There are quite a few different misconceptions that people have about the security of their bicycles and you can often find that either one of more of these misconceptions contributed to the fact that their bikes got stolen. We therefore believe that it would be a good idea to talk about these misconceptions and to make people at least aware of some of them.
The first and the most detrimental of all misconceptions about bike security is that any chain and any lock will do. This is simply not true. Ask anyone who has at least any knowledge in bike security and they will tell you that poor chains and locks are easily recognized and even easier to break. For instance, the weakest of chains and locks can be opened by simply yanking the bike enough. It is best to spend some extra money on these basic security features than to despair later because you were cheap when buying a chain.
Also, there is a misconception that you can leave your bike unsecured and unobserved for brief periods of time, like a minute or so. This is, once again, completely untrue. It takes a bike thief a second of unattended bike to steal it. This is why you should NEVER leave your bike unsecured unless you can see it at all times, and even if you can, there is nothing stopping the thief from simply jumping on it and riding off.
There are also people who hold the misconception that it is best to keep the bike out of sight, by parking it and securing it in an alley of some kind. The truth is that this is what bicycle thieves love the most. They can work in peace and there is no one who will see them working. They will not get fooled by a bike that is not parked in the main street. In fact, they prefer it this way. You will only be inviting them to start working on your bike if you do something like this.
Finally, there is the misconception that once your bike is gone, that is it. While you cannot truly depend on police to do anything about it, you can still do some snooping on your own, checking out websites and markets and sales where second hand bikes pop up. Who knows, you might find your bike.