5 ms·

The new horsemen: why American riot police embraced the bicycle

35 points by xwvvvvwx 9y ago

brad0 9y ago
This article was well written. I liked the detail they went into describing the bike setup. Going to a 1x11 gear setup is interesting. The idea about mobility is very true today and in the future. Less people own cars and are restricted normally by foot themselves in protest situations.
- Shivetya 9y ago
  the great side effect is that it can keep their people healthy both from not sitting in cars all day to the simple act of peddling around. throw in as pointed out that they are closer to the community as an extra benefit. even having them on bikes may encourage kids and others to ride more. still it must be recognized you need a stable environment where police are not forced back into cars and armored vehicles. America's protests tend to be under the snide remark "first world problems" but they can sometimes still highlight issues faced by others outside the country. What we can do with a lot less is some of the recent irresponsible behavior put forth by certain "PACs" and late night people. * OT, first time I have encountered this form of funding for an online paper. donate people
- fivestar 9y ago
  There is nothing unusual about 1x11 these days.
zdkl 9y ago
> “The bikes are a form of de-escalation in themselves. If you go into any group of people, almost everyone has ridden a bike. It means you have something in common, something to talk about.” I once had a stick too, doesn't make me want to chat with the guys in body armor and helmet-cameras.
- sametmax 9y ago
  Yeah but if a cop ride a motocycle and you do too, things tend to be smoother. Simple things...
liotier 9y ago
> “It gives them tactical advantages” As "critical mass' demonstrations show, bicycles are a tactical advantage for protesters too.
- Theodores 9y ago
  You also get the benefits of being able to change between pedestrian and road user modes. In road user mode the highway code applies and you can be just regular traffic and not hemmed in. The London Critical Mass riders were crucial back in the day for taking ownership of the highway, so that pedestrian protestors can then do the classic march up the road, unmolested by cars. Reclaim The Streets was therefore reliant on bikes.
peteretep 9y ago
> some observers calling [police using > bikes] evidence of the militarisation > of policing Oh come on. Police using armoured vehicles, maybe. Pushbikes? Sounds like my kind of cop.
- MrZongle2 9y ago
  It's lazy journalism: "some observers", "some critics", "a source close to", "insiders say" ... generic, unsubstantiated claims to support a position or a straw man.
  - peteretep 9y ago
    To give the journalist credit, he did then name and quote someone with this view - it was sufficiently asinine that I didn't bother including it in my quote
strgrd 9y ago
> And they have disc brakes, which was the whole reason the department chose a local company – back in 2005, when they were shopping for the bikes, the big companies such as Kona couldn’t provide them. I seriously doubt "the whole reason" they went local was because they couldn't find disc brakes in 2005. This is trivial to fact check, just look at Kona's catalog from 2004: http://www.konabikeworld.com/tech/catalog/catalog_2k4.htm http://www.konabikeworld.com/tech/catalog/catalog_2k4.htm Every mountain bike that's not a BMX or DJ has disk brakes.
- GhostVII 9y ago
  Also disc brakes aren't really helpful when you are just riding around in the city, just higher maintenance. It would probably be better to just get some decent rim brakes.
  - norea-armozel 9y ago
    Depends. As I use to bicycle all over my hometown during my college days rim brakes could be a problem when it rained or snowed. Mostly because the obvious problem of getting a solid grip on the rim is impeded by the moisture. I'm not sure if a disc brake is any better in this capacity but if it is even marginally better then if I was a PD using bikes to get riot police around I would accept the cost of the maintenance of a disc brake over rim ones.
- howard941 9y ago
  TFA says they chose it because of the mechanical actuation vs the hydraulic disc actuation. However it could have been updated after your comment.
  - strgrd 9y ago
    Yes TFA was amended because AFR decided to send AFE and get it corrected.
    - aptwebapps 9y ago
GhostVII 9y ago
Seems like they went a bit overkill with the bikes. They don't need an expensive fork and disc brakes, a cheap one with rim brakes would work just fine.
- maxerickson 9y ago
  As long as they aren't buying many more than 1 per year per officer it doesn't matter a whole lot.

