[The_Colonel]

I love this aspect of old beaten things.

A couple of years ago, I've found a gem of a bike. It looked maybe 15-20 years old and was clearly heavily used - frame was full of scratches and such. The color scheme was pretty ugly and was just a tad too small for an adult. But I noticed that all the components were actually decent - mostly Shimano XT, obviously very old models. After servicing it, it rode very well and I didn't have to worry about thiefs since it was pretty cheap and even more cheap looking. I still locked it, but the peace of mind was nice.

[npteljes]

That's practically a sleeper! "Boasts high performance while having an unassuming exterior"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeper_(car)

[btach]

Related, when I had to live in a certain area that had a high bike theft rate, I got myself a pink bicycle. In the year I was there, it was never stolen. Well, except for the seat (which was black).

[stavros]

Hmm, this is a great idea, I might get an old/ugly bike with good components myself, thanks!