My grail bike was a Kestrel Talon X (I don’t race and don’t have lofty bike acquisition goals), and I finally got one a month and a half ago. I love it and I ride the crap out of it every chance I get. But...I won’t lock it up or leave it anywhere.
That’s the beauty of a beater. If you ride some ugly, dirty POS with chipped-off paint and rattling fenders, you can park it anywhere and not worry about it. Funny thing is—at least in my experience—that ugly beast has an endearing quality that quickly makes it the #2 favorite.