Police guide to riding a bike...

[david1701]

I so want a copy, it would be awesome to pick up technical points to experiment on

 

[Vikeonabike]

The Complete Guide to Public Safety Cycling

My copy is out on loan at the moment! Most UK force cycle training will be based on this (although it is american)

 

[Vikeonabike]

Checked the IPMBA website and found this article interesting....

It is About the Bike​

by Sgt. James T. Donaldson,​

​

​

​

PCI #984​

Covington (KY) Police Department​

IPMBA has not yet approved “cross bikes” for use in IPMBA training, but does not rule out the​

possibility that they may be practical in some situations, or something to that effect.​

“Do more with less.” Sound familiar? If you are a police administrator or supervisor, you have​

either heard it or said it. If you are a police cyclist, you should embrace it. Now is the time,​

more than ever, to show your administration, and more importantly your city leaders, what you​

can do with a well-trained, well-equipped bike unit. Now is the time to push the boundaries.​

I won’t bore you with fuel saving studies or drone on about community relations. I won’t even​

touch on the physical benefits and the savings in sick time. These are all things that you and​

hopefully your administration already know. What I would like to do is tell you about a program​

that was started in our city about six years ago and has surpassed every expectation and hope.​

The program was our effort to replace our mountain bikes with cyclo-cross bikes. Oh yes, we​

did!​

The challenge we faced was that our administration didn’t understand what we were capable of​

and would not direct the dispatch center as to how to utilize us. The bike program was treated as​

a novelty. We were a 120-person department with two bikes on each shift (six total), all of them​

mountain bikes. “Ride when you want. Don’t break anything. Get back in the car if we get​

busy.” That was our bike program. That was also eight years ago, when the bike spots were​

given out to the most senior officers who put in for it. No interviews, no prior experience, no​

questions asked. There was neither direction nor expectations, and nobody wanted to rock the​

boat.​

The change started when a new sergeant who knew a thing or two about bikes was put in charge​

of trying to make the program useful. There were several openings at the time and the officers​

who got picked were avid tri-athletes and cyclists. The perfect storm was brewing.​

Our city is truly diversified in that it has a large urban core, several “downtown” neighborhoods,​

a dedicated business /entertainment district, and some seriously sprawling subdivisions. We are​

located in Northern Kentucky, so very few of our 13.75 square miles are flat. We have several​

large parks along the rivers that comprise our borders, and the crown jewel of the county, Devou​

Park, is located on top of a small mountain inside our city. This park alone encompasses about​

800 acres. All of the parks contain hiking, running, and cycling trails, both paved and unpaved.​

There are also a number of trails in our wilderness areas throughout the city and along the rivers.​

With the exception of the two weeks a year when we get substantial snowfall, it is the perfect​

cycling community.​

So now everything is in place. We have a great town for bike patrol. We have a supervisor​

willing to push the envelope. We have dedicated officers willing to do what it takes to extend​

the bike time. How do we become more useful? Or better yet, how do we become​

indispensable? Enter the cyclo-cross bike.​

We were fortunate that as one chief left and another took over, we ended up with a bike-friendly​

administration. We used this and the fact that our citizens and businesses loved the bikes to pitch​

a plan to make our bike guys accountable for assigned sectors. That’s correct; we made them​

responsible for a beat. “Never gonna happen,” they said. “Can’t cover the territory…you will be​

worn out running call to call…you’re never going to be fast enough to cover another car on a hot​

call!”​

What the naysayers didn’t know was that when they approved four new mountain bikes, we built​

two cyclo-cross bikes instead. (​

​

​

​

You don’t want to do this unless you have the support of your​

administration and you are pretty sure you can sell it.​

​

​

​

​

) We went from pushing 25 mph on the​

flats to 35 mph. We started pushing 47 to 50 mph on downhills. We learned to climb like​

roadies and absolutely enjoyed crushing the leftover mountain bikes when we had to climb up​

into the park or go over the flood wall. Getting through traffic was easier and foot/vehicle​

pursuits were ended in short order because of our speed and responsiveness. Parking garages​

were cleared in half the time, and when some of the larger businesses had to be cleared, we rode​

through them. We became indispensable. We also grew to four on a shift for a total of 12 plus a​

supervisor, all on cyclo-cross bikes.​

By now the hardcore mountain bikers are getting bored and starting to thumb through this article,​

looking for pictures. There aren’t many, but maybe I can answer the questions that are going​

through your mind right now. Can you ride them up and down steps? Absolutely! When we​

train, we do steps. However, when we are working the street, they are forbidden. Why? Think​

about the times that you or someone you know got hurt or broke something while riding steps.​

