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SALT LAKE CITY — The owner of a Sugar House bicycle shop is hoping someone will recognize a man who stole a very unique and expensive bike.
As much as bicycles have stayed the same, newer models can be very different. Take, for example, the brand new Specialized Turbo Levo with electric assist.
"This is like driving a Ferrari in a car. These things have only been out for a couple of months," said Philip Blomquist, owner of Bicycle Center. "You get out and pedal and then it'll just take it from there and keep you going."
It also includes wireless technology. "It has a blu-tooth compatible power pack in the battery," he said.
The bikes are so new, Blomquist has only had them on the floor for a couple of days. But it only took a man a few minutes to walk in and decide he really wanted one.
"As great as they are, every now and then we'll get a sketch ball in here, and that's what we had yesterday," he said.
The man seemed to know about the bike, even gave a salesman ID and a credit card to take one for a test drive. He never came back.
"He gave us some phony ID. Gave us a bogus credit card," Blomquist said.
The bike is so new and so unique, Blomquist thinks if the man tries to sell it, people who would be interested in such a bike will know immediately it's not an every day deal.
"High-end bikes like that are stolen, a lot of times go out of state because they know they cannot sell them very successfully in Utah because they'll get caught with them," he said.
The bike sells for $5,500 so it's definitely a loss for Blomquist's mom and pop shop.
"You can't let it get to you, even though it's real easy to get down and get frustrated because of it."
Blomquist hopes somebody knows who the thief is and calls police. He’s offering $500 for information.
"I'm sure somebody will recognize this guy."
Other people have stolen bikes from his store in the past, but he believes this bike is so different that someone will recognize it.
