Polo Bikes

It's not about that, there is no point in having a horizontal top tube, it increases weight and decreases stiffness of the frame. As far as I can see, the only reason horizontal top tubes ever existed was because of industry standard lugs back in the day, and following from that, traditional aesthetics.

I'm not a frame builder though, someone please verify/dismiss my ramblings.

The more your toptube sloper, the longer your seatpost needs to be. Bit of a balancing act.

But your seat-post flexes beneficially, to achieve compact frame and minimal seat post flex I extended my seat tube beyond the top tube by about 10 cm.

The sloping toptube on mine is spot on, don't get my gonads on it, and also, when i'm braking real heavy, I can rest my knee/shin pad on the top tube to stop sliding off the saddle.

The more your toptube sloper, the longer your seatpost needs to be. Bit of a balancing act.

^ This is going on a fucking t-shirt...

On reflection...

More compact frame = stiffer to pedaling forces. The seatpost then flexes enough to give you comfort over bumps on the way home.

I need to type better.

Nah, I need to grow up...

Horizontal top tubes look better especially on a large 26" bike. Can someone come up with a legitimate benefit so that I can get one and claim it's not purely for aesthetics.

^ not true.

they look zany as! small 26" are much tidier.

It's more efficient under acceleration. Saying that though, the difference is minimal so you probably wouldn't notice the difference. It's handy to have the top tube there to lean against with your leg though, I suppose it's mainly personal preference.

Personally I would have a minimal slope in the TT so that my leg leans against it in a different place to where it does now.

Horizontal top tubes look better especially on a large 26" bike. Can someone come up with a legitimate benefit so that I can get one and claim it's not purely for aesthetics.

If that's what you prefer, why not do it simply for aesthetics? nothing wrong with that if you ask me.

Horizontal top tubes are pointless, a waste of metal. Wherever you can, use less.

In your opinion.

Snoops is right I reckon, horizontal was de facto because of lugs and one less plain to move along for your jig?

A sloping top tube gives you a (marginally) stiffer frame and weighs less, you also don't catch your balls or a swinging brake lever/bar on your top tube.

For polo it's also easier to play either side of your bike (a little), Ali has taken this to extremes by playing under his downtube for example... a neat idea.

I like a bit of a slope, but still want the top tube between my thighs, feels sketchy otherwise (MTB versus BMX mentality)?

Why would you want a horizontal top tube? There's no reason apart from tradition is there? Maybe it spreads the load a little more (more material does this by default after all)?

I also raised my down tube on the new frame for under down tube play.

BikeCad is so much fun.

Yeah, was playing with it, it looks like it puts more stress on the frame in front impacts though? (Could be wrong here, it looks like there's more leverage from an impact?)

this is what you want. (basically my old '91 XC race bike, except mine was tinier)

omg, this is horrendous.

I know a man with a few high-stay frames...

Disc break rotor guard from Minneapolis

^ me likey. Need disk brakes first.

It's not about that, there is no point in having a horizontal top tube, it increases weight and decreases stiffness of the frame. As far as I can see, the only reason horizontal top tubes ever existed was because of industry standard lugs back in the day, and following from that, traditional aesthetics.

I'm not a frame builder though, someone please verify/dismiss my ramblings.

Nothing to do with lug availability - fillet brazing is not exactly a contemporary innovation. People used to build frames by hand and offer a wide range of sizes (say 3 or 4 top tube lengths for each seatpost length). It's much less time consuming to do this with a horizontal top tube, especially when top tube length is often considered the starting point of frame design. Plus, 99% of people who ride bikes do not want/need the lightest/stiffest frame they can get their hands on (and this is without getting into a conversation about whether or not the weight/stiffness difference actually makes a tangible difference).