Absolutely this. The only times I take my bike out is when I know Iโll never have to leave it. Which basically excludes using it for transportation purposes, and leaves only cycling just to cycle (which I do still enjoy).
Just too high of a chance for it to get stolen (completely or just parts), or vandalized. Itโs not even that great of a bike either.
I have a friend who โsolvedโ this problem by having such a junker of a bike that it didnโt even look like it functioned.
Check if there are any facilities in your area for secure bike storage, my nearby city for example offers free staffed bike parking and a free bus to get around. The inter city train station offers 20/7 keycard access bike parking with changing facilities, but that requires a deposit, proof of address etc.
I usually end up using one of these two facilities when I visit the city because of the rampant bike theft issues there, with the preferred one being the inter city station since itโs open almost all the time
There was even a docked e-bike hire offered by the local govt, which sadly went bankrupt because people were vandalising the e-bikes and destroying the docks โน๏ธ
