Also ask why you would ever walk into the garage and choose to ride the bicycle-shaped-object instead of the carbon fiber piece of artwork.

The solution to "nice things get stolen" is not "don't have nice things", it's "make it so people don't want to steal nice things".

When I want to ride a century on a nicely paved surface, of course I reach for the Cf frame.

If I'm just heading up to the store, my $100 pawn shop bike (which funnily enough was likely stolen since just the frame sells for 100+ on eBay) will do just fine.

For even sketchier times, like riding my bike to the local bar where they have no good place to lock up or I just don't feel like carrying a heavy duty lock, my Chinese made schwinn hybrid works nicely, handles variable road conditions perfectly, and I wouldn't shed a tear if someone stole it.

Usually if you are really into bikes you have at least 3, a "nice" expensive cf bike, a fixed gear you bought a steel frame on Craigslist and turned into a fixie, and a multi speed road bike that is for shorter rides or medium commutes but will be left in a shady area for a prolonged amount of time. you could either add or replace one of the former with a mountain bike. And that's just pretty much standard, not even getting into when people start collecting biked just because they like to have them around.

Also if you are like me or any of my cyclist friends, part of your living space looks like the back of a bike shop.

Cycling is an extremely satisfying hobby, and can be very cheap if you read up on what you should buy and spend a couple weeks with a discerning eye looking through local deals.

Also getting to know your local bike shop owner will do you more good than anything else. The guy down the street from me just opened his shop with himself and his wife. And they just do it for the love. He has never ever charged me for minor tuneups or servicing, even though his time is worth at least $50/hr and I would gladly pay.

He even traded a bike of similar value for free just because it fit me better than the one I had.

But because of his generosity I have directed multiple people to buy from him instead of a big box bike store.

These people are slowly getting driven out of business due to the internet, but they offer services that the internet simply can't (yet, I am sure there is some mobile bike mechanic app in SF but I live in a different metro.)

Especially for those starting out, some advice from a skilled mechanic will go a long way and save you a lot of money and pain in the long run setting you up with the bike you need (rather than upselling something you dont,) and more importantly, saving you pain in the long wrong setting you up with a bike that fits your body.

If anyone would like advice how to get into the hobby or as to which kind of bike to buy, feel free to ask me and I would be glad to point you in the right direction.

Actually, quite a lot of car-owners think exactly that way (albeit not because of theft concerns but more about damage, wear/tear, accidents).

In any case, a 60K vehicle is going to be significantly harder to steal and it will be far easier to get the police to pay attention to that theft than a 3K bike.

Here in the salty Midwest, "winter beaters" are a popular thing. Not that they defeat the cold and snow, but that they sacrificially get beat on when it's nasty out.

Keep gas-guzzling, 4-wheel-drive, wins-in-a-crash truck thing with rusted out underbody for December to March, and a nicer car that never sees salt for the warmer months. Exchange insurance from one vehicle to the other as necessary.

Indeed, I have a winter bike for this reason. And another bike for taking to higher theft / vandalism areas such as downtown and the university campus. Plus, admittedly, it's fun to tinker with and ride different bikes. ;-)

realistically what bicycle enthusiast only has one bike??

There's actually an entire category of bicycle enthusiasts who only have one bike. ;-)

That's pretty reasonable advice. Whenever we're going to leave the car parked on the street in the city overnight (or at least late at night), we drive the old car, rather than the newer nicer car (though we're talking $25K versus $5K). Makes our car less attractive to thieves, and we care much less if it gets some minor damage. I'd be surprised if either of our cars were ever stolen since they have transponder keys and I don't think tow-truck thefts are that common in this city. We're more likely to run into smash-and-grab thefts. (only happened twice over almost 10 years, nothing of value was taken, and the window "only" cost about $200 to replace)

For that same reason, I ride the cheap $500 commuter bike to work or the store, and save the $4000 nice bike for long rides where I'm not going to leave it unattended. (well, that and the commuter bike has a rack so I can easily carry more stuff) I did ride the nice bike to work a few times, and parked it at my desk.

Unlike bikes, older cars are much easier to steal though. In the UK at least car theft is now mostly restricted to cases where the keys are stolen from the house, because modern immobilisers are so effective.

Well it may be annoying advise, but it works. My wife and I have a nice, newer BMW that we take out to nice events, dinner, long trips etc. Then we also have a very cheap 20 year old Volvo that we run errands in, get groceries in, go to crappy neighborhoods with, let people borrow it, and things like that. It really is nice to have a car you don't care about. Volvo gets hit in a parking lot? Tell the other driver not to worry about it, shrug it off, and go on with your day. No big deal. It's really sort of liberating. That said, I don't bike much, but if I did, I could definitely see myself with a nice bike and a "junk" bike for similar reasons. Definitely pretty reasonable advice