police on bikes
 

what type of bikes to cops use i wonder. reason i asked i outraced one and it was funny.

The few that I have seen use heavy mountain bikes. Cannondale makes a model for the police.
It's not much of a challenge to outrace that type of bike with an officer carrying his\her assorted gear. IMHO
I'd be more excited about outracing a roadie while riding an upright bike.

While on my road bike, I cranked it up to 400 watts and blew by a cop on his heavy mountain bike as he was taking a drink from a water fountain - it was funny, especially since he didn't even realize he was in a race. I was so impressed with myself that I am expecting a call from Discovery, asking me to replace George, any minute.

The LEO's in my suburb have 2 or 3 of these:

http://www.fujibikes.com/police/bike...ayID=0&yr=2004
http://www.fujibikes.com/images/bikes/polSpec04_3.jpg

I always see one particular officer during the spring and summer time on one. And no, he's not your typical coffee and donut eating cop either. :D

Did you give him "the look"?

i wonder if they can yank you off your bike and slap the cuffs on you.

This is the only kind of cop I would like to be. All the bike cops around here are really cool. They ride 12 months out of the year. They only ride around downtown. They just keep an eye out on the bars and stop the beggars. I believe ours ride Treks.

We have Treks, but as someone else pointed out Cannondale also makes a police model. They are all pretty much hardtail, front suspension mountain bikes. Heavy on the durability factor and low on the speed.

Whatever MTB's the police ride, I love the fact that they are in our downtown riding around and also on the campus of the university where I work. The difference between the 'bike cops' and the 'auto cops' is in the range, on average, of 100 pounds, I'd estimate...

A pack of policemen (dozen), riding East on the WO&D trail passed by me riding West last fall. They were on black MTB bikes with nice double halogen light setups. I found it somewhat interesting that they blew through the trail stop sign [company drive crossing] en masse.

We have afew LA County police officers around the hospital with bikes. Front suspension hardtail mountain bikes. Of course, their job isn't to chase down law breaking roadies really... :lol: However having the bikes do allow them go anywhere an officer on foot can go with alot more speed. It's also heps greatly with public relations since they're not seen as sitting in their car watching and waiting for someone to make a mistake but rather out and about among us "regular people" which makes them alot more accessible and approachable.

Do they use the Planetbike superflash on the front?

LMAO

The city of Alexandria has them mostly on Treks -- they went by my house (bike route goes past my front door) and there were about a dozen of them. Some of the bikes are different -- all hard tail MTBs. I'm guessing some may have been donated by local businesses.

I sat next to a Fairfax county cop at the barber's the other day. He tols me that it's a very popular assignment and that it's very competitive to get in. There are some who are volunteers and not-quite-police (I think in Arlington) as well, plus the park volunteers who mostly hel with breakdowns.

Apparently, they have special techniques including how to come off the bike to tackle someone who is running, whioch is why they don't use clipless and why they need sturdier bikes.

Must be awfully fast to outrun a radio.

Why don't they have fenders?

Here's what my neighborhood's bike patrol officers ride:
http://bikeportland.org/wp-content/bikeAlong1.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/85/272884041_926f73c646_m.jpg
I understand they prefer faster bikes in their off-duty riding. :)

police at either D.C. National or Toronto Pearson (can't recall which) ride "Smith & Wesson" bikes.

this is interesting:

http://www.policeone.com/writers/col...ticles/128782/

apparently they find aluminium bikes to give a less harsh ride than steel bikes.

2007 Cannondale Police Bike:
specs: http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/07/c...del-7FS5P.html
http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/07/C.../7FS5P_wht.jpg

2007 Trek Police bike:
specs: http://www2.trekbikes.com/bikes/bike...d=1046600&f=18
http://www2.trekbikes.com/images/bik...bike_black.jpg

Maybe in your city... I was speaking with a local city official and she mentioned that the biking officer duty was reserved for new recruits. Our previous cycling officer was a very enthusiastic responder and ended up with several fender benders in patrol cars. The officer got the keys taken away and was put on two-wheeled patrol for a few months.

I've seen it done and it was very impressive. Our city hired several bike cops when the Olympics were here in '96. One had been a top-ranked downhill and trials rider. You better be a heck of a sprinter if you were trying to get away from him.

i think it's interesting that both Cannondale and Trek use silent-clutch Nexave rear hubs....so they can sneak up on unsuspecting peds??

I was in DC once at the licoln memroial at about 8 at night and a pack of 50 or so bike cops were riding around the area. I think they may ave just been on a leisure trip. It was insane to see that many cops with blinkies at one time.

They rode Smith & Wesson as I remember it.

I once blew a stop sign on campus (Sorta. I was in a continuous bike lane at a T... don't get me started) way back in 19-and-90. When I stopped to shoulder my bike up the student union stairs, a campus cop caught up to me, wheezing. As he warned me never, never to do that again, I noticed his bike was the same model as mine, only his was silver. We each had a mid-80's Diamond Back Ascent.

To be fair, he had a beltload of heavy gadgets and a heavy-duty uniform and I was wearing shorts and had a notebookbook and pen in a backpack.

Yeah, but woulda been hard for him to notice through the plexiglass of my belly button. :eek:

Both the CHP at the Capitol and the Sacramento PD have bike patrols. The CHP ride hardtail Treks (with full Planet Bike fenders) and the SPD ride full-suspension Specialized (which makes no sense to me).