Originally Posted by
3speed
This whole thread just seems so weird to me. I can't imagine not locking my bike with a high quality chain or decent u-lock if it's not within sight and within about three second's reach. If I'm leaving the bike, there's No way I'd leave panniers on it. The tent is $300. The sleeping bag is $150, sleep pad $60, pillow is $20. There's $230 in my sleep set-up. Kitchen is less, but not cheap to replace. Panniers themselves, another couple hundred? Hell, counting the little stuff too, I probably have $750-$1000 hanging off of my bike. I'd be happy if they just took a tablet or camera!
Just alter your perspective according to where you are touring, the likelihood of anything being stolen and how paranoid you want to be at the expense of enjoying your touring. We are talking about touring in France, often in small towns. The risk is small. Mostly, you are wanting to deter the opportunist thief who will take your bike if it is easy (not locked). Any lock will not be a deterrent to a dedicated bike thief - it just makes it a little more difficult.
I might take a more conservative approach if I were touring large cities in the USA, based on accounts of other cycle tourists.
Your tent and other gear may be worth a lot to you but to most opportunistic thieves, are too difficult to fence compared with a bike or electronic gear. If **** happens, you buy replacement items (maybe not as good as you had). If you worry about your cycle and gear too much, you may miss out on many tourist attractions which you wanted to see and this means your touring experience is lessened. We have had to leave our cycles locked up in larger cities in France when we touristed but we would not have wanted to miss out on visiting Versailles, Fountainbleau, and other major attractions.