I’ve had a $300 used bike service me just fine for over 11 years now. There was a period right during/after the pandemic where things were really bad but it’s

I’ve had a $300 used bike service me just fine for over 11 years now. There was a period right during/after the pandemic where things were really bad but it’s settled to a fairly decent situation. If you ride a $500 bike then you will probably be fine factoring in a $50-$100 theft cost at most. Finally, most bike theft is covered under rental insurance, which isn’t all that expensive to begin with, and is highly recommended anyways.