Polo Bikes

Mine was 100 quid, the wheels cost me 70!

But your bike is shit ;)

Seriously though, £150 - £200 is an adequate budget for a first polo bike as Ben says. I'd be extremely surprised if someone went out and bought an OTP polo bike before trying the sport, checking the forum, or just speaking to people about what type of bike to get.

My point is, getting a decent polo-suitable bike on the cheap requires bike knowledge. Firstly to choose the right bike (low gearing, strong wheels, decent brakes, no odd-sizes/imperial things which will be a ballache to replace) and secondly, unless you're lucky, knowledge how to change parts/upgrade things to make it more suitable.

Most people who get into polo already know a bit about bikes, but some don't and it would be nice if there was something out there for those people. I mention £300-400 RRP, as it is the start point for a decent quality bike these days. Of course you can pay less if you buy second-hand/reduced, but that's not my point.

I'd be extremely surprised if someone went out and bought an OTP polo bike before trying the sport, checking the forum, or just speaking to people about what type of bike to get.

That's a good point I suppose, but as the sport grows, it's would be good to have off-the-peg options for beginners. Mountain biking started off with bodged cruisers, then custom-made frames with adapted components, then mass-production models which gradually got more realistically priced.

Polo has its own versions of the first two examples (adapted track bikes etc, custom builds), the next stage is a production model to help push the sport to non bike nerds.

polo creates FTW

I get your point, but still think it's unrealistic to have beginners OTP polo bike.

If people are going to shell out £300+ on a bike for polo, then I'm thinking they will have been playing for a while and know what they require (not the bike above).

Most newbies start on their regular bikes and learn to adapt or replace them as they grow into the sport, that's how I started, and that's how 99% of the players I know started.

Most people who get into polo already know a bit about bikes, but some don't and it would be nice if there was something out there for those people. I mention £300-400 RRP, as it is the start point for a decent quality bike these days. Of course you can pay less if you buy second-hand/reduced, but that's not my point.

Absolutely agree. As the sport grows there will be more and more people who just want to be able to go out and buy a bike ready for it.

No market atm though

Is it just me, or are Pique's posts becoming more and more "estate-agenty"?

No, i just think its pointless talking about something that there is no market for.

^ Estate Agent

Check your gmail chat, star nosed mole.

a perfect OTP polo bike is a secondhand mtb

No, i just think its pointless talking about something that there is no market for.

I sell bikes for a living, so I spend a good chunk of my time doing exactly this.

:)

I couldn't see the orange/black £79 bikes from decathlon last time I went in. Does they still sell them?
They were SS mountain bikes with V-brakes, All it needs is a change of tires, lower gearing, short stem and dual brake conversion for a great little polo bike under 150 quid.

the b-twin bikes i think it was?

I'd wager they have vertical dropouts.

They were semi horizontal, they've stopped selling them (online at least) though.

Didn't they have a problem with bb and headset failures?

You get what you pay for and all that.

Someone has one at beginners. Apart from it being too big for her (and horizontal drop outs (why?) it's a great bike for beginners. Can't go tooooo wrong for £80.
If you come to beginners casual polo, you get to use a loaner bike so you don't need to spend money before you know what you want.

i have horizontal drop outs and they're awesome! They work just as good as track ends, AND i can put a rack or a mech hanger on them.
#trackendsareforhipsters

i have horizontal drop outs and they're awesome! They work just as good as track ends, AND i can put a rack or a mech hanger on them.
#trackendsareforhipsters

You can also put a mech hanger & rack braze-ons on track ends.

#trackendsareforhipsters

Er, hate to break it to ya, Max, but you are a fucking hipster...

#bikesareforhipsters

You can also put a mech hanger & rack braze-ons on track ends.

Though they're less than ideal for wheel removal if you do use a mech.