How bad are you going to feel when you are on your way to an “officer needs assistance” call​

and pinch flat, blow a spoke, or just flat “yard sale it” because you were distracted for one split​

second? Now there are two of you that need help. During the 2007 Instructor Course in Baton​

Rouge, I saw two frames get cracked, both from riding steps. At the 2008 IPMBA Conference in​

Indianapolis, I saw several bikes get flats while trying to climb steps, and these were ridden by​

accomplished riders.​

Be honest with yourself and seriously answer the question, “is it worth the risk when its ‘go​

time’”? Go to YouTube and type “cyclo-cross bikes climbing stairs”​

(​

​

​

​

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=BoOhi05bm8Y). The pros dismount and run up the stairs​

faster than you can climb them on your bike. That’s why we teach the dismount and the​

remount. The answer to your question, however, is “yes”; we can and do ride stairs successfully.​

Just because we don’t have that protective high volume of air that mountain bike tires have​

doesn’t mean that we are fragile. Quite the contrary. The wheels are very robust, yet typically​

weigh in at less than 400 grams. This is a substantial weight savings that also gives us one-third​

of the rolling resistance.​

Another reason we were told they would never work is because they can’t handle mud or snow.​

This statement was made by people who have no idea why the cyclo-cross bike was invented –​

wintertime racing in Europe. The bikes typically are raced on courses encompassing sand,​

gravel, single-track dirt trails, paved roads, and open pastures or grass fields. We very much​

enjoy riding them through the mud and snow and can absolutely burn up the top of the levee,​

which typically is grass about eight inches tall. Drop down over the levee and you are riding​

along the Ohio or Licking River – take your pick. The trails along the river are single-track dirt​

with lots of rocks and wash outs, as well as the occasional downed tree. Do we launch the bikes​

and jump over and off of everything in our path? No, we are at work and the goal is to answer​

the call or patrol the area. Do we push it and bunny hop over stuff to see if we can? Hell, yes!​

We are still police cyclists.​

Maybe you have looked up cyclo-cross bikes by now and discovered that there is no suspension.​

Those who already knew this are dying to yell, “You can’t ride at work for eight hours without a​

suspension!” We work 10-hour days, and yes, you can. Our bikes are Surly Cross-Checks and​

they are full steel, including the fork. This helps dampen the vibration immensely, and the bikes​

are still substantially lighter than mountain bikes. We also have three different handlebar​

positions from which to choose.​

The very nature of the bike gives us an advantage in the nine-foot box and other cone courses​

because there is no loss of power through the drive train, the center of gravity is lower, and we​

are not pushing around a front shock. Because we are not fighting the flex in the shock, we are​

more responsive. We routinely ride these bikes on one of our professionally designed wilderness​

trails, and you do feel it in the shoulders during the downhill, and you do have to occasionally​

dismount to run over an obstacle. The pro downhillers do it also if they judge the risk to be too​

great.​

Does it require more skill to pass the IPMBA Police Cyclist practical tests? Not really. You​

can’t wheelie loft as easily, but we routinely clear the same obstacles. Is the lower bottom​

bracket a problem? No. It is typically only 1.75 inches lower, but the stability you get from​

lowering your center gravity even just that much is unbelievable. It actually reduced the crash​

frequency. Ask yourself, and answer honestly, how often do you get a pedal strike because of​

your bottom bracket height?​

When building our bikes, we selected a compact crank set up: two chain rings in the front and​

ten in the back. The big ring is huge and the front inner ring is bigger than most mountain bike​

big rings. We ride a 50-34 in the front and a 12-27 in the rear. No granny gear. We didn’t use​

them anyway, and it cuts down on the weight. We also didn’t see a need for them. If you need​

a high bottom bracket and a little bitty chain ring in the front then you are at Moab or the​

Shenandoah 100 and not at work….or a member of the Albuquerque, New Mexico, Open Spaces​

Division. Does our gearing give us the flexibility to start fast and climb? Absolutely. Does it​

require a little more effort to climb big grades? You bet. Do you practice with your firearm?​

Now you may be wondering about the durability of cross bikes. I can describe it with one word​

– phenomenal. The first one we built six years ago is still in service. It looks like somebody​

used it to build a house, but it is still on the road. We have re-cabled it four times, put four​

chains on it (that I know about), re-taped the handlebars a couple of times, and replaced the​

cassette and bottom bracket once each. Since we have at least one festival per month in our city,​

we use these bikes to fight with a lot. If something gets bent in the pile-up, we bend it back and​

get to it. If an officer takes it to the races, we hose it off and go to work, just like a mountain​

bike, the only difference being a catastrophic crash where the fork gets bent severely. When that​

happens, we’re out $125. How much does your front shock cost?​

I am certainly not going try to convince you that cross bikes are the panacea of law enforcement.​

