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Revo Bike Shop Mechanic Helps Recover Rare Prince of Spain Pinarello

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FROM BRAIN (Bicycle Retailer & Industry News): The instant Mike Mayefske saw the man pushing a $12,000 Pinarello Prince signature edition into Revo Cycles, he had a hunch.

And his hunch proved correct.

The man, wearing board shorts, flip-flops and no shirt, asked Mayefske to install flat pedals on the Pinarello. The man didn’t seem to know much about the bike, so Mayefske reasoned that something wasn’t quite right.

While spinning on some inexpensive Wellgos, Mayefske scribbled down the bike’s serial number and snapped a photo with his cell phone. The bike, a Prince of Spain limited edition, features a distinctive color scheme (yellow
and red) as well as a full Campy Super Record set up and Fulcrum Racing Zero wheels.

“When he asked me to put on those pedals, I thought to myself, ‘Why would he want to do that?’‚ I then casually asked where he had gotten the bike. He told me he had just moved here from Arizona and a friend had given it to him,” the 27-year-old Mayefske said.

After the man leftËœpaying cash for the pedals Mayefske, suspicious of the man’s story, called Gita Sporting Goods‚ local rep, Frank Raduziner. He asked Raduziner to look up the serial number to learn where the bike had first been sold.

Bingo. Raduziner called back within minutes. A store in Tucson, Arizona, had sold the bike to a collector who had also bought a Colnago Ferrari and a custom Independent Fab titanium mountain bike. Thieves had apparently cleaned out the man‚s house, taking his bikes as well.

Mayefske alerted the Dana Point police, but without anything more to go on there was little the police could do. And then the stranger showed up again at Revo, pushing the same Pinarello.

The man came back to ask if Mayefske would pump up the tiresËœhe couldn’t get an air hose at a nearby gas station to fill the tires and, apparently, was unfamiliar with Presta valves. Mayefske told him that Revo‚s air compressor was off and it would take a few minutes to get the tank filled up. Would he mind waiting?

In the meantime, Mayefske quietly called police. Within minutes, the cops swooped in, confiscated the bike, and questioned the man. John McDonald, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, said they have the bike and are looking into the matter, but no arrests have been made.

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Enrique Paulo
Enrique Paulo
14 years ago

I can’t believe this guy was cruising the OC on this ride like it was a beater beach cruiser! I would have died to see this guy cruising down PCH with flip flps and flat pedals holding on to a boogie board in one hand. Great on Revo Bikes calling that one in.

mrussell
14 years ago

Nice work Revo, I hope they find the other bikes. Bike Thieves Suck.

cheeken
cheeken
14 years ago

The possibilities of what *could* have happened to this bike makes my head swim. Can you imagine seeing this bike locked up outside the local supermarket with just a U-lock around the front wheel? Although, I wish the second time he had come into the shop, instead of asking for air, he had asked for help putting on a pannier rack. 🙂 Hahahaha…

Hooben
Hooben
14 years ago

Unfortunately, a bike of that caliber under the control of the Orange County Sheriffs Department makes me cringe. I can imagine the Prince of Spain in a cramped closet with department store bikes stacked on top of it. What do the officers know about Pinalrello anyways. The bicycle shop should have kept the bike in safekeeping.

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