I have.
I had just saved up & bought a brand new mountain bike which was very expensive for me at the time (about 1988/89 as I was still at school), it was a Look bike (dont know if this make still exists but it was quite a big make then) & it had a full Deore DX groupset which was very nice quality.
Being young & stupid I lent it to a friend when it was less than 2 weeks old for him to bike home, get something then return straight away with the promise he wouldnt let it out of his sight.
He returned hours later with some story that he biked back & left it outside a shop (which I told him not to do) to get something only to find it had been stolen, I never believed him tbh I think he sold it as he was an older boy who was allways in trouble with the police & soon after he stopped coming over.
I still cling to the hope I will see him again now & find a way to exact some well deserved revenge on him (what goes around comes around so they say)..