His E-Bike Was Stolen Twice, but Dave Wolf Is Still on a Roll

Many Denver residents have had a bike stolen. Dave Wolf has had his expensive e-bike stolen not once, but twice. And he's managed to get it back both times.

"This is gonna kill Denver’s move to biking and mobility if you can’t go anywhere on your bike without the fear of it being stolen," Wolf says.

Wolf bought his Gazelle Ultimate C380+ electric bike from GoodTurn Cycles in early August. With help from a $1,200 City of Denver rebate, Wolf paid $3,967 out of pocket for his prized possession.

He was one of 4,734 residents who redeemed e-bike rebates, which Denver's Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency (CASR) began offering on Earth Day 2022. The city program, designed to get people commuting by bike instead of car, has been a huge hit.

"This program showed there was a desire in our community for new, sustainable mobility options, and I'm excited to see the e-bike rebate program expand and continue to evolve our residents' transportation habits," Mayor Michael Hancock said when the program rolled over in January.

CASR released another round of rebates on January 31; it plans to issue releases in March, May, July, September and November this year. The $1,200 income-restricted rebate requirements remain the same; Wolf was one of 2,330 people — almost half the total of those who got rebates last year — who received an income-qualified rebate last year, which put $1,200 to an e-bike purchase instead of the standard $400. This year, the regular rebate has been lowered to $300. CASR also dropped the add-on rebate for cargo e-bikes from $500 to $200.

"We reduced the amount of the standard rebate from $400 to $300 because the average cost of an e-bike purchased with our vouchers in 2022 dropped by $500, thanks in large part due to the market competition and demand caused by our rebates. We lowered the additional rebate for e-cargo bikes because it turned out that the average difference in cost between a regular e-bike and an e-cargo bike purchased with our rebates was less than $150," says Chelsea Warren, a spokesperson for CASR.

Wolf, who had gone car-free earlier in 2022, also got a doggy trailer attachment and started riding around town with his two dogs. "It’s amazing how much shorter the distances become on an e-bike. I was having a lot of fun," he says.

But then Wolf ran into a bump in the road. In late August, someone stole his e-bike from the bike rack in the outdoor compound of his apartment complex near City Park. Wolf had left his bike outside since it was too heavy to carry up the stairs to his third-floor apartment. The thief got through the complex's fences and cut through two locks to get the bike.

Wolf had installed an Apple AirTag on his e-bike, though, so he pulled out his iPhone and saw that his bike was at Colorado Boulevard and East 13th Avenue. When he called the Denver Police Department to tell them he was heading over there, he was advised to wait until officers arrived. He went anyway, but by then the bike had moved to Holly Street and East Colfax Avenue.

Continuing to monitor the AirTag, Wolf borrowed a friend's SUV and eventually tracked down his bike. He caught three people with it, involved in some kind of transaction. When he told them it was his bike, they gave it back and scurried off.

In 2019, there were 343 reported bike thefts in Denver. That figure hit 388 in 2020 and 567 in 2021 before dropping to 277 in 2022. So far in 2023, there have already been 267 reported bike thefts. (The DPD does not distinguish between bike and e-bike thefts in this data.)

Reports of bike theft rarely result in arrests. In 2022, just 1.3 percent of cases ended with arrests. Bikes were recovered in only 2.4 percent of the total thefts reported.

"When someone is the victim of a bike theft, we always recommend that they report it to DPD as soon as possible. It is also very important to have information, such as the serial number, ready for officers. This will allow for officers to have a better way to recover and return the bike to the owner. If the owner happens to locate their bike, we recommend they contact DPD immediately and not to confront the suspect if one is present. Confronting the suspect can be dangerous, because the suspect may be armed," says Jay Casillas, a DPD spokesperson.

Wolf ended up moving from his apartment near City Park to one in the Hale neighborhood that was on the first floor. That way, he could store the bike inside without having to climb a staircase. "I would say it was about 95 percent of the reason why I moved," he says.

On March 2, Wolf biked over to a massage therapist in the Speer neighborhood. He secured his bike with a heavy-duty lock before heading inside.

When he got back outside, his bike was gone.

"They cut right through it," says Wolf. "Someone actually caught them doing it, I guess after they had already freed the bike from the lock. [The person] tried chasing them down but wasn’t able to catch them."

The witness left a note describing what had happened and what the thieves looked like. Once again, Wolf checked the AirTag, called a Lyft and started heading to where the AirTag was pinging. On the way, he called the cops to let them know about the theft and that he was on his way to get his bike back.

By the time he got to the location a few blocks south, though, the thieves were gone, perhaps notified by their own iPhones that the bike was being tracked by an AirTag. But the bike was there, leaning against a building in an alley. It was not damaged, but the lock and a specialized bike bag were gone. That was a $300 loss for Wolf, but he was just glad to be able to ride home.

"I probably wouldn’t leave it outside that same place any longer. It’s an office building. There’s just not enough foot traffic going in and out," Wolf says. "I think I'm probably fine leaving it at a grocery store, because there’s enough foot traffic. But outside of that, I'm going be a little more intimidated about where I leave it."