smasha

I'll soon have a new ride. Like my last commuter bike, I never thought I'd spend so much money on a such a nice bike.

Now I'm wondering, what are peoples' experiences with uglified bikes? Does it really deter theft? Should I just slap some bumper-stickers on it? Or should I give it some gratuitous duct-tape and a "custom paint job" with orange/red/brown spray-paint, to make it look rusty?

Around here, just as many (maybe more?) cheap/crappy bikes get stolen, compared to bikes that are targeted because they're nice and expensive… But anecdotally it seems like a good lock, used properly(!), does more to deter theft than whether or not the bike is desirable. If that's the case, then there's no "tactical advantage" to making a bike ugly.