My new Polo bike for 2012

So, as we've got a new forum, let's get this show on the road.

So my current polo bike is a Pompino:

Reasons I want to replace it next year:
Pompinos have a habit of breaking at polo, quite a few in the last year.
It's a bit too long

The current trend in polo is to move towards 26 wheels, rather than 700, for better maneuverability. But for tall players such as myself, that has ended up with some very strange looking tall/short wheelbase bikes.

See snoops's bike:

Nonetheless, I'm going to give it a go.

The other thing I really want to look at is long cranks. Having very long legs mean I should be riding longer cranks. But it's hard to get any BMX style cranks in large sizes. I'm going to see what the longest affordable ones are, and go from there.

Now, in terms of F+F options, there are the following custom/OTP polo bikes (rather than the bikes commonly adapted to polo, such as the Pompino, Steamroller etc):

Oak Cycles (Ryan). London based, full customised service.

Marino. Based in Peru, full customised bikes, for very little money. Snoops's bike is one of them, along with a few others starting to appear in polo:

Snottyotter:

Ste:

Max Power Cycles. A friend of London polo, based in Germany. OTP polo frames Turd has got one:

Mister X. Based in Italy, OTP polo frames. Not seen one yet.

Dodici polo frame. Aluminium OTP polo frame, yet surprisingly heavy. As ridden by Yorgo

Hija De La Coneja. OTP Rebadged Marino frames, as specified by Alejandro, another friend of London polo.

So I'm probably going to go with a Hija, I don't want to go full custom yet, when I do I'll almost certainly get an Oak Cycles bike, but that's for 2013...

The price of the Hija is good, nice short wheel base, even on the L I've shown above (the purple one).

My only real decision is the cranks now, if I do get longer ones, I may need to have the BB raised a little.

Once the frame and cranks are sorted, I'll need to start thinking about wheels.

At the moment I'm riding 48 hole chukkers with Sapin Strong spokes. Completely solid wheels, they've taken so many hits, and never even broken a spoke. But they are really heavy, which combined with the 38c Marathon Plus tyres makes my bike so heavy, I think it's about 14Kg.

So for my next wheelset i'm probably going to go with something lighter. I don't really want to compromise on the spokes, or the number of them, so it's going to have to be lighter rims and tyres.

Glad to see polo bikes in CP - I don't play, but I always have a bit of a stalk of the polo bikes.

Those Reynolds 853 cranks come in 175mm.

Not cheap unfortunately.

I don't really want to compromise on the spokes, or the number of them

If your spokes aren't breaking then there's no real need to have more of them, 48h was always about being able to lose shed loads of spokes and have your wheel running true, not avoiding wheel failure (although the two can be linked if you do zero wheel maintenance).

Also, remember that the effective "coverage" of spokes on a 26" wheel will be much denser, 48h is overkill unless you're a messy hustler kind of player (without disks).

Saying that, I'm likely to be parting with some 48h 26" Rhyno lites on Phils in the new year if you're interested...

Your crank issue is easily solved if you can find some Middleburn 175/180/185 RS7s (or similar) on eBay (£50-£80). BMX cranks are too heavy in my opinion and should only be used by players that have an unjust hatred of their ankles. Alej's bikes are designed with 165 in mind (I believe) so you may have to be prepared for some toe overlap (a better trade off than a longer wheelbase and toptube anyway I reckon), although you'll probably be fine on an L with long cranks, ask for his front-centre measurement.

Have you built up your Rhyno Lite rims Jon? I might be interested in one, unlaced.

I don't think 48h is overkill on 26 if you're in goal. I have seen many balls go through my 36h 3x and 1x 26" wheels. It's very frustrating. I don't like covers for many reasons, I would much rather add spokes which is why I am thinking of running 48 on the front.

Agree on BMX cranks; they are too heavy; they require short-live euro bbs; they increase pedal strike due to larger q-factor.

I would recommend an external BB MTB crank set up. They are very low maintenance, very lightweigh, and very stiff. I don't know why you would choose square tape now that there is a better technology which is arguably more available and almost the same price.

I would also recommend a Hope Singlespeed hub on the rear. My WI freewheel began to skip after a few months of use. This thing is solid, I have been able to change sprockets very easily to try different GIs.

Technologies like external BB cranks and cassetteXsprocket freewheel set-ups should be used as they work. Nothing get's stuck, everything is easily removed for servicing. I like the idea that all the parts on my bike are being held in place by bolts that can be undone. I don't like old technologies ilke screw on freewheels that rely on strong threads, and a vice for removal. Or taper cranks that get wedged on and forced off, it's just asking for trouble (yes they've been fine for years, I know, but they didn't get it right first time). I wanted external headset but Marino couldn't do it.

I don't think 48h is overkill on 26 if you're in goal. I have seen many balls go through my 36h 3x and 1x 26" wheels. It's very frustrating. I don't like covers for many reasons, I would much rather add spokes which is why I am thinking of running 48 on the front.

This.

I'd rather have the 12 extra spokes, and be likely to save the ball.

Some interesting points there snoops, I'll have look into that.

Re the hope SS hub.

How big is the cassette space? Could you fit a normal cassette on there? or is it just big enough to fit cogs and some spacers either side?

