Childhood Favorite Haro Bikes Furnishes Police Departments With the PD1 Bicycle

Ladies and gents, the bike you see here is known as the PD1. My personal guess is that PD stands for Police Department, but that info doesn’t seem to be sustained by the manufacturer's website. Nonetheless, it would make sense, wouldn’t it?

Whether that’s true or not doesn’t negate the fact this bicycle is specifically designed for the men and women in blue. Now, whether this trinket can be accessed by the common folk remains a mystery. Seeing as how this bike is sold out on the Haro website, even if you wanted one, you can’t have one. However, that doesn’t stop me from showing you what our public protectors are riding around.

Like most bikes I look at, I'll start with the frameset. Here, Haro brings its new 2021 X6 Series aluminum construction with internal cable routing and chain stay disc brake mount. Speaking of mounting, if you look at the top tube, you’ll see it’s angled downward, much like on an urban commuter bike. This is done as to offer police as much mounting and dismounting clearance as possible. After all, you’ve got to be quick in all your actions when chasing fugitives.

Unlike urban bicycles, the PD1 includes a Suntour XCE fork that provides 100 mm (3.94 in) of travel. Coil preload adjuster and post-mount are also found on the fork. The rear, on the other hand, includes no suspension as you end up losing traction and expending precious energy when riding city terrains.

Even though there is no suspension on the rear, a pair of 27.5-inch Kenda Kwick Seven.5 tires provide plenty of vibrational attenuation and include K-Shield anti-puncture technology. If you’ve never heard of K-Shield, I'll try and make it as simple as possible. Kenda places a layer of aramid and ceramic particles under the tread to minimize punctures and strain.

Moving the bike along, of course the government chose Shimano for the job. The entire setup is set to the tune of 3 x 8 gearing, giving officers a full 24 speeds to work with. Front derailleur is a Tourney TY-700, while the rear is an Altus RD-310. Shifting is handled by an ST-EF500 3x8-speed shifter setup.

For braking, Promax DSK-300 mechanical brakes clamp down on a pair of 160 mm (6.3 in) rotors and are controlled by a pair of Tektro ML-520, two-finger, alloy levers.

One important feature for officers is the comfort the bike allows. Think about it, they’re out there possibly riding the bike around for eight hours, so one heck of a cockpit and seat are needed. Haro is currently furnishing the PD1 with mostly Pivit components. Handlebar, stem, and even seat post and clamp, all from the Pivit team. The saddle is a PD1 Design by WTB.

If you’ve ever seen police riding bikes around your town, you’ve also noticed those cute little carrier bags they have on the rear of the bike, sometimes making it impossible to take them seriously. Well, those carriers are available on the RD1, too, so go ahead and laugh if you will.

Personally, for the $799.99 Haro wants for this bike, I might’ve considered getting a PD1 as it shows good entry level specs. Maybe I find one for sale once my local police upgrades their vehicle range.