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Careful with those expensive bikes, Aspen; thieves take 4 high-end bikes

Aspen’s cycling community has never been particularly diligent about locking up its bikes.

Most of the time it is not a huge problem because the vast majority of bicycle thefts in the city involve “townies” invariably swiped late at night by the inebriated in need of a ride home and then casually discarded on someone’s lawn.

However, four high-end, expensive mountain bikes have been swiped in the city since June, three of which were taken after bike locks were cut, Aspen police Sgt. Mike Tracey said Friday. The fourth bike was unlocked and stolen from the front porch of a home, he said.



The first two thefts occurred about a month ago when a bike worth about $4,000 and another valued at $7,500 were taken from a rack on a vehicle parked in Aspen’s West End, Tracey said. The bikes were locked to the rack, he said.

This month, a brand-new, locked, $7,500 e-bike was stolen from the area of Hyman Avenue and Third Street, Tracey said. The bike stolen from the front porch of a home in the West End was a $6,500 E-bike, he said.




So far this year, the city has received 27 reports of stolen bicycles, said Cathleen Treacy, Aspen police records manager. That compares with 40 at this time last year, she said.

And while Tracey said he doesn’t think anyone is necessarily targeting high-end bicycles, Assistant Police Chief Bill Linn said he wasn’t so sure.

“I would say that you shouldn’t assume that just because your bike is locked it’s safe,” Linn said. “It appears someone out there knows when they’re looking at valuable bikes.”