Attn: Archie Riders

Disc brake mounts on the rear?

those old school polo bikes are allins
if they could also make their forks with longer steerer tube and a bit more threading
i think they would sell for after market forks for polo bikes
the straight rake jobbies would work nice on a non archie frame and would make a nice tight pair of forks

Also, it might be nice to have a angled dropout, as about 70% of players use brakes and like to flip flop their wheels for commute and polo.

Err. Not sure how angling the rear drop-out is going to make a difference, and it's an ugly, ugly look.

Or do you mean fitting forward-facing drop-outs, instead of rear-ward facing drop-outs?

Don't know. Ask someone who rides with brakes (i.e., Iain).

it won't make that big of a difference for the brakes, as the curve of the rim will still move in relation to the brake bridge/seat stays (plus with lots of people running sputniks or the like, they have fairly large machined surfaces, so the pads can be setup to reach in road and polo wheel positions). also, the angled dropout will change your bb height depending on where you place the wheel.

it could still work, since the polo gear will make the bb sit a bit higher (bigger cog, closer to front/bottom of dropout. wether the convenience is noticeable, is another question. probably not worth the effort.

cantilever bosses

cantilever bosses

+1

gussets?

Radio Raheem thanks yo.

I'm about to send this email to Karl.

How important do people think cantilever bosses are? As v-brakes seem to be the future, do cantilever bosses help for mounting v-brakes, get in the way, or don't matter?

#fuckingbrakes

Canti bosses and vbrake bosses are the same thing.
BMX (AD990) brake bosses are placed differently.

I'd go with the former as it afford more choices of brake.

Thanks, Em.

Would you guys put Canti bosses in the category of "crucial" changes or not?

Here's what I'm going to send him.

Here are the changes we would suggest, in descending order of importance.

I think suggestions 1-6 are crucial. Suggestions 7 and 8 are less crucial, but would be good if possible.

1. A larger version of the existing speedway bike would be awesome. 56 or 57 would probably be best. The current geometry is great.

2. Forks – There is a problem with toe overlap. About 50% of polo riders ride fixed wheel (often with 700c wheels), and nearly every one who rides an Archie for polo changes out the forks. The bike needs a slightly larger rake (as mentioned before, the standard forks give toe-overlap with 700c wheels). I think the aesthetic preference would be for a straight fork.

3. The headset – everyone swaps this, as it comes loose too quick. At minimum it needs a tougher headset. But it would be best to change it to a 1 1/8” threadless headset, because this is more standard and makes it easier to swap parts. Polo players would really like to have a 1 1/8” threadless headset to work with.

4. Cross supports on the rear triangle – The cross-support on the bottom chain stays could probably be removed. In general, a lot of players like to play with fat tires, so the more room for these the better. Adjusting the bridge on the seat stay may also be necessary to add more room.

5. Dropouts – These could be a bet longer, toward the frame, so the wheel can come right in to the frame. Currently, fitting a 700c while is a bit tight, and impossible for anything over 25c width. Many players like to run 32c, some ever fatter.

   1. Cantilever bosses.

   2. Seat post tube – A more standard diameter, such as 27.2mm.

   3. Make the bike a bit lighter.

Matt, I'm all for gussets now... my frame is starting to succumb to head-on impacts.

The ideal brake scenario is removable bosses with two attachment points, one for 26" and one for 700c, no?

The question is then if and how you mount cable stops - V-brakes and cantis use different methods.

The question is then if and how you mount cable stops - V-brakes and cantis use different methods.

Problemsolver have your back.

The ideal brake scenario is removable bosses with two attachment points, one for 26" and one for 700c, no?

Nice. I'll add that to the list unless anyone has a good reason not to.

nice work dr v.

Wilkinsons is mainly a wheel building company - AFAIK the speedway bike is a historical offshoot. In previous conversations Karl mentioned that they may be able to supply 700c wheelsets with thick plain gauge spokes on strong rims with large-flange hubs. I don't know what the spec would be, but it may be worth asking if they're willing to supply a polo specific and fairly affordable wheelset? Also, they supply cranks and other parts for their speedway bikes - are there specific parts that we struggle to find that we could ask them to source for polo? Cranks for instance?

And +1 to gussets.

gussets.... snigger

gussets.

in my opinion, there is isn't great deal wrong with the archie. tweaks i would make:
1 1/8 head tube
27.2 seat tube
slightly raked beefy fork
gussets
no bridge in chainstays.
lengthen the cut in the frame ends (like what jono did).

people's brake setups are so personal i think brake bosses etc might be a waste of time. people can just use clamp on mounts etc. so no cable mounts etc either.

I just want to ride this.

Stronger, no overlap, more tyre clearance. (A short version is rumoured to be in the works too if you want that extremely nimble wheelbase.)

is he speaking to you again then jono?

Hoo-the-fuck-ray, yes (was getting depressed looking at alternatives).

Hoo-the-fuck-ray?

ray? he's the squinty chap. looks like a lady. you know the one.