Also could you re-space to 130mm?

I'm going down the same road, John... :]
#tenthpolobike #notreally

how much are the max power frames?

Re the hope SS hub.

How big is the cassette space? Could you fit a normal cassette on there? or is it just big enough to fit cogs and some spacers either side?

Also could you re-space to 130mm?

The cassette space is big enough for a 6 speed cassette.

I only have one sprocket at the moment but you could fit two or maybe three singlespeed sprockets.

You can't respace the hub to 130 but you could respace your frame to 135.

DMR Cult cranks are 809g and come in 175mm.

Trying to find the weight of others like the Shimano Saint, which seem to be 1168g, although this is clearly beefy.

^ Cheers.

Definitely no room for spacing down?

Nope, even with custom machined end caps it wouldn't fit.

Snoops: yeah, I built them up, but now want something lighter, might give them a go/keep them as "throw-in" wheels?

I would recommend an external BB MTB crank set up. They are very low maintenance, very lightweigh, and very stiff. I don't know why you would choose square tape now that there is a better technology which is arguably more available and almost the same price.

The cranks/ring/BB combo I've got on the new bike cost £75, the cranks have a lifetime warranty and the whole she-bang weighs a shade over 600g (on paper).

I'd love external BB and hope hubs, but failed at finding them cheaply second hand. I've opted for an Echo SL freewheel on the back... screw on, but 108 points of engagement and 9-pawl with big chunky removal pockets, should be the business. (My ideal polo cranks would be the external RS8s if you have the cash John.)

If LMNH sort us out with some large flange hubbed wheels, then constant freewheel removal shouldn't be too much of an issue, light wheels with light disk covers are what I'd recommend John (keep a spare rim at home and "tape and replace" re-build if you need to, takes about 30 minutes), 48h wheels are much more hassle free, but you will be slower on court.

But then again my game is never going to be about speed.

A lot of the deciding moments in a polo game are about speed:
-being there first
-getting away from a chaser for a clean shot
-getting back into the game when you're feeling a bit dabby.

Even a marginal improvement might lift your team.

^ This... Anything that'll speed your game up has gotta be good...

I'm gonna concentrate on doing that this year, I'm much too slooooow...

that looks a lot like some of the old allins polo bikes but modernised

I think it's just about finding what's right for you John. I'm not convinced by long crank arms but that's your call. 170mm is enough imo.

I worry that over here we seem to be focusing too heavily on bikes rather than the game.
Seeing people constantly change their bikes having not played for so long is odd to me.

It seems there's a tendency to think you'll play better because you have a purpose built bike.
And so we concentrate our energy on having what is being dictated to us rather than what we need for ourselves. In certain cases, changing bikes will help. Changing wheelbase or wheel sizes etc.

But look at some of the best players out there and what they're riding. Dusty and Manu with volume cutters, Seabass with his Richey Breakaway, Greg and Hugo with their 700c track geo frames. Beaver Boys, L'equipe, CMD, Canucks etc. The only changes made are braze-ons for better brakes.
That makes me feel like London, in general, is getting too caught up in so called 'trends' and not developing our play.

I look at Max's (London Max) bike and think it's great. Perfect example of not having to spend tons of money on a bike.

I don't mean to be hypocritical here. I get caught up too. But I still know what feels right to me might not be right for someone else. That's 3 years of play.
I definitely reached a decent level on old track bikes. If it wasn't for the poor tyre clearance on the sword I'd still be riding it.
I now enjoy that 26" feeling because I'm not so tall and it fits me better....

What I'm saying is, people need to feel they can play polo and play amazingly on old road bikes or mtb's. Get stuck in and concentrate on playing well rather than 'looking the part'. And when you've played as hard as can possibly be, and to the best you can, if you still feel your bike is holding you back then make the changes. Don't get sucked in to thinking you need loads of money to play polo. You don't.

If you really need one of these custom polo bikes, well just do it and get on with it. Seriously we need to concentrate on raising the quality of our game as we're getting quite far behind the other countries who don't seem to give such a fuck about their bikes.

(not directed at you John but feel this is a suitable place for it. I just don't want people to feel they need an expensive bike to get involved in polo. and to play well).

Preaching over...

behind the other countries who don't seem to give such a fuck about their bikes.

I can't emphasize this enough. I think Snoops will back me up here after seeing the level of play in Bordeaux recently. There were so many players on old bikes playing a level of polo far greater than ours. Shockingly good. London definitely has some of the most expensive bikes in the world...

I think the main reasons we struggle are a large scene size, very few team nights and many players with a "just for a laugh" mentality, but well said Todd.

I'm still going custom though...

Yeah well you've literally ridden your bikes to death and deserve a new bike!

Hardcore players don't spend that much time on forums. They're out there in the field, playing.

Hardcore players don't spend that much time on forums. They're out there at the court, playing.

FTFY, right kind of polo.

Good player will always beat someone with a good bike, especially with in a good team. But if someone has the skills and has spare money then I don't see why they shouldn't go custom and get the best bike possible within their budget. I shortened my chainstays DIY because I can't afford anything custom. Now the only thing I can blame for shit play is me.