Canfield Bikes Recover Stolen Prototype

Apr 10, 2021
by Canfield Bikes  
EXT-USA staff with the recovered Canfield Tilt prototype that was stolen just days earlier.
EXT-USA staff with the recovered Canfield Tilt. Left to right, Mike Hanna, Beau Gunnerson, Cody Priano and Stew Greer. Photo: Austin Lemoreaux

Press Release: Canfield Bikes


The one-of-a-kind Canfield Bikes Tilt prototype that was stolen last Friday, April 2 in Salt Lake City, UT, has been recovered.

As of Wednesday, April 7, the bike is back in the possession of EXT-USA. The bike was recovered in excellent condition, and EXT-USA is able to complete testing and tuning for the Storia and Arma coil shocks that will be available on both Tilt and Lithium frames.

The recovered Canfield Tilt prototype with EXT suspension that was stolen just days earlier.

Canfield Bikes received several leads and reports of sightings of the bike thanks to the Utah mountain bike community. On the evening of April 6, someone contacted Canfield claiming to have the stolen bike in their possession. The bike was recovered the next day by EXT-USA employees within blocks from the site where the theft occurred just five days earlier.

No further details are being released at this time because an active investigation of the incident and persons of interest by the Salt Lake Police Department is still pending.

Statement from Canfield Bikes:

bigquotes"We want to thank our friends at EXT-USA, the bike media and the mountain bike community as a whole for the outpouring of support and for sharing this story. Whether you shared a post, told your friends or contacted us with information, it is because of you that this bike was recovered against all odds. While bike theft is unfortunately not uncommon, happy endings such as this one are all too rare. As a one-of-a-kind pre-production prototype of a bike that has not even yet been shipped to our loyal customers, this one is particularly near and dear to us and we are all glad that it is now safe and sound."


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Industry News Canfield Bikes


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109 Comments
  • 158 2
 Am I interpreting this correctly that someone, who probably read the article stole the bike back from the thieves and turned it back over to EXT?

I am here for the street justice.
  • 37 3
 It's SLC ... I still have an "open" investigation on 2 bike thefts.....from 2015. Zero F's given... F SLC ... I'LL STICK TO PUNK. Where's my beer?
  • 8 0
 @BEERandSPOKES: SLC Punk was/is 1 of the greatest films made!

m.youtube.com/watch?v=_nwGndfR4l4

@Branmuffin: Love me some street justice!

m.youtube.com/watch?v=fbnCgyAJ5jE
  • 16 0
 @BEERandSPOKES: It’s kind of funny, people think of SLC as some sort of Mormon-led utopia but it’s got a pretty seedy side to. Lots of crime and sketchy parts of town.

The punk scene is alive and well, however.
  • 11 0
 @BEERandSPOKES: Some times these things take time. OJ is still out there looking for the real killer...who apparently is a golfer.
  • 9 0
 Naw, dude just borrowed the bike for a couple days and returned it.
  • 6 6
 @BEERandSPOKES: Your bikes are important to YOU and I get it but in the grand scheme of things, they are no more important that a sack of marbles stolen from a 10 year old. Bikes thefts are not even investigated unless there is some quality evidence and then depending on the municipality, maybe not even then if you have an activist District Attorney that refuses to prosecute these type of crimes.
  • 21 0
 @Reno233: did someone from Reno just call SLC seedy?!
  • 4 0
 @k2rider1964: but this bike is worth as much as a car.... oh wait, they don’t care about auto theft either.
  • 5 0
 @Altron5000: Don't question his judgement, he's an expert on the subject.
  • 1 0
 @wibblywobbly: No lie, the amount of bike thefts and car thefts here is crazy.
  • 2 0
 @Reno233: Wife & I lived there for 7 years and can concur. Loved every side of SLC and miss it to this day.
  • 4 0
 @m1dg3t: Rush are excellent musicians.
  • 2 0
 @BEERandSPOKES: Maybe you should try recovering a stolen bike in NYC or LA. I’m sure you’d have better luck.
  • 2 0
 100% Jussie Smollett approved.
  • 1 0
 @NYShred: Are you saying they staged this theft for publicity?
  • 2 0
 @m1dg3t: Poolhall Junkies is an even better SLC movie Wink
  • 2 0
 @gnarlysipes: This is very close to a "Juicy" Smollett (minus the Nigerians). This did get a lot of press coverage, not only in the cycling world but local news as well.
Think about it... a stop at a "convenient" store (convenient, as in EASY ACCESS)... supposedly locked (doubt it)... I was certain this bike was a goner. Low and behold...
  • 1 0
 @moejoe33: Possible. This would make for a good short film where you see two retellings of the same event. Kind of like those cut scenes in MI:1 (the original and the best). But, knowing the area and the city, im not surprised they recovered it. These poor homeless people are often struggling with mental health challenges and some don’t know up from down. So it’s possible the guy took it without a thought of selling it or hiding it. Maybe he just needed a mode of transport.
  • 1 0
 @feldybikes: yoda_voice> Indeed they are! /yoda_voice>