35 points by xwvvvvwx 9y ago

This article was well written. I liked the detail they went into describing the bike setup. Going to a 1x11 gear setup is interesting. The idea about mobility is very true today and in the future. Less people own cars and are restricted normally by foot themselves in protest situations.

Shivetya 9y ago
the great side effect is that it can keep their people healthy both from not sitting in cars all day to the simple act of peddling around. throw in as pointed out that they are closer to the community as an extra benefit. even having them on bikes may encourage kids and others to ride more. still it must be recognized you need a stable environment where police are not forced back into cars and armored vehicles. America's protests tend to be under the snide remark "first world problems" but they can sometimes still highlight issues faced by others outside the country. What we can do with a lot less is some of the recent irresponsible behavior put forth by certain "PACs" and late night people. * OT, first time I have encountered this form of funding for an online paper. donate people
fivestar 9y ago
There is nothing unusual about 1x11 these days.

zdkl 9y ago

> “The bikes are a form of de-escalation in themselves. If you go into any group of people, almost everyone has ridden a bike. It means you have something in common, something to talk about.” I once had a stick too, doesn't make me want to chat with the guys in body armor and helmet-cameras.

sametmax 9y ago
Yeah but if a cop ride a motocycle and you do too, things tend to be smoother. Simple things...

liotier 9y ago

> “It gives them tactical advantages” As "critical mass' demonstrations show, bicycles are a tactical advantage for protesters too.

Theodores 9y ago
You also get the benefits of being able to change between pedestrian and road user modes. In road user mode the highway code applies and you can be just regular traffic and not hemmed in. The London Critical Mass riders were crucial back in the day for taking ownership of the highway, so that pedestrian protestors can then do the classic march up the road, unmolested by cars. Reclaim The Streets was therefore reliant on bikes.

peteretep 9y ago

> some observers calling [police using > bikes] evidence of the militarisation > of policing Oh come on. Police using armoured vehicles, maybe. Pushbikes? Sounds like my kind of cop.

MrZongle2 9y ago
It's lazy journalism: "some observers", "some critics", "a source close to", "insiders say" ... generic, unsubstantiated claims to support a position or a straw man.
- peteretep 9y ago
  To give the journalist credit, he did then name and quote someone with this view - it was sufficiently asinine that I didn't bother including it in my quote

strgrd 9y ago

> And they have disc brakes, which was the whole reason the department chose a local company – back in 2005, when they were shopping for the bikes, the big companies such as Kona couldn’t provide them. I seriously doubt "the whole reason" they went local was because they couldn't find disc brakes in 2005. This is trivial to fact check, just look at Kona's catalog from 2004: http://www.konabikeworld.com/tech/catalog/catalog_2k4.htm http://www.konabikeworld.com/tech/catalog/catalog_2k4.htm Every mountain bike that's not a BMX or DJ has disk brakes.

GhostVII 9y ago
Also disc brakes aren't really helpful when you are just riding around in the city, just higher maintenance. It would probably be better to just get some decent rim brakes.
- norea-armozel 9y ago
  Depends. As I use to bicycle all over my hometown during my college days rim brakes could be a problem when it rained or snowed. Mostly because the obvious problem of getting a solid grip on the rim is impeded by the moisture. I'm not sure if a disc brake is any better in this capacity but if it is even marginally better then if I was a PD using bikes to get riot police around I would accept the cost of the maintenance of a disc brake over rim ones.
howard941 9y ago
TFA says they chose it because of the mechanical actuation vs the hydraulic disc actuation. However it could have been updated after your comment.
- strgrd 9y ago
  Yes TFA was amended because AFR decided to send AFE and get it corrected.
  - aptwebapps 9y ago

GhostVII 9y ago

Seems like they went a bit overkill with the bikes. They don't need an expensive fork and disc brakes, a cheap one with rim brakes would work just fine.

maxerickson 9y ago
As long as they aren't buying many more than 1 per year per officer it doesn't matter a whole lot.