Peleton of teen road cyclists with expensive road bikes blew in for coffee

[Irulan]

OP wasn't being snarky, but I definitely think. some of the posts poo pooing the nice gear were.

[pll]

op wasn't being snarky, but i definitely think. Some of the posts poo pooing the nice gear were.

+1.

[Grog]

I'm sure their parents have equally expensive road bikes and don't lock them up either in similar contexts.

I have been road riding for eight years now, often with clubs where we leave a bunch of expensive bikes out without locking them up, and am yet to hear even a rumor about someone getting a bike stolen from such a pile up. Of course, we always keep an eye on them, but it doesn't seem like that's how bike thievery operates.

Interestingly, the riders of the club I ride with now - attracting an older, less athletic demographic - tend to lock their bikes up when we stop for lunch. However those are long stops where we are inside and the bikes are out of our sight. When we just hang out around a coffee shop, we don't lock them up either...

[pll]

When I am out with the road bike, I do not carry a lock. Once per week, I ride with a group that never stops more than a few minutes anywhere (and someone is standing by the bikes). Riding by myself, I sometimes have to trust the bike won't disappear when I go, for example, into a store for a bottle of water -- I usually ask someone to please keep an eye on it, but sometimes that is not possible. My rides typically take me through affluent, low traffic, areas (relative to where I live), so that is something that allays some bike anxiety. However, each time I have to leave the bike alone, I take my keys, ID, etc. Knock on carbon fiber nothing will happen, but I am cognizant there is a risk.