Originally Posted by
Maelochs
The point you are ignoring is that it will not be a crappy bike ,,,
You might fool the meth-heads but they will be deterred by any serious lock ,,,, or two cheap locks, which is what I have been using successfully, The question remains, will your crappy paint fool anyone willing to tackle a decent lock to steal a decent bike?
At this point, test it or go away, I'd say. Too much talk, no data,
1- "Professional" thieves don't steal dozens/hundreds or bikes so they can have dozens/hundreds of bikes; they steal bikes to sell them. What's the resale value of a nice bike that looks like hell? How does that compare to the resale value of a nice bike that looks like a nice bike? Why would a "professional" bike thief put in the effort to break a good lock, for a bike with minimal resale value, when bikes with higher resale value are abundant and easier to steal?
2- If I gave a brand-new bike a "rust" paint job, whatever happens to it is an anecdote, not data. And it's an anecdote that may not apply in different cities, or even in different locations in my city, or the same location on different days of the week.