Thieves Target Boulder Cycle Sport Twice In One Month: 'We're At A Loss'
BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) – The manager of a Boulder bicycle shop says he's out of high-end mountain bikes, and not because business is booming. For the second time in a month, thieves broke in and stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of them.
In late December, CBS4 reported on the first break-in at Boulder Cycle Sport. At the time, General Manager Justin Hoese said 17 bikes were stolen, totaling about $87,000.
"I figured it would be a matter of time before they came back or got caught," said Hoese.
On Sunday, security video showed a similar scene, when at around 4:30 a.m., several men broke into the back window of the store and climbed over a barricade of bikes left by employees. The men then cut the chain off a group of bikes and could be seen throwing the bikes out the window.
This time, Hoese estimates about $50,000 in high-end mountain bikes were stolen. On top of that, several bikes were damaged and the window was broken.
According to Hoese, officers told him they did attempt to stop the suspects on the road, but let up when they started to drive recklessly.
"They knew exactly which bikes to target," Hoese said. "They're after high-end mountain bikes only."
The pair of burglaries at Boulder Cycle Sport are among six CBS4 has learned about at five different bike shops in and around Boulder since the fall.
Employees at Sports Garage Cycling and the Specialized Bicycle Experience Center in Boulder have confirmed similar burglaries. The owners of Cenna's Custom Cycles in Longmont and Louisville Cyclery in Louisville have also confirmed they've been broken into.
"We're at a loss of what else we can do," Hoese said. "We're talking to private security companies and we'll have to look into every aspect of security."
Following the first break-in at Boulder Cycle Sport, Boulder police said they'd increase patrols in the area. On Wednesday, a spokesperson said that's still the case.
"There's a lot of bike shops in Boulder. I don't know how they're going to be able to patrol and keep all of us safe," Hoese said.
