Tell me about your bikes

chephri - we play hardcourt...

your project should just be called "Polo trend" with pictures of Manu. And side by side images of Rupert and Josh Electric "cosmic lover" Cream.

Brighton have started wearing Cosmic shoes too.

your project should just be called "polo trend" with pictures of manu. And side by side images of rupert and josh electric "cosmic lover" cream.

zing!

Some parts (goldtec hubs and thomson seatpost) are totally overspecced but I like them so I own them.

Maybe but I spend more time on my polo bike than any other bike so I think it's fine to spend money on good parts for it.

In short, I've spent many hours saving for parts, building the bike, modifying it, fixing it and playing on it. When you invest that much time in to an object you can't help but feel an emotional connection to it.

This is exactly how I feel.

You could look at TT riders (or something equally specialised) and compare their emotional responses to the bikes they ride to that of polo players. I have no proof to back this up but I think TT riders could see their bikes as more of a tool/means to an ends than polo players/bmxers/mtbers. When a rider is really throwing the bike around and pushing it to extremes in potentially dangerous situations they need to trust it, it needs to be part of their movements rather than just a vehicle or item of equipment.

It's true, having been in a few racing disciplines and working in the industry, TTers do shine out of the bunch who really don't get attached to their bike, and just want the best thing out that year. Never really forming a bond.

I used to see my polobikes like this. The first 6 or so I had, all in the space of a few months at Beginners, were all from skips and mostly they were just experiments in how cheap I could make a bike whilst I was out of work.

There are two separate lines of thought above, cheap but usable, and expensive but capricious, and I've also observed two lines of thought when poloplayers build their bikes; with cheap easily replaceable parts, and a secondhand frame as they're usually experimenting, and then the school of specific polo design, thought and a polo-proof components set.

I also think this is more of an evolution than an outright decision or style; I feel like I am still finding my way in terms of what geo/type of frame suits me. This dirtbike (Lucas old NS Bitch) is easily my favourite frame, I've used road, track and MTB frames before now, and I feel the head angle of the jump bike has massively improved my turning and flow. Now that I know this, I am looking at spending some serious money on polo for the first time. Before now my bikes have been built from spares* and w. s/h frames. Now I'm happier with a geo, I am tentively looking for something like it but lighter,or spending money on some really nice wheels and brakes for it instead of constantly replacing already-fatigued and cheap parts from old hybrids that come through my workshop :)

*There's an exception with the Dave Quinn I built and had run over, but I stress this was when I hadn't worked out you need a bike for polo and only polo, and I mostly designed it around being a nice commuter for me and the missus to share.

Shit guys thanks for all the posts! I'm so glad that people are responding and being so helpful..
defs gonna continue with questions n the such courtside.. nothing like bike-chat at throw-ins, I'll bring some beers to encourage conversation, should help :)

I'd agree that the investment of time, effort and money builds an emotional bond with a bike; I recently built my mountain bike (and drained my bank account), and now sleep with it in the room, say goodnight to it and all (I kid not)..

I think the note about the length of time polo technology has had to develop is a very important factor - if you look at suspension designs in the 80's + 90's, they're pretty interesting.. Obviously its still at an experimental stage, which makes it all the more interesting..

Also Joni you have had a pretty rad bike-history, your current ride is drool-worthy.

Once again cheers guys, great help!

I like that you're following the Anthropological tradition of doubling up your surname.

Pitt-Rivers/Radcliffe-Brown/Jury-Morgan

Lol yeah aiming high.. Witchcraft and shamanism in hardcourt polo: FTW

I run the brakes on my bikes reversed.

Front brake left hand.
Back brake right hand.

Only then does it feel like my bike.

Did you grow up euro? Got the brakes on my mtb the same, grew up with a spanish bike so felt right..

Kit! This means you'll be around to practice!

I know right! Now I can justify spending time on court

What makes my bike my own is the fact that it puts up with me..!

Countless dents from past polo games.
The various stickers from tournaments/other teams that have given it "tatty sheik" status.
Bodged front v-brake fix to enable the spring tensioner to engage.
Big dent in the seat tube from a crash with El Club at the Euros last year.
Rear of the bike needs cold-setting back by 8mm after above crash.
Replacement fork after a crash in Konstanz broke the original (it now rides a little temperamentally).
Off centre cranks/BB from polo wear and tear.
Naff new squeaky v-brake after the old one broke at the Invitational.
Rounded out seatpost collar and almost rounded out rear hub.
Torn and bent-rail saddle.
Rubbish new front wheel with crap cone tension (el cheapo replacement after Goldenwheel destroyed the previous one).
Rear rim needs bending back every so often as the rim walls are trying to fail (they're very thin from brake wear now).
Rear twisted spoke replacements as the only spokes I had lying around were too long.

It's been a blast and deserves to be treated better.

