Benelli E-Bike: Best for the Job

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by Felix Cauhape
Allen (TX) Police Department

In 2020, my department was looking to reorganize our bike unit. This included replacing the old, worn-out bikes in our fleet. Benelli provided us with a police e-Bike to test out. All the members of the unit were given the opportunity to ride the bike and offer their opinions.

On my first walk around the Benelli, I noticed it came equipped with integrated red and blue lights, a horn, a siren, and a bag. The only thing we wanted to add was an odometer. The medium frame seemed tall and there isn’t much difference between the medium and large frame. I was able to adjust the stem and sit upright, without my magazines and other equipment on my belt pushing into my stomach. The bag is expandable and I was able to fit all the paperwork and necessary equipment for a call in it. The weight is significant and had me worried about the 100-yard (90-meter) bike carry we do in our bike PT test.

When I took the Benelli out, my goal was to find its limit. The city I serve has an outlet mall, shopping centers with parking garages, lots of walking trails, and some fields.

If I wasn’t actually responding to a call, I would find areas in which I could hypothetically think of a reason I would need to ride, and off I went.

The Benelli extended the range of my patrol. I easily responded to calls that normally I would have been worried about how long it was going to take me to get there and what condition I was going to be in once there.

The assist from the electric motor made being on the streets with traffic a much easier task, especially when negotiating intersections. I even successfully stopped vehicles speeding in a school zone.

The big, wide tires of the Benelli made crossing wet fields easy. Plus, the assist from the motor helped me keep my momentum. I did discover that on the single-track dirt trails, I wasn’t able to get to the top of a hill like I would have with a traditional bike. However, the walk-assist function on the bike made my “walk of shame” to the top easier.

I rode with battery off just to test how it felt. The heavier weight was definitely noticeable; however, it wasn’t a showstopper. I never completely drained the battery during patrol, which included a 10-hour day on the bike, working special events. Some of my fellow team members did find the limit of the battery during an eight-hour bike unit training day in which we rode to the far end of a neighboring city.

I never had an issue navigating crowded areas or working protests. I never had to lift the bike around during those incidents, which I was thankful for, since the weight would have made it a serious workout!

Considering how much you get for the price, the Benelli couldn’t be beat. It was less than half the cost of other e-Bikes and about the same as a conventional bike, plus Benelli was actually able to deliver the bike not long after we ordered them.

If there is a downside, it seems Benelli may have saved some money with their manufacturing and parts. I was able to make the crank make a repeating cracking noise. Benelli apparently has decided to make up for any manufacturing issues with customer service. Our Benelli rep has come by and fixed any of the issues we have had. I do worry that this is a testament to our rep and not Benelli.

After months of using the bike, responding to all types of calls, and working special events, I was asked by my supervisor which bike I wanted. Though I really wanted to tell him I wanted a traditional bike, I knew the Benelli e-Bike was the best for the job. Six out of the eight members on the team chose the Benelli. The other two indicated the reason was the weight; they opted for traditional bikes.

Felix has been a member of the Allen Police Department's bike unit since 2020. His primary duty is to serve as a patrol officer who has the additional capability of a police bike carried on his patrol vehicle. With the exception of inclement weather days or other special circumstances, he has had his police bike with him every day of work since his IPMBA certification. He can be reached at fcauhape@cityofallen.org.

Input from the Manufacturer

We try to strike a solid balance between construction costs and value delivered. Lower specification components like the Acera derailleur (as opposed to Deore, for instance) are in place to reduce cost; however, they still provide excellent service life as the assist reduces wear and tear on the drivetrain overall. We also invest the savings into items like the derailleur guards to help keep everything out of harm’s way. We can certainly build using higher spec equipment if desired; the trade-off is an increased cost to the department.

We always look for opportunities to make our products better. By servicing our customers, we are better able to identify areas that need adjustment/improvement. For example, through feedback from our customers, we have already revised assist-mapping and further optimized overall performance as these situations have not been encountered in typical consumer use. In essence, when something gets broken, we take care of our customer and look at how to improve production at the same time.

With regard to the crank noise, Allen Police Department has encountered this twice. One was due to a crank arm working loose, the other was a crank shell that had loosened up. Since we use sealed bearings, nothing was found as defective in the crank. We replaced one of the crank arms, the other we checked the torque sensor and re-secured the bearing shell.

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