However, this works opposite by not hiding in the mass. The thief hides in the mass, as bikes themselves don't flee the scene when a thief is in sight. So the trick is to find a good place for my bike. As I have a fragile racing bike (old and cheap but technically in good condition), those massive outdoors parking systems are not good places. People pull and push to get their bikes out, and a racing bike wouldn't survive that for long. So I find places where my bike is safe.
It's always fun to see that I park my bike in an empty spot, and after an hour or so the space if filled with other bikes.
During my student days, I always made sure to check if the bike rack had a bike that looked prettier than mine and had worse locks.
Now that I ride a much more expensive cargo bike, I don't worry about it anymore, and it hasn't been stolen yet. Are cargo bikes less attractive? Hard to believe, but it seems to work.
However, this works opposite by not hiding in the mass. The thief hides in the mass, as bikes themselves don't flee the scene when a thief is in sight. So the trick is to find a good place for my bike. As I have a fragile racing bike (old and cheap but technically in good condition), those massive outdoors parking systems are not good places. People pull and push to get their bikes out, and a racing bike wouldn't survive that for long. So I find places where my bike is safe.
It's always fun to see that I park my bike in an empty spot, and after an hour or so the space if filled with other bikes.