m.youtube.com/watch?v=78D00dYOBrM
  • 1 0
 @Reno233: Punks don't die. They sell out or get crusty.
  • 1 0
 @wibblywobbly: Property crimes are low on the to do list because they are, more often than not, under $10k and victimless. Obviously if I hit you on the head while your riding your bike, and take your bike, the police will give that more attention because of the violence.

Plus it's easier/more profitable to hand out tickets/citations.
  • 1 0
 @87vr6: Good choice!

m.youtube.com/watch?v=h5PrrVt34Mw
  • 106 0
 Pinkbike gave back the bike after doing their review.
  • 77 25
 Official statement by Cam McRae:

“We are glad that perpetrator Mike Levy was brought to Justice. Given their heinous paparazzi methods of hunting prototype spy shots, we are not surprised that they only escalated the issue and went to extents such as actually stealing a prototype”
  • 11 7
 @justwaki: thought you r banned?!
  • 18 34
flag justwaki (Apr 10, 2021 at 9:04) (Below Threshold)
 @ekho: wrong!
  • 21 0
 @ekho You are thinking of WAKIdesigns. He asked/told Pinkbike to remove his account.

This is @justwaki. A really nice guy who's unopinionated unlike the other guy :-)
  • 5 1
 That Levy guy always looked suspicious to me. I'm glad they finally caught him. Seb is better anyway
  • 6 2
 @kwapik: yapping like waki
  • 3 0
 @pakleni: Yes, and he has tattoos too. Very suspicious and mischievous looking fella!
  • 4 0
 @kwapik: I call bullshit!
  • 1 0
 @kwapik: if that isn’t the definition of compulsive idk what is.
  • 3 2
 @POWsLAYER: erm... 90% of situations where someone uses a smart phone, most cases of using social media social media, watching Netflix, riding a mountain bike, working out in the gym - all examples of compulsive behavior. I missed you too, your anger Big Grin

But frankly I am already disgusted with it... I sense how much better off I am without SM. Particularly interaction with folks on SM. I’d delete it all. But damn it works like a photo album...

Nothing comes for free...
  • 1 0
 @POWsLAYER: Please be aware I will continue to call you out on every post you make for being a thief until you follow through on your half of the trade.
  • 73 6
 Fantastic marketing strategy?
  • 11 4
 Interesting guerrilla marketing tactic, if so, although filing a false police report is a crime (unless they made that part up too)
  • 11 0
 What? No! Really?

I spent all those minutes scouring Craigslist for nothing?
  • 5 4
 @ninjatarian: the original article only stated that "Local authorities have been notified," which is clearly short of filing a police report. Thus, if this was a marketing stunt, no crime was committed Smile
  • 28 0
 *puts on tinfoil hat
  • 6 1
 Review coming tomorrow
  • 2 1
 @ninjatarian: There was a police report filed.
  • 2 0
 @mixmastamikal: You photograph good :-)
  • 10 10
 I think Atherton Bike would have had the best marketing strategy, "it's the best bike, we have an F1 engineer and a dragon on board, we use many drones to film how Dan wants to kill Gee by building whackiest lines and...
YOU CAN'T BUY IT, NO MATTER HOW RICH YOU ARE!!!".

