Bike Cop gear in Durham, NC



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A

Andrey Platanov

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I went for a ride yesterday and came across a couple of bike cops here in Durham. Since they were
writing a ticket, they were off of their bikes and I had a chance to chat and check out their gear.

The were riding Cannondale MTBs with front suspension. The tires were the same as mine, which
pleased me -- Continental Town & Country -- an inexpensive road tire for MTBs.

Neither bike had toe clips on the pedals. I asked them about that and they said that they needed to
get their feet on and off the bike often. That seemed like a newbie misconception about toe clips
until one of them said that he used to use them but took them off the other day. So, at least he had
actually tried them.

The bike had a kickstand next to the rear hub. It also had a rear rack trunk. I peeked into the
trunk since it was unzipped and it was mostly empty. I guess they just keep their ticket book and a
pen in there.

The bikes did not have water bottle cages. I asked them what they do for water and they said that
they just go into the local stores. Makes sense since they can police the stores while they get a
drink. (I wonder if they lock the bikes up outside or maybe bring them into the stores?)

The bikes did not have a cycling computer. My guess is that it is probably a distraction to them
since they are working and not playing and don't really need the feedback of distance, time, and
speed that a computer gives. They did have a ridiculous battery-powered red light strobe on the
handlebar, though. Seems like they'd be better off with an air horn to get a motorist's attention.

The bikes did not have fenders which I thought they would need. Their uniforms were half yellow neon
and would show up back splatter quite dramatically.

Lastly, as an observation from seeing them around before and after, the officers don't really ride
their bikes hard at all. They mostly cruise and coast so that they can keep an eye on things and do
the policing. It's kind of like walking a beat I guess.
 
Andrey Platanov <[email protected]> writes:

> Neither bike had toe clips on the pedals. I asked them about that and they said that they needed
> to get their feet on and off the bike often. That seemed like a newbie misconception about toe
> clips until one of them said that he used to use them but took them off the other day. So, at
> least he had actually tried them.

(snippage)

What are toe clips like these days? It's been probably fifteen years since I've ridden a bike with
toe clips, which were then leather strap and metal affairs on my bike that took a lot of time to get
used to. I never got really fast at reaching down to loosen one and pull my foot out. Is this a
newbie misconception about them?

--
Rob St. Amant http://www4.ncsu.edu/~stamant
 
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> Andrey Platanov <[email protected]> writes:
>
> > Neither bike had toe clips on the pedals. I asked them about that and they said that they needed
> > to get their feet on and off the bike often. That seemed like a newbie misconception about toe
> > clips until one of them said that he used to use them but took them off the other day. So, at
> > least he had actually tried them.
>
> (snippage)
>
> What are toe clips like these days? It's been probably fifteen years since I've ridden a bike with
> toe clips, which were then leather strap and metal affairs on my bike that took a lot of time to
> get used to. I never got really fast at reaching down to loosen one and pull my foot out. Is this
> a newbie misconception about them?

Mine are nylon straps with plastic clips, and I leave them just loose enough that I can pull my foot
out of them by pulling it straight back. They are still tight enough that I can get some ability to
pull back and up on the pedal if needed.

--
David Kerber An optimist says "Good morning, Lord." While a pessimist says "Good Lord,
it's morning".

Remove the ns_ from the address before e-mailing.
 
> Neither bike had toe clips on the pedals. I asked them about that and they said that they needed
> to get their feet on and off the bike often. That seemed like a newbie misconception about toe
> clips until one of them said that he used to use them but took them off the other day. So, at
> least he had actually tried them.

The should go SPD with multi release cleats. It'll be funny watching the police doing comedy falls
till they get used to them, but the extra acceleration for the chase would be a real benefit.
 
These two bike cops were wearing black leather, high-top sneakers. No brand was evident.

On Thu, 19 Jun 2003 15:55:14 +0100, "martinroyce" <[email protected]> wrote:

>The should go SPD with multi release cleats. It'll be funny watching the police doing comedy falls
>till they get used to them, but the extra acceleration for the chase would be a real benefit.
 
Andrey Platanov wrote:

> Neither bike had toe clips on the pedals. I asked them about that and they said that they needed
> to get their feet on and off the bike often. That seemed like a newbie misconception about toe
> clips until one of them said that he used to use them but took them off the other day. So, at
> least he had actually tried them.
>
[snip]
>
> Lastly, as an observation from seeing them around before and after, the officers don't really ride
> their bikes hard at all. They mostly cruise and coast so that they can keep an eye on things and
> do the policing. It's kind of like walking a beat I guess.

Here at the University of SC the bicycle cops ride really hard and have a technique for catching
runners that go where the bikes can't go. They somehow manage to switch feet while rolling fast , so
that the right foot replaces the left, while they do a sort of sliding standup, jump off running,
and let the bike fall where it may, while they run down the miscreant, usually a mugger.

Their bikes are equipped with blue revolving lights and really loud sirens.

They do most of the night work around campus and have a good arrest record.

