Theft protection?

[LargeMarge]

...locks and security items are...gimmicks...no protection...
I depend more on...depth (...multiple locks and chains at multiple locations...

.
Eugene, Oregon.
This place is the bicycle-thief homeland of the Western Hemisphere.
.
Any time I stroll the Eww sidewalks to take in some event with the university students, I see a 'carpet' of broken locks and chunks of security cables/chains.
.
.
I get the impression lock/security sales-staff display the morals of a poop-flinging monkey in some tourist hot-spot, grabbing:
* food
* sunglasses
* purses
* pets...
... with gleeful abandon.
Of course, I think the same about RecreateVehicle sales-staff...
... with the combined 'Sense Of Humanity' equivalent to somebody drawn to a career as a politician.
.
YouTuber 'MacNallyOfficial' offers an opinion (stay tuned for the cranium puncture!):

 

[Carla618]

In this fine fine splendid example of disguise, a new van is covered with a vinyl wrap...
... simulating a decade at the bottom of the ocean:

Very creative!

 

[Carla618]

YouTuber 'MacNallyOfficial' offers an opinion (stay tuned for the cranium puncture!):

Now THAT was funny, LOL

 

[hipsterreplacement]

For bikes the best was to use a Parking Valet service that keeps it behind a locked fence. Sort of like a paid RV storage lot. Then you also use the best locks you can afford. The Icon lock is certainly better than the master lock some of us use/used.

Just from the cycle side of things, the sweet spot seems to be not deserted but not too crowded either. Crowds make for people passing through with no one standing out too much. So I think it's easier for people stealing bikes not to be noticed. Or if they are noticed no one does much about it. I think medium busy-ness makes a thief more wary because there are more witnesses, but not so many people that they can hide in amongst them.

I agree that a parking valet with a locked fenced area is best. Attended 24 hrs. Even the locked hubs have had thefts after hours.

Right now I use a 10mm thick security chain with dimple key padlock. It's not un-sawable, but it will not be as easy to saw through as a U-lock. And the key isn't as easy to pick as a U-lock. So they're likelier to go for other cycles nearby. I live in a town where cycles are popular so cycle thievery is also popular.

 

[NctryBen]

I’d say your best security is camping or whatever in a community of like campers. Always having someone around. At least a good watch dog. My dog has saved my rig before and she knows it... so it’s not recommended to try and get past her. She takes her job serious.