But they didn't factor in Covid and Ever Given so now you can't buy any bike no matter how rich you are, even a Canyon.
  • 4 0
 @justwaki: I think you mean ‘WAKIest’ lines
  • 2 0
 @ReformedRoadie: The whole thing painted matte black of course!!
  • 2 0
 @curendero: Certainly not big city professional bike thieves...
Kinda odd all the circumstances all around,
Ended cleaner and tidier than an episode of Scooby Do.
  • 1 0
 That's what I was thinking.
  • 31 0
 Punishable by forced entry into the solo hardtail class for the next Rampage.
  • 28 0
 Mandatory finish on the mega avalanche riding a gravel bike. Marketing says he will have more fun than any other rider, reality says he will be pounded to dust.
  • 5 0
 Full rigid fixed gear
  • 5 0
 Whilst riding a fixed gear 10" kids bike with plastic wheels, stitched rubber tyres and wearing a Barney the Dinosaur outfit
  • 7 11
flag justwaki (Apr 10, 2021 at 11:54) (Below Threshold)
 Make him ride TDF on Ellsworth Truth on 24x3.0” Gazzaloddis
  • 1 0
 @RonSauce: Send the f*cker down with no brakes....
  • 24 0
 Back in the 90's when I was a bike messenger in SLC I had my bike stolen. 3 months later I see a guy riding it. I chased him down and he wouldn't stop. Because I was a bike messenger I had one of those old Motorola brick phones and I called the police as I continued to chase him through the city. The guy was twice my size but I wasn't going to give up. Eventually, the guy got tired and with the police on the phone he gave me back my bike. The police never showed up but I rode away with my old bike on my shoulder.
  • 15 0
 Thief just wanted to test that suspensions setup and provide some input
  • 6 0
 I had my bike stolen from my house back in about 2004. I filed a report with the police and realised it was going nowhere, so I dropped off a flyer to all the local bike shops in the nearby suburbs. I had written it off when I got a phone call from the bike shop literally one block away around the corner. They asked me what pedals I had on the bike and sure enough it was my bike. Someone had brought it in for a service and apparently he'd received the bike as payment for a plastering job. I paid for the service and thanked the staff for being awesome. They said they would follow up with the police but I never heard anything more of it.
  • 10 1
 Hope the thief got what they deserve
  • 7 0
 "When I tell you to hide a body in the Marsh, you hide a body in the MAAAAAASH,not somewhere where some"....
  • 5 1
 a GT?
  • 2 2
 @rrolly: a GT or a Salsa
  • 1 0
 @BEERandSPOKES: One of my favorite movies
  • 7 0
 I love it when a plan comes together!
  • 3 0
 Int milk brilliant!
  • 7 0
 I pity the fool who gets caught stealing bikes.
  • 6 1
 If you look at the pic of the EXT crew, and judging by the look on the guys face with the green shirt.... I'd say he did it!
  • 1 0
 Or he was the guy it was stolen from after he locked it to his car with one of those rotating four number locks.
  • 2 0
 @rrolly: LOL, he's the outcast. "Allan you idiot! Here you get a green shirt for losing the bike... Now say CHEESE!!"
  • 5 0
 Thief got dehydrated during epic urban bike on bike chase and couldn't out pace the do-gooders. (No water bottle)
  • 2 0
 prototypes these days man. you really couldn't put one bottle cage on that front triangle?! like come on it's 2021! lol
  • 1 0
 Because of you now I have to watch some Pacific Blue chases.
  • 2 0
 This becomes more unbelievable everyday. Even crappy bikes rarely if ever get returned , let alone a fancy prototype . if a REAL bike thief had stolen that bike it would have been taken out of the area almost immediately and sold intact or for parts.
  • 2 0
 It needs an oval ring to go w/ the oval wheelset
Maybe thaaaats why they couldn’t catch the guy.
Aside from the “ride it like you stole it “attitude the thief probably had.
Hmmm?
Oval ?
Roval?
Hold my beer!
  • 3 1
 Excellent news to see!! Surely the theive didnt get what they deserve, but hopefully at least got some warm slap on the bad wrist.
  • 5 0
 Great job MTB community!
  • 5 1
 Publicity stunt maybe...?
  • 1 1
 Haha I am wondering if the thief himself saw the pinkbike article and knew he couldn’t really get away with it. So he turned the bike in. (Don’t know if he would have the guts to turn himself in).
  • 3 0
 That could have happened but more likely someone would just ditch the bike somewhere rather than try to turn it in.
  • 3 0
 Did the thief realize it can hold a full sized water bottle and return it?
  • 2 0
 Theif wasn’t satisfied with the head angle and chainstay length. Prevented him from doing cutties while evading authorities.
  • 1 0
 Thanks to the thief for being stupid enough, or drug addled, to keep the original paint and ride around the part of town where the bike was stolen.
  • 2 12
flag justwaki (Apr 10, 2021 at 11:59) (Below Threshold)
 Bike thief... it sounds a bit too professional Gives them credit which they don’t deserve. People who steal bikes or break into cellars/garages are rarely sharpest tools in the shed... my buddy was dumb enough to leave the Commie Meta locked in common bike room. He found it few montha later, lying in the bushes next to his block of flats - with flat tire and blown out shock. Scumbag who stole it surely did something to the shock, then rode for a few days, got a flat and left it.

