Bike polo mechanics & fixing

Nik and ryan did it for Nik's bike, I think.

anyone ever bent a set of forks straight to shorten their wheelbase? looks like it would work well in my case but would i end up loosing my teeth as a result? best to heat the bend to red hot first or just go for it cold?

i would just buy a set of zero rake forks but they need to be 1" steerer and i cant find any

Are your brakes still going to reach?

Got a a few mm reach left on the calipers so I'm hoping it wont be a problem. If not I can always switch to a mini V

Don't do it Stu,

• Mad toe overlap
  
• Jack-knife city.
  
• Will loose teeth
  

Just crash into the back of a taxi, job done.

... would i end up loosing my teeth as a result?

They're your teeth.
Also. That goes for you too, Shane.

best to heat the bend to red hot first or just go for it cold?

The heat question will depend to some extent on the particular alloy of metal you're dealing with. Some alloys will cope with repeated heating and cooling better than others, which may lose strength and become brittle. Do you know what you're dealing with?
"Just go for it cold." How do you propose to "go for it"? Where will you apply the bending force, what tools will you use?

i would just buy a set of zero rake forks but they need to be 1" steerer and i cant find any

Any reputable framebuilder should be able to make you a set of zero rake forks, but before you go off and order a set, consider what effects the change will have on your geometry and bike handling. Sure, it'll shorten your wheelbase, but it'll also affect the trail of the bike which will probably have a greater effect on handling than the wheelbase.

I blame spell check, if it ain't underlined in red it ain't wrong.

Not only the trail, the head angle will change dramatically, just look in your picture how far below the horizon the front wheel goes...

that might be counteracted by using a 26" front wheel though

TBH, just get a new frame and fork. A custom fork as many would have suggested would be a 2/3 the price of a track/trick frame with Velvet/Ballista fork.

Remember the days you said you'll always stay fixed? ;)

i don't have the money for a custom frame - we dont all work for a hedge fund ;)

Neil/Matt gave me a 48h bmx hub for free, but I'll be back on fixed if that ever breaks

Edit: just found this article which mentions filling the fork blades with sand before bending. not sure if this would really help though

that might be counteracted by using a 26" front wheel though

Hmm that might work, might also lesson toe overlap... But will make it certain that your brakes won't reach.

You have PM Stu.

I did the 26' front for a while. Rode really nice to be honest, but you could just get yourself a Dolan stu, they're crazy cheap.

I had a measure up this morning and I reckon I could do a cut-n-shut welding job instead of unbending. I could cut a 35mm section out of my current forks at the bend then weld them back together straight, and run a 26" wheel. Going to buy another set of the same forks for 15 quid in case it all goes tits up

Sounds like a cunning plan!

Lulz.
Did we not all give up on 0 rake as a bad idea?

the forks won't be completely 0 rake, more like 10-15mm offset because of the fork ends and from my very rough calculations i should retain my 72-73 degree head angle. seems similar to what a lot of the custom frames have currently so the handling shouldn't be too shit surely? - although i understand there's a lot more to good polo bike handling than HT angle and trail

Lulz.
Did we not all give up on 0 rake as a bad idea?

whats this we shit? You ever had a 0 rake fork?

Nah,I was too behind the trend so missed the month when it was a good idea.

thats funny rob, because i have been riding a 0 rake fork of some description for 5 years. People put too much into what is and isnt good for polo. All this "my new bike is just perfect" nonsense. You think you build a bike to suit you? (you being people) I'm telling ya, you build a bike then you learn to ride it. You spent all that money on it, how many people are gonna say, "oops i dont like it" There are really good setups, but silly stem lengths, bars and saddles will make it ride like crap. I love riding other peoples bikes. Its a challenge. I really really like Tim's Oak. it the nicest Oak i have tried, but i think a lot of that is to do with how he set it up. If he had stupid length stems or a silly slippy saddle, the geo wouldnt matter. I can ride badgers bike, but he cant ride mine. Mainly because it's too big. But his isnt too small. swings and rustabouts.

I agree and thought of your lovely bike before I wrote it, but still the 0 rake thing needs to be done with the rest of the bike to suit, just chucking a fork on a bike won't make it good. However, I reckon hitting the right blood/alcohol level is as important as the right bike.

And Xmas spirit, Xmas spirit is all you need for scoring all the goals.

73 head, 0 rake, 26 x 1.5" tyre = 98mm trail.

Try 35mm rake instead.