Mountain bikes can be expensive at thousands of dollars a pop.
“It took us 5.5 years to save up and get the bikes that fit our family,” said Lauren Kobza of Houston, whose family spends summertime in Park City.
On July 6, all five of their bikes were stolen.
“The next morning, we were coming outside to do a family ride in Round Valley and my husband said, ‘Babe, come out here.’ And he couldn't really say anything,” Kobza remembers.
Their bikes had been locked on their van’s rack outside the Snowcrest Condominiums on Empire Avenue. They found the lock cut and the bikes gone.
Kobza said they won’t be able to replace the bikes, from brands like Pivot, Felt, Scott and Rocky Mountain, for a long time.
“Lessons on the mountain are invaluable. Like ‘I don't want to climb the hill anymore.’ So you pull your kids aside and you tell them why you have to climb that hill and you can't stop. And [the thieves] took those lessons away from us,” she said. “It's a huge hit… I don't want to say devastating because we are still here and healthy. But it's heartbreaking. It's more than just bikes.”
Park City Police Lt. Jay Randall said there was a similar theft the same night farther up Empire Avenue. Officers don’t know yet if the incidents are related. The bikes were locked in both cases.
Then July 10, more bikes were taken from a rack in Prospector. Randall said summer usually brings an uptick in bike theft, likely because more people are out riding.
Kobza doesn’t want anyone else to experience what her family did. She said she’s learned locks are a deterrent, but any lock is defeatable—it’s safest to keep bikes out of sight.
Also, owners should record their bikes’ serial numbers. When a bike is stolen, it can be entered into a database for pawn shops to check. In this case, the Kobzas didn’t have their serial numbers.
Randall also recommends owners register their bikes with the police department.
Kobza is watching sites like Facebook Marketplace and KSL Classifieds for any sign of their bikes. But she said thieves sometimes take measures to disguise stolen goods, making them harder to find.
“They're taking our bikes, and they're switching them up just a little,” she said. “Perhaps they're changing the handlebars; perhaps they're changing the grips or the pedals.”
The Kobzas' bikes:
- Pivot Mach 6, Carbon, Medium, Black, 27.5"
- Felt Decree, Carbon, Medium, Red/Yellow, 27.5"
- Scott Genius, Aluminum, Medium, Gray/Orange, 29"
- Scott Genius, Carbon, Medium, Blue/Green, 29"
- Rocky Mountain Reaper, Aluminum, Blue, 24"
Park City police are contacting neighbors to get doorbell camera footage in hopes of identifying potential suspects.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Park City Police Department here or call (435) 615-5500.
