More police departments adopting high power 50 MPH electric bicycles

[FlatSix911]

From Electrek...

More police departments adopting high power 50 MPH electric bicycles for cops

Electric bicycles are becoming an increasingly common form of patrol vehicle in police departments around the world. But while some...

electrek.co

Electric bicycles are becoming an increasingly common form of patrol vehicle in police departments around the world. But while some police departments have opted for tamer rides, others are instead rolling out high power electric bicycles for patrol use. One of the more impressive models so far has been the Top Cop e-bike from Delfast. Delfast’s Top Cop e-bike is based on the company’s consumer-level version, the Top 2.0.

That bike has a rated top speed of 50 mph (80 km/h), making it one of the fastest production electric bicycles on the market. The bike features a 5kW rear hub motor and nearly 3.5kWh of battery providing a range of up to 174 miles (280 km). That’s almost as much battery as the entry-level Zero FXS electric motorcycle. Yet somehow stuffed into a bicycle.
Delfast claims that the Top Cop e-bike’s acceleration can “compete with most regular cars on a quarter-mile distance.”

 

[rich c]

More police departments? How many? A real fluff article. Delfast is all about huge numbers I guess, first incredible range and now incredible top speed.

 

[tomjasz]

Many threads on endless_sphere discussing this style of eBike. Which are really more eMotorcycle than sBike. Pedals are not really useable. Individuals add them for the illusion, odd that a PD would bother.

 

[opimax]

When the car next to you is driving recklessly, speeding and apppears to be a drunk driver, you report it to 911 and then they dispatch the hwy patrol to get the car off the road, do you want them to use a Yugo? Maybe a high speed pursuit vehicle would be a better choice.

This assumes they are not abusing the vehicle passing you on the trail at 50 scaring you to fall , or the mother pushing the baby carriage jumps for her life , etc.

another analogy could be do you want your police to become more military like ? This could look that way also. Take a picture of the bike next to some crowd control water cannons , make look even “meaner” , is this a good thing?

one thing is when you see it on the trail you know you should be lawful ... just the opposite of stealthy

i guess it may depend on your trust level of the authorities.

 

[tomjasz]

Let me see if I got this straight. If you ride that bike, it will probably be impounded because it's not street legal. But as soon as a cop puts his golden derrière on it, suddenly it becomes a bicycle...

And that makes sense?

I have a dozen friends and acquaintances that ride these "eBikes" and endless_sphere has scores of riders that get away with them. Not my cuppa, but I'm somewhat torn between, not fair and WTF why should I care?

BTW, the tires and wheels aren't bicycle parts.

 

[tomjasz]

Oh, I'm sure you can get away with it. I'm not debating that or even the vehicle's reason for existence. But I find it ironic that the POLICE calls this an electric bicycle. If you get pulled over riding one of these, do you really think the authorities will consider it as an electric bicycle? I'm having a really hard time believing that...

Full agreement!
Someone called it a fluff article. I really wonder how many cop shops are actually riding these.

 

[FlatSix911]

Let me see if I got this straight. If you ride that bike, it will probably be impounded because it's not street legal.
But as soon as a cop puts his golden derrière on it, suddenly it becomes a bicycle...
And that makes sense?

I agree 100%... if the cops are allowed to ride fast bikes, so should we.
Just like having a car capable of 100+ mph is street legal with a 65 mph speed limit.

 

[tomjasz]

Under those guidelines we’d be able to own restricted weapons without any guidelines. I’m on the fence here.

 

[Al P]

The police occasionally have to get from place to place as quickly as possible for various reasons. They are allowed to safely exceed the speed limit to get the job done. Personally, i would not want a bike that could do 50 mph. That isn't safe on streets and certainly not safe or legal on walking/biking trails. At 50 mph a crash would cause serious injuries or death, and those high speeds could endanger pedestrians. Some people don't wear helmets or protective clothing at 15 MPH. Would it be different at 50? Several forum members have posted about accidents at slow speeds where they received some pretty serious injuries. Would they still have been able to post their experience if it had been a high speed accident? Drivers don't always see bikes now. At high speeds, they would have no idea where you are at any given moment. Biking is supposed to be fun while exercising. I doubt you can peddle at 50 MPH.

 

[tomjasz]

The police occasionally have to get from place to place as quickly as possible for various reasons. They are allowed to safely exceed the speed limit to get the job done. Personally, i would not want a bike that could do 50 mph. That isn't safe on streets and certainly not safe or legal on walking/biking trails. At 50 mph a crash would cause serious injuries or death, and those high speeds could endanger pedestrians. Some people don't wear helmets or protective clothing at 15 MPH. Would it be different at 50? Several forum members have posted about accidents at slow speeds where they received some pretty serious injuries. Would they still have been able to post their experience if it had been a high speed accident? Drivers don't always see bikes now. At high speeds, they would have no idea where you are at any given moment. Biking is supposed to be fun while exercising. I doubt you can peddle at 50 MPH.

These types of bikes are anything but actual eBikes. All usually have high end hydraulic brakes. More akin to the Sur-Ron and KLS electric.

 

[Deleted member 4210]

Many threads on endless_sphere discussing this style of eBike. Which are really more eMotorcycle than sBike. Pedals are not really useable. Individuals add them for the illusion, odd that a PD would bother.

It's strange they call these ebikes. You need motorcycle everything to go at those speeds. No bike components would be safe, and these all should require VIN numbers and DOT safety certification. The market is being flooded with this stuff as loopholes in the laws are being exploited. It's ridiculous to have pedals on any 'bike' going above 30 mph. Everything changes in terms of ride dynamics, forces in turns, the wind impact. Your feet need to be on stable foot pegs rather than trying to pedal the thing. I'd rank those vehicles blurring the lines at the same level of rider risk and dangers as powered skateboards.

 

[sexton Tom]

I can see pedals being beneficial if they are doing security and crowd control for big events and just want to cruise very slowly. There are way to many law enforcement officers losing their lives needlessly by the hands of crack heads and wackos. Give them all the tools they need to stay safe and protect the innocent. Stay safe out there all you COPS !!!!!!!!!!!

 

[tomjasz]

I can see pedals being beneficial if they are doing security and crowd control for big events and just want to cruise very slowly. There are way to many law enforcement officers losing their lives needlessly by the hands of crack heads and wackos. Give them all the tools they need to stay safe and protect the innocent. Stay safe out there all you COPS !!!!!!!!!!!

They don't pedal well at all. I still think this whole story is bullspizzle. Or at the least overstated. Most cop shops are smarter than riding half motorcycle and half bicycle frankenbikes.