The city of Columbia, on the other hand, thinks the bikes are toys, and don't have any bike patrols.
Nighttime foot crime is rampant.

Alexander Gilchrist
 
"martinroyce" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...

> > Neither bike had toe clips on the pedals. I asked them about that and they said that they needed
> > to get their feet on and off the bike often. That seemed like a newbie misconception about toe
> > clips until one of them said that he used to use them but took them off the other day. So, at
> > least he had actually tried them.
>
> The should go SPD with multi release cleats. It'll be funny watching the police doing comedy falls
> till they get used to them, but the extra acceleration for the chase would be a real benefit.

The problem is being able to run easily/safely in SPD shoes. They still need to be able to chase
people on foot.

For SPDs to work properly the sole has to be pretty stiff, which doesn't make for a good running
shoe. Diadora makes a special police shoe, a black ankle boot that's like an SPD-compatible Rockport
or Reebok. They work pretty well, but are still not as good a compromise as a normal police-issue
running shoe with plain pedals with toeclips.

Matt O.
 
"Alexander Gilchrist" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...

> Here at the University of SC the bicycle cops ride really hard and have a technique for catching
> runners that go where the bikes can't go. They somehow manage to switch feet while rolling fast ,
> so that the right foot replaces the left, while they do a sort of sliding standup, jump off
> running, and let the bike fall where it may, while they run down the miscreant, usually a mugger.
>
> Their bikes are equipped with blue revolving lights and really loud sirens.
>
> They do most of the night work around campus and have a good arrest record.
>
> The city of Columbia, on the other hand, thinks the bikes are toys, and don't have any bike
> patrols. Nighttime foot crime is rampant.

I'm not surprised at that attitude "down thay-uh," but look at the difference in the missions of
these two police depts. The university police have a pretty small area with a relatively high
population density to cover. It's a "village" situation, which is perfect for bike patrols. OTOH,
Columbia proper is a suburban sprawl where relatively few officers have to cover a large area. Yes
there's a downtown, but it's a small percentage of the whole, relatively speaking. Bikes may not be
a good use of police resources in that situation. It's also incredibly hot and humid for at least a
third of the year. Officers in an air conditioned car would be a lot more effective (and a lot less
miserable).

Matt O.
 
Andrey Platanov said:
> The were riding Cannondale MTBs with front suspension. The tires were the same as mine, which
> pleased me -- Continental Town & Country -- an inexpensive road tire for MTBs.
We've got bike cops here, too (A college town suburb of Chicago). They ride cannondales, too
probably with those tires.
> Neither bike had toe clips on the pedals.
I think some of ours use toe clips. It seems silly - those things scare the **** out of me, being as
how they're all difficult to get out of. You'd think they would use the walk/runable SPD shoes, or
something.
> The bike had a kickstand next to the rear hub. It also had a rear rack trunk. I peeked into the
> trunk since it was unzipped and it was mostly empty. I guess they just keep their ticket book and
> a pen in there.
Ours have racks with little bags on them too. The cops are adorned with all their instruments
of... coppery. Guns, beating sticks, cuffs, and all sorts of other things. I don't know what they
keep in their bag. They've all got the NightRider lights, too - the dual-beam ones with a
waterbottle battery.
> (I wonder if they lock the bikes up outside or maybe bring them into the stores?)
Good question. Think they would bother locking them up? Ours are very clearly marked as POLICE. It
would take balls to steal one of those... Where would you ride it?
> The bikes did not have a cycling computer.
Makes sense, I suppose. No one REALLY needs one - they're nice to
train with but cops aren't really "training" in our sense of the word.
> The bikes did not have fenders which I thought they would need. Their uniforms were half yellow
> neon and would show up back splatter quite dramatically.
Dunno if ours have fenders or no. The cops wear darker clothing, clearly a cop shirt and usually
black shorts or something.
> Lastly, as an observation from seeing them around before and after, the officers don't really ride
> their bikes hard at all.
Seems about the same here. I've often wanted one of them to get bent out of shape about riding 2
abreast or something, and have to chase some bikers. See what they could do. I do a fair bit of
riding in our little downtown (where they tend to congregate) but have never provoked one. That's
good, right? Matt
 
Andrey wrote:
> I went for a ride yesterday and came across a couple of bike cops here in Durham. Since they
> were writing a ticket, they were off of their bikes and I had a chance to chat and check out
> their gear.
>
> The were riding Cannondale MTBs with front suspension. The tires were the same as mine, which
> pleased me -- Continental Town & Country -- an inexpensive road tire for MTBs.
>
> Neither bike had toe clips on the pedals. I asked them about that and they said that they needed
> to get their feet on and off the bike often. That seemed like a newbie misconception about toe
> clips until one of them said that he used to use them but took them off the other day. So, at
> least he had actually tried them.

When I was riding with the platoons for this piece
(http://home.earthlink.net/~kmssavage/writing.htm#Police%20Cyclist) I noticed that most of 'em
seemed to have PowerGrips. So I got a set, and then three more for the tandem/trail-a-bike rig.
They're nice. So are bike cops, BTW. I've had more good conversations with those people, usually
starting with me saying, "tradeja!?" --Karen M.
 
