A parts bin sh*tter.

[Joe_Rides]

Stick Emmelle or Ammaco decals on it

To me this is a decent idea. If the guy was taking photo's and (presumably) sending onto someone else, who was "choosing" which bikes to nick (perhaps someone with a decent knowledge of bike brands), then a BSO brand name could be useful.

 

[Tsundere]

The trick is to make the bike look uninteresting compared to its neighbour in a bike rack. Decent frames in London used to end up covered in gaffa tape and random stickers, but it really became too obvious and interesting and telegraphed to the world there was something worth a gamble on nicking.
Same goes for frames allowed to lightly rust as it can be too obvious that the rust is not being allowed to progress with linseed oil, or something. It is also now something people do to attract attention.
A degree of camouflage is required along with general grime and neglect. Just enough that a would be thief might wonder if their tetanus jab is up to date and it just looks a bit random and boring.
A trick i was told, by a rider who parked up in some pretty dodgy places, was to have methods (make your own bolt heads with custom tools) of adjusting something like stems, bars, saddles, and seatposts. Not so you can take stuff off, to stick in a bag, which is a way of giving less of a prize, but to make the bike look goofy and not at all racey i.e twist the bars round, or drop the saddle a stupid amount. Saddles are the best to totally remove as it makes the getaway a hassle.
One thing to definitely invest in is the best lock(s) you can afford. These will not attract attention as everyone knows that nobody wants to loose their ability to get to work/the pub/the train/gym etc even if it is a pile of poop.

I agree it would be easy to over do things and end up attracting attention. The aim is to make it look as unremarkable as possible. Camouflage is exactly the right word, it needs to blend in, but if scrutinized eliminate itself from consideration.

Some thieves target low key bikes for similar reasons, so it needs to be more than just drab.

Stick Emmelle or Ammaco decals on it

To me this is a decent idea. If the guy was taking photo's and (presumably) sending onto someone else, who was "choosing" which bikes to nick (perhaps someone with a decent knowledge of bike brands), then a BSO brand name could be useful.

I was already thinking about this, I thought Rockrider, but any BSO branding would work.

Following with interest, partially because I love ratty bikes.

How come it was (luckily for you) a failed attempt? Did someone catch him trying to cut the lock? Or did the lock simply stand up to the attempt?

I have a decent Abus U-lock, he had a go with some kind of mini bolt cutters but only got through the plastic coating. Because it's a secure bike shed some don't lock their bikes up at all, others use cheap locks, so he probably assumed mine would be the same. I've been burned before and take no chances, no QR bolts for example.

It's a brick but ideal for leaving at work, money well spent.

 

[Tsundere]

The build...

My commute takes me through town, along a canal towpath and then through a large industrial estate. There are no steep climbs. It's a 12 mile round trip that I make 5 days a week, so as mentioned I want it to be a nice reliable ride. I'd like to use decent parts where it matters, but nothing showy.

Having never needed my granny ring on this commute, and as I rarely jump to the large ring I'm going for a 1x set up. Probably 1x8 as I have the bits to do that, including a wheelset I've been using in order to preserve my M900 hubs, and an Altus 8x trigger shifter.

The chainset is a suitably scruffy Shimano 600. I've been wanting a reason to use this since I took it off a donor bike a few years back, it's light, plain looking and will be perfect for this build.

With British weather being what it is it'll have mudguards, and I'll probably go for V brakes. More for the for the look of them, cantis can say 'vintage' whereas V-brakes can say 'too cheap for disks', plus they do work well.

I'll need to look into the BB situation, not sure what spindle length will work best for this set up, hopefully I have something suitable in the parts bin.

The only spare 8 speed derailleur I have is a lovely low mileage M739, so I'm going to dust off my old airfix modelling skills (not used since childhood) to make it look like it's been left out in the rain for a few years. I'll be doing that with a few parts as well as the frame.