Aluminium vs. Steel for Polo Frames

when i tried gabes' bike...

did you ask first? tut tut...

Steel is real!

steel is real!

+1,000,000

ps. snoopert your bike is going to fail

it was creaking on tuesday actually, after you rode head on into me from 30 yards away. if it does fail i'll know who to blame.

this is what it was like - YouTube - Austin Powers 1- Stoooooooooooooooop!

it was tactical

we won though, try a new tactic.

He he.

we won though, try a new tactic.

Well, seeing as he can't shoot, can't dribble and can't pass, t-boning is all he has left.

i dont know if you know what a T looks like bill but im pretty sure a head on crash isnt a tbone

but if say, someone was sitting in goal and someone road straight into them off the ball, would that be a Tbone?

but if say, someone was sitting in goal and someone road straight into them off the ball, would that be a Tbone?

Absolutely definitely. And if it was me doing it to you, that would be called retaliation.

Absolutely definitely. And if it was me doing it to you, that would be called retaliation.

I am looking forward to tonight!

alu is lighter, which i believe makes a huge difference. most peoples polo bike are ridiculously heavy.

In polo, it's acceleration from a standing start that is important. 2 or 3 things will affect this: length of cranks - shorter cranks = less leverage; rotating weight, ie wheels, heavier wheels will accelerate slower; stiffness of b/b, rear triangle area, ie when you push down on the pedals, the less sideways deflection of the rear triangle area. I reckon that weight of frame has little impact on any of these factors, but ally is generally stiffer so will deflect less (all other factors being equal). Personally, I prefer steel because it is more resilient. The ideal would be a ti frame, very durable, light and can be made stiff. Carbon is, of course, a poor choice.

A valuable post there Bill.
The trick with polo is trying to find the mark inbetween those factors and strength/pedal strike issues.

A valuable post there Bill.
The trick with polo is trying to find the mark inbetween those factors and strength/pedal strike issues.

Yeah, that was the beauty of those speedplay frog pedals - really low profile. On the few occasions that I used flats, I was getting pedal strike all the time.

Yeah, that was the beauty of those speedplay frog pedals - really low profile. On the few occasions that I used flats, I was getting pedal strike all the time.

Most MTB clipless pedals should give you an advantage, as they are about an inch less wide than flats, but without being hugely deeper (below the axle).

Ti would be great for polo, but it's great for everything, so I guess that's no surprise.