Nice, bike with a history!
If you could, would you get another?

There are two separate lines of thought above, cheap but usable, and expensive but capricious, and I've also observed two lines of thought when poloplayers build their bikes; with cheap easily replaceable parts, and a secondhand frame as they're usually experimenting, and then the school of specific polo design, thought and a polo-proof components set.

I also think this is more of an evolution than an outright decision or style.

I think there is definitely a growing market for polo technologies; What effect do people think a growing polo-specific market will have on the DIY aspect of the sport?
On the one hand, there will always be a need for cheap parts, and thus the need to bodge.. But as happened with other disciplines, the market could change perceptions of what is necessary for the sport (eg. seeing someone on a fully rigid or a supermarket bike at a mtb trail centre usually conjures - mostly unfounded - notions of that person.

Having spent years mtb'ing, I can appreciate how the consumer market and specialist technologies shapes notions of identity; is this the case with polo, would people say?

a wee bit about my bike
im currently playing on a small charge plug, which i got on the cheap because it has a pretty big dent in the seat tube, so was already 'pre-loved', which i quickly stuck a cheap mtb crankset on.
due to the size, i had to deal with horendous pedal strike so i put the biggest tyres that the frame would allow, so now pedal strike is no longer an issue, just pretty bad toe overlap.
Also, due to the size, i have to use risers, which lead to my brake lever, one of rik's jobbies, 3rd hand i think, being slightly further away from my hand than i'd like it, but thats the least of my brake related issues. I'm using a dual v-brake lever, on my double caliper set up, which would be fine if the calipers were long drop, but alas they are not, I've remedied this on the front by angling the brake pads slightly down so the contact points are towards the rear of the brake, while half of the pad rubs on the tyre, the rear one just seems to be working more by wizardry than anything i can think of. and one of my bar end plugs came off recently, and rather than find another, its got a dr pepper bottlecap heavily gaffa'd into place.
Oh, and my chain is yellow.
and thats why my bike is awesome

Brighton have started wearing Cosmic shoes too.

Cosmic* - setting polo trends since 2009.

*the worst name & dressed team in polo since 2009.

Did you grow up euro? Got the brakes on my mtb the same, grew up with a spanish bike so felt right..

Grew up riding BMX with rear brake only always on the right.
Muscle memory and all that.

@kitjim: use the multi quote function

If you could, would you get another?

Nope, I'll possibly spend money on getting this bike into good condition again (perhaps as a commuter),I guess that would fall under irrational "the bike deserves it" kind of thinking?

I want a different style of bike for polo now... this bike (Butterbean) has served it's time and was based on my (basic) understanding of polo trends circa 2010 (weight over the back wheel, upright riding position, etc). I want something else now, but still care for this bike, etc.

My first polo bike was a gazelle champion mondial, that i rode fixed / front brake.
My second was a version 1 14bikeco polo bike that me, aidan and dave 'designed / asked' for to be built. It was basically a track bike with 0 rake. It was a deep end to jump into and not everyone agrees on the rake issue. But once i got used to it, i've always felt is the right way to go.

We started to look to a V3. We wanted to go the route of a traditional grass bike but with the hardcourt aggressiveness. It took some time and now i have the V3, (which i ordered with couplers for travelling). Even now if i have changed my saddle, front tyre, twisted the bars a bit forward or backwards, the bike feels entirely different.

If i ride, todds, or luca's, or daves they all feel different and i realise that even if you have geo in common. the cushion of your saddle ( i have tried 5 different ones in two months), the pedals you ride, the rise of your bar / stem, the grip of your brake front or rear, makes a huge difference to the bike handling. Sometimes my bike feels completely dialled, i'll have an amazing night of throw-ins and i can't stop looking at it once i have got home.

On occasion my girlfriend gets pissed at me for staring at the rack longingly, rather than watching the movie or listening intently to our conversation. At other times i just can't get it to feel right. The wheel wobbles a little, the headset is not right, i bang my ankles on the cranks, the brakes feel spongy and yet i still stare at it on the rack, as if i am having a silent conversation, trying to get under its skin and ask it 'whats wrong? How can i make you happier?' I have always ridden with a disc on the front until the Lii, never liked the look of the bike without it, like a photo shoot in 'OK' magazine where they are permanently missing their shoes. This last two weeks i look at it with the spokes showing proudly and love its classic lines. Discs are now soooo 2011.

I have ridden every braking setup you can think of, tried most tyres and always feel not to say 'never' to a change. I have a quick go on everyone else's bike at some point or another, but mine is the best. It hasn't got a paint job, it has 'livery'. It isn't a bike it's a business partner that doesn't always subscribe to my point of view.

Nice, well put. As my bikes live in the garage I don't get to stare at them that much. Although I do sit in the Lounge going through the next series of changes that need to be made and which are most important... Whilst everyone around me is yammering on.