Firstly, i reckon its a great idea, but i have a question….how do you get your bikes? and do you have to service them yourselves? can you just take them in to a shop if they need work doing?

do you get to choose what you ride? like C2W?

I’m not any of these, but I saw a couple of policemen going into an LBS in MK to pick up their Police liveried bikes that had just been serviced. They were Giant off road looking hybrid things.

Also seen a sustrans warden doing the same at an LBS next to one of their routes.

Thinking of a career change for a free bike?

Done a bit of research. My local LBS supplies the local cops with bikes. They are given a budget to work to per bike, and make suggestions based on what the cops want them for. Only a few know a good bike from a crap one, until they ride one.
The shop has a regular service contract, and the bikes must be taken there for regular servicing. There are several teams within the area the shop supplies, and the bikes range from some Merida Matts bought about 5 years ago ( a fleet of about ten bikes), and three other teams that own getting on for 20 Cube Acids between them. Other teams have a mixture of bikes given or funded over time that the shop hasn’t supplied, and the LBS services them too.

Not too clued up on the current set up, but when initially set up in Manchester Paramedic bikes were supplied liveried up by Leisure Lakes. Routine servicing also carried out by them, minor bits & bobs taken care of by the Paramedics themselves.

We have our own bike mechanic in Hampshire, he’s kept pretty busy as far as I’m aware!

Local bike shop contract where I work, Giant hybrids, pretty nippy

Bought by the employer in bulk after a tendering process by finance types with no knowledge like anything else, then signed up onto a shockingly expensive service contract with a local bike shop (20 quid to fix a puncture), too paranoid to let experienced cyclist officers fix or tinker, and issue a recall and training programme when the bars come loose on a bike ridden by a PCSO with no idea how or what to check pre-ride. Just my experiences…

Any cycle paramedics / police on here? quick question if you please….

you omitted fire service

Firstly, i reckon its a great idea,

you are correct

but i have a question….how do you get your bikes?

Same way everyone else does, buy them. Usually from a shop as small quantities but some manufacturers will sell direct.

and do you have to service them yourselves?

As a fleet vehicle it should only be worked on by a suitably qualified tecnician/spanner monkey. This excludes basic roadside repairs (puncture etc) as covered during the cycle training course the user will have been on.

can you just take them in to a shop if they need work doing?

Yes, if you have an account/agreement/pay.

do you get to choose what you ride? like C2W?

No, the fleet will be chosen by the organising manager usually according to budget.

Also seen a sustrans warden doing the same at an LBS next to one of their routes.

I was a Sustrans Ranger for a while.
We were all volunteers using our own bikes at our own expense. All we got was a free “Sustrans Volunteer Ranger” frame sticker.

The police round me all ride smith & wesson ‘tactical’ bikes (no joke) they look quite cheap but probably cost a mint!

The police round me all ride smith & wesson ‘tactical’ bikes (no joke) they look quite cheap but probably cost a mint!

I bet they’re frantically overpriced

Andy

Any cycle paramedics / police on here?

Yes, with the ambulance service here in London.

how do you get your bikes?

As far as I’m aware, the bikes were bought direct from Specialized then kitted out with panniers, racks, lights etc in-house.
The new bikes (Cubes) I’m not so sure about. I could probably find out for you though.

do you have to service them yourselves?

Some of the guys are Cytech trained, not sure which level though, and they used to do all the maintenance in-house. Over the last year it’s been put out to a company who come round once a month and service the bikes.

can you just take them in to a shop if they need work doing?

No.

do you get to choose what you ride? like C2W?

Again no. We get what we’re given.
as for C2W, our service don’t even run it for their staff!

One of the police bikes here in Sheffield is a Santa Cruz with a rohloff hub. That’s got to be someone who knows what they are doing as the rest look to be basic Specialized bikes

our has been stopped now, but the bikes were supplied in association with a local bike shop who sponsored the program IIRC, servicing was done by the staff who rode the bikes. We had Marins, Specialized and then some fancy tourer thing with built in rack on the back and hub gears IIRC.

Police here.

We do basic services to the bikes ourselves (a mixture of a few tools that we’ve bought plus some hand-me-downs that we owned personally). Anything we can’t fix ourselves (bear in mind that the bikes get pretty trashed on training courses as people learn to descend steps, fast dismounts, etc), takes a few weeks to go through procurement (we used to just take the bikes to the shop to get fixed, but soon got a slap).

Id seriously like to see said fast dismount? If “The Bill” had more of that id of watched it.Ive only ever seen Police bikes stopped whilst the officers have a rest .Sorry it reads like a troll ooppps.

They’re probably resting to cool down – cycling under a stab vest isn’t much fun!

Tbf I’ve never seen a fast dismount done in anger. (Probably the wrong choice of phrase…)

Id seriously like to see said fast dismount?

In my opinion the world leaders in this are the Dutch cycle cops, i know some from Amsterdam and they don’t fek about, i’ve seen video footage of them practicing, including take downs & use of firearms whilst dismounting from the bike. Serious sheet.