In Brooklyn, I got rid of half a bike (missing front fork and seat) by setting it outside for about 20 minutes.

I guess you could say I got rid of the first half by setting it outside overnight, poorly locked to a post, but it was unintentional.

Worth watching this timelapse of a bicycle left locked outside for a year in NYC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZcXF10Ir9Q

It holds alright until little things start to get missing, after which the rest of it quickly gets stolen.

That's pretty funny. The entire bike was gone in a few days once the water bottle and seat went MIA.