In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> Andrey Platanov said:
> > The were riding Cannondale MTBs with front suspension. The tires were the same as mine, which
> > pleased me -- Continental Town & Country -- an inexpensive road tire for MTBs.
> We've got bike cops here, too (A college town suburb of Chicago). They ride cannondales, too
> probably with those tires.
> > Neither bike had toe clips on the pedals.
> I think some of ours use toe clips. It seems silly - those things scare the **** out of me, being
> as how they're all difficult to get out of.

Why do you think they're hard to get out of? I just yank my foot straight back and it's out.

...

> some bikers. See what they could do. I do a fair bit of riding in our little downtown (where they
> tend to congregate) but have never provoked one. That's good, right?

Usually <Grin>.

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.
 
On 19 Jun 2003 16:37:43 -0700, [email protected] (Karen M.) wrote:

> When I was riding with the platoons for this piece
> (http://home.earthlink.net/~kmssavage/writing.htm#Police%20Cyclist) I noticed that most of 'em
> seemed to have PowerGrips. So I got a set, and then three more for the tandem/trail-a-bike rig.
> They're nice. So are bike cops, BTW. I've had more good conversations with those people, usually
> starting with me saying, "tradeja!?" --Karen M.

Interesting article that you referenced. I liked the part about bike cops being able to "sneak up"
on crimes nice and stealthy.

Um, what is "tradeja"?
 
"Andrey Platanov" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I went for a ride yesterday and came across a couple of bike cops here in Durham. Since they
> were writing a ticket, they were off of their bikes and I had a chance to chat and check out
> their gear.
>
> The were riding Cannondale MTBs with front suspension. The tires were the same as mine, which
> pleased me -- Continental Town & Country -- an inexpensive road tire for MTBs.
>
> Neither bike had toe clips on the pedals. I asked them about that and they said that they needed
> to get their feet on and off the bike often. That seemed like a newbie misconception about toe
> clips until one of them said that he used to use them but took them off the other day. So, at
> least he had actually tried them.
>
I was recently in New Mexico, and met some bike cops. Being a full time bike geek and a part time
bike mechanic, I was interested in the bikes.

Here's a picture I took: http://jrees.net/images/Abq_Police.jpg

Both of these officers used clipless spd pedals and special shoes with recessed cleats. One was
using the same spec Cannondale you describe, with the headshock fork. Most of the forces bikes are
the Cannondale. All their cars - all of the ones I saw - had bike racks on the back. Which is a good
idea if an office needs backup and gets injured or needs to be somewhere else fast.

Two smaller pictures http://jrees.net/images/Abq_Police2.jpg http://jrees.net/images/Abq_Police3.jpg

John Rees
 
> Um, what is "tradeja"?

This is a phonetic spelling for spoken and slurred "trade you?"

A similar example: Djeetyet? Nah, jew? (Did you eat yet? No, did you?)

Daniel B. Martin
 
On Fri, 20 Jun 2003 11:57:16 GMT, "Daniel B. Martin" <[email protected]> wrote:

>> Um, what is "tradeja"?
>
>This is a phonetic spelling for spoken and slurred "trade you?"
>

Well, that makes sense now. I was thinking that "tradeja" was a spanish term related to biking. :)
 
On Fri, 20 Jun 2003 11:57:16 GMT, "Daniel B. Martin" <[email protected]> wrote:

>> Um, what is "tradeja"?
>
>This is a phonetic spelling for spoken and slurred "trade you?"

Yeah, but what are you offering to trade if you slur it to a bike cop?

Jasper
 
On Fri, 20 Jun 2003, Daniel B. Martin wrote:
> A similar example: Djeetyet? Nah, jew? (Did you eat yet? No, did you?)

Are you by any chance from Rhode Island?

-Brendon
 
Brendon Troy wrote:
>
> On Fri, 20 Jun 2003, Daniel B. Martin wrote:
> > A similar example: Djeetyet? Nah, jew? (Did you eat yet? No, did you?)
>
> Are you by any chance from Rhode Island?
>
> -Brendon

You meant Rho Disland, right?
 
On Fri, 20 Jun 2003, C G wrote:

> Brendon Troy wrote:
> >
> > On Fri, 20 Jun 2003, Daniel B. Martin wrote:
> > > A similar example: Djeetyet? Nah, jew? (Did you eat yet? No, did you?)
> >
> > Are you by any chance from Rhode Island?
> >
> > -Brendon
>
> You meant Rho Disland, right?

Well, we're not quite "Lon Giland" but ... yes, haha. The specific "Djeet? No, Jew?" line was
featured in a routine by Charlie Hall, a RI comedian who was pretty good at making fun of his home
state (as well as honoring it from time to time) and reminded me of it. We're an odd bunch, we
Ocean-Staters.

Brendon
 
Brendon Troy wrote:
> We're an odd bunch, we Ocean-Staters.
>
> Brendon

I know that quite well.

Chuck URI '82
 
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