Southern California - Cops on S&W Bikes

There was a parade not far from where I live today, so I decided to take advantage and do some riding on normally very busy roads, which were all shut down for the parade.

While going back and forth I saw some local LEOs on bikes, and upon closer inspection, got a chuckle when I saw the brand name on the bicycle:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_ZNDGkGYZsFI/StDmiUxTflI/AAAAAAAAAIw/7SsSZCFvFa4/s800/Placentia%20Heritage%20Parade%2010-10-2009%20008.jpg

I'd no idea S&W also sold bicycles, but you learn something every day.

http://www.cyclesg.com/sw/product.php?category=bicycles&product=tactical

Though it has nothing to do with bicycles, I liked these guys:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_ZNDGkGYZsFI/StDmhWVYxlI/AAAAAAAAAIs/fmQ0-yH7f3E/s800/1010091010d.jpg

I was reading up on this a while back. Basically, Smith and Wesson licenses their name to a separate importing company that sells bikes. S&W, the gun people, really have nothing to do with the bike business. The bikes aren't made in the corner of some firearms factory or anything.

Sadly, the S&W bikes are of the poorest quality too.

Sadly, the S&W bikes are of the poorest quality too.

Hardly, I road a S&W Patrol model for three years while policing, it's a damn fine bike.

TJClay,

+ 1000 :thumb:

Sadly, the S&W bikes are of the poorest quality too.

Why? The reviews and long term reports I've read over the years point to the opposite viewpoint. Durability/ruggedness, versatility, purpose designed for police work, etc etc. Fuji police bikes have upgraded their frames and forks to be more competitive to the S&W's.

Please keep the comments respectful. I don't want to have to cut and paste copies of the forum guidelines for everyone to see.

I'm completely at a loss to understand how my post, which was removed, was less than respectful in any way.

Same here, but whatever, at least the thread is cleaned up.

My on topic comment was that I've seen these bikes on craigslist before and wondered how the quality was. I always figured they would be heavy but sturdy.

They're not appreciably heavier then non-police bikes, but they are specked out differently. Shimano for example makes a silent rear hub for law enforcement purposes only and S&W puts it on all of the police badged models. When I was policing I was able to get within ten to fifteen feet of a person before they knew I was anywhere around. I used to tick off the town's motorcycle cop by pulling up along side him when he was idling and sitting quietly until he noticed me.

Before they began to offer bicycles, S&W asked for and received a lot of input from the two law enforcement bicycle organizations, LEBA and IPMBA, on what was needed and desired. I was also told they mislead Trek in to providing proprietary technical information on bicycle manufacturing as well, but that might just be rumor. They're good bikes, if you find one on craigslist, especially if it has the rear silent hub, I'd take a serious look at it.

Shimano for example makes a silent rear hub for law enforcement purposes only and S&W puts it on all of the police badged models. When I was policing I was able to get within ten to fifteen feet of a person before they knew I was anywhere around. I used to tick off the town's motorcycle cop by pulling up along side him when he was idling and sitting quietly until he noticed me.

Gotta point out, so you really want to roll silently? I want people hearing me coming. I'm assuming nobody else in here is a cop or they would probably already know about these.

Being seen is more of an advantage then being noisy on a bicycle. The Shimano silent hubs have a good resell value since it is a controlled item by the company.

i think the main reason the bikes are s+w is because it is difficult to sell things to police forces, there's a lot of bureaucracy involved and having them branded as s+w make thing easier as an approved vendor. becoming an approved vendor is probably a costly and slow process.

this is somewhat how it was described to me, iirc.