Whenever I see a thief checking out bike stands I can’t decide whether I hate him or pity him. 9/10 dude looks like he’s a hungry homeless. But 1/10 they look like piece of crap one would like treat with cyclone b for the good of everyone in the world. One shtface in my town owns a bike workshop and hangs around with these 1/10 low lives. They... they attract each othwr
  • 2 5
 @justwaki: Glad you are back waki, PB needs you!
  • 1 1
 @justwaki: zyklon* Smile
  • 3 0
 Picture of the thief's broken leg or it didn't happen
  • 3 0
 Was hoping it would be found in the basement of the Alamo
  • 1 0
 Is it me or does the front tire look Fuking huge? Like bigger than 29er huge! I’ve heard of mullet bikes but this must be the first 26” possible 24” mullet.
  • 1 0
 Is it me or is this a weird looking bike a bit? Also, its vain I'm sure but I don't like the whole seat-tube support. It pokes me in the eye for some reason.
  • 2 0
 Yeeeeaaahh. Stoked for u guys.
  • 4 2
 Nice Slopestyle/ Bikepacking rig.
  • 2 1
 Thief saw the four bearded guys from EXT with arms like trees and gave the bike back immediately.
  • 3 1
 The bike is a 2017 Banshee Prime. Not a bad thing, honestly.
  • 3 0
 Looks like a Shocker
  • 1 0
 Bike looks so short. Did they not read the the bike industry geometry memo?
  • 2 0
 I think there's something funny about the picture because the wheels don't look round.
  • 1 1
 Iam reading into this , But this is why ext-USA handles all my suspension work. They might fight for your stuff. Good job.
  • 1 0
 Judging by the faces ima say the guy in the green shirt is the one that left the protype on a bike rack outside in dt slc.
  • 3 1
 FAKE NEWS ! AT LEAST IN A PROTOTYPE WAY !
  • 5 2
 This tactic is very well known:
1st: They create the problem!
2nd: They inform you about what happened!
3rd: They announce to you that they
are/have the solution for the problem!
Very well known company, used this same tactic to present a new signature bmx model!
  • 1 0
 Taking wheels off and putting the bike inside the car this time!
  • 1 0
 Police interview thief, AKA how was the test ride?
  • 1 0
 Next time don't leave your bike unattended on a bike rack.
  • 1 0
 Get your lawyers cued up Knolly.....
  • 1 0
 this just in...thieves in UTAH, not very competent.
  • 1 0
 HUCK YEAH! Big Grin \m/
  • 1 0
 FOX FACTORY
  • 1 1
 Great marketing strategy!
  • 1 1
 Secure the bag
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