I will tell you that once our officers ride cross bikes, you can’t get them on mountain bikes​

unless they are off-duty. Are cross bikes big, burly, gnarly vehicles of mayhem? No, they are​

not. They are skinny, sleek, and inspire an emotional response when you see them moving, like​

cheetahs. Cheetahs, built for speed, efficiency and durability over the long run. Are cross bikes​

the complete package that have no equal and should be looked upon as the “be-all-end-all” of​

police cycling? Absolutely not. Several years ago, when patrol rifles came into the law​

enforcement environment – which many resisted – we did not get rid of the shotgun. Both are​

now considered indispensable. We now have options. You can call me a heretic if you like, but​

look at our success and ask yourself, “is this a viable alternative?” Who knows, maybe we can​

save some money on letterhead and drop the M….​

Want to see a cool video produced in support of this article? Contact Jim at​

jt10x@insightbb.com.​

James is a 14-year veteran of the Covington Police Dept. He has been on bike patrol for seven​

years and was certified as an IPMBA instructor in 2007. He is a graduate of the Park Tools​

Mechanics Course and is a devotee of cyclo-cross bikes.

 

[summerdays]

Well on one hand quite a few motorists think cyclists should have training (and liciences etc), and yet on the other hand they object to the police force also having training. I think whilst many of the points in the manual will be well known there will be little points which won't - a manual covering from the basic's upwards allows you to skim the bits you do know and concentrate on the bits you don't.

I think they should put any journalist who wrote an article mocking the police cycling manual on a bike and get them to ride with the police for a day and experience the job. (I'm sure the police officer could think up a route to show off all his skills well such as going down flights of steps etc.

 

[Scoosh]

^ ^ ^ I enjoyed that ^ ^ ^ !
[the one above the one above

]

(but it was a bit too long to 'Reply/quote'

)



Thanks

 

[Vikeonabike]

well, quite. I'm darn sure I couldn't do the job.

Am i right in thinking that you have to ride a bike down a set of steps?

Hi Dell, yes riding up and down steps is part of the course (Not that I've beeen allowed on it yet). Most kids can ride down a flight of steps on thier bikes. Problem we have is that you are putting people on bikes that probably haven't ridden in 20 years. And possibly being requireed to chase some oik whose only concern is to get away. They won't be on an MTB with Full Paniers, carrying 20 Kilos of Kit and equipment either!

 

[dellzeqq]

up and down steps!!!

The bikes do have a fair bit of kit on them. I used to ask the police officers on Critical Mass if they wouldn't mind lifting my bike (or lifting Susie's bike, which is lighter still) - which they did, taking it in good part. I reckon that Susie's bike would be about a third of the weight of a laden Smith and Wesson

 

[Vikeonabike]

^ ^ ^ I enjoyed that ^ ^ ^ !
[the one above the one above

]

(but it was a bit too long to 'Reply/quote'

)



Thanks

Wonder if Planet x will do me a Speacial edition Black and White Uncle John?

I've always thought that a rigid 29er MTB would make a good Police Bike, never thought of a Cyclo X bike though....trouble is I would want to ride it home too!

 

[dellzeqq]

have you seen the Mayor's Bike Squad jobbys. They are tasty!

(for the avoidance of doubt it's the one against the window)

 

[bottombracket]

@vikeonabike

Great find! Very interesting...

we use these bikes to fight with a lot.

I've heard of police bikes being used in this way (from a US training course) but never seen any of the techniques employed.

Wonder if it's anything like this?
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View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecsGvqvskXw

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[Vikeonabike]

Defence using Bikes

34 videos of Police cycle training...some more relvant than others..

The reason for training

I need to write a letter,
I think it starts....Dear Mr Genesis Bikes...Please can you send me a Croix De Fer with Police markings and blue lights and sirens and stuff.
Love you lots
Vike

 

[dellzeqq]

Defence using Bikes

very amusing - but most of us would throw ourselves in front of our bikes to protect them!

My brother used to supply bikes to Devon and Cornwall. They were great customers - forever wrecking the bikes jumping off lumps of granite on Dartmoor.

 

[Vikeonabike]

On a slightly different level...this made me laugh LOTS....
But it does show a level of misunderstanding of what a bike cop can do!
Bike Cop

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Face 1: "Cycling is easy, a 7 year old can do it"

Face 2: "Why are cyclists allowed on the road without training an accreditation"


The only nonsense is the reporting

 

[Vikeonabike]

very amusing - but most of us would throw ourselves in front of our bikes to protect them!

It's different when you don't pay for them....you aren't quite so attached! Espeacially when you know they will be repaired or replaced if damaged! However, my job bike gets well looked after, it doesn't get lent out either although it is officially a station resource!