Is it fear

I've moved to a new job and new house recently (outside London incidently). In my old place I had the luxury of a large garage allowing me to keep 2 bikes, motorbike and car inside. I no longer have this room and its looking like I'll have to drop down to a single bike (already got rid of the car so can't make this trade off).

The new job is a lot closer so I'll be looking to cycle every day but as town is further than I would like to walk, I'll still be wanting to ride into town when I go out for the evening or to pick up groceries.

So the question is, do I sell my expensive commuter bike (spesh tricross) and buy something cheaper or am I just being put off by the fear of crime rather than the true statistics? Essentially is a more expensive bike more likely to be stolen than a cheap one (or is it more to do with the level of security)?

Incidently I'm also worried about the bike being vandalised. Anyone ever had their bike vandalised (as opposed to stolen) whilst left for a couple of hours in town?

Cheers Tiny Pens