Bike May Be Key to Times Square Bomb Case

Fueling speculation that police have few leads in the investigation into the bombing of a military recruitment office in Times Square last month, investigators are looking to the public for information about a key clue: a blue bicycle.

The bike, a blue Ross 10-speed that was likely ridden by the bomber, was manufactured in the 1980s and is in top condition. Investigators believe it was stored inside most of the time and may have recently changed hands, Lieutenant Dennis Briordy said yesterday.

"Someone may have sold it at a yard sale," Lieutenant Briordy, the commanding officer of the department's arson and explosion squad, said.

Before going out of business, the company that made the bike also manufactured ammunition boxes similar to the one used in the bombing, Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said.

Fingerprints that were found on the bike ended up having "no value," Lieutenant Briordy said, adding that he hoped the public would be able to better focus on the bike a month after the incident.

Investigators were able to track the bike to Westchester County, where it was originally sold in the 1980s at a bike store, the Yonkers Cycle Center, Lieutenant Briordy said. However, the store was shuttered years ago and the owner has since passed away, he said.

While investigators are not ruling out a connection between similar bombings at the Mexican and English embassies, the perpetrator of those crimes is believed to have ridden a completely different style of bike, Lieutenant Briordy said.