Bike Polo???

[margo]

Anyone here play the game on grass and/or hardcourt?

I am currently playing both out in Boulder, and am thinking about swapping out some parts on my 79 Schwinn, throwing some 48 hole Chukkar wheels on it and making it my new hardcourt beastie. Thought it would be fun to have a classic out on the court assuming I can wrap the frame to protect it from major damage...Its just a flat black primer right now. My only concern is the geometry on this thing is pretty relaxed, which could be a hinderance for quick turns. Thoughts? or input on how it works from anyone who has done something similar?

 

[CCR]

i havent played bike polo but it seems most of them use fixed gear bikes for better control of the speed, just from watching i would think narrow bars would be ideal, looks like you could bust some knuckles on some moon bars pretty easily. guess it just depends on what everyone else is riding. sounds like fun though, have someone take some pics for us !!!

 

[margo]

I currently play on a 4 speed mountain bike...2 rings up front that I can pick the chain up and drop to change gearing for grass vs. hardcourt...and a 2 speed rear hooked up to a gripshift so that I can shift on the fly to pull a little more speed if I have a break away or need to get back to defend...I have ridden fixed a few times in hardcourt, which is awesome defensively for backing up short distances, but offensively is a PITA because you can't get a leg off the pedals to wind up on a hard shot.

I have a set of riser bars that I cut down for hardcourt use so that I can slide a grip off, slide a brake lever and shifter off, unclamp the front plate of the stem and swap bars in about 3 minutes.

As far as the Schwinn goes, everything on this bike will come off. The bars, wheels, crankset, and fork have a home on my burrito once the polo swap is made. Does anybody have the specs on the geometry of one of these classic frames to compare to my current bike? or do I have to dig the tools out and figure it out myself :wink:

 

[Philphine]

haven't played or intend to but i have looked at a few sites 'cause i was trying to get a rear wheel disc together. i found out y'all use them to protect the spokes.

 

[margo]

I am not running them right now...but I also have three spokes missing from my front wheel and one from the rear

The majority use corrugated plastic (campaign sign type) sign board. You cut the major diameter to fit inside your brake surface or tires if you are fixed, cut the minor diameter to clear hubs, gears, etc...then rip a straight line from inside hole to the outside hole...flex it into place around the frame and stitch together with a few zip ties...decorate as needed. I play hardcourt with a few guys from The S***blimps from Boulder...They have a turd zepplin for a logo and their number stenciled on each bike...fancy 8)

A writeup on a local cycling blog...

http://303cycling.com/boulder-colorado-grass-bike-polo

I am the guy in the black jersey on yellow bike in the first pic...of course, the ONE DAY I forget my helmet and I get busted on camera...sorry mom! :lol:

 

[deorman]

I'm not a top rider by a long shot, but I have done quite a bit of riding on this type of bike, on and off the road, as well as more than a couple turns on a steeper, shorter wheel base MTB. It definitely takes more time and effort to flick, and it's tougher to recover if you fall in too far. On the plus side, great stability at standstill speed, and the ability to waggle the front quite a bit without actually committing. I would expect the faster handling of your racier bike to be more useful chasing a ball in a crowd of other bikes, but then, I've never tried it. :|

 

[N8NBOX]

Not sure if your still interested in this topic or not but I play bike polo and have tried out alot of different style of bikes and have some suggestions. Personally I feel the best setup is a cheap mountainbike, single speed it out by pulling off the rear cassette and swapping on a single speed freewheel (might have to re-dish or just flip the axle to get the chainline right), if you can take off all but the smallest chainring up front and shoot for a gear ratio 2 to 1 or under, im running 36/20(after trying 16,17,18t in the rear) and loving it. I prefer running a front brake with the lever on the left side, some people prefer rear brake so they can skid but I prefer more stopping power to be able to slow down faster than everyone else and slip behind them as they roll past me. A more upright position to me helps a great deal with ball handling so some 2.5-4" riser bars are awesome and allow you more room between your knees and the bars for those tight turns and mallet handling. Knobby tires suck for hardcourt bike polo, at slower speeds trying to do sharp turns youll find them flexing and causing you to oversteer and crash far more than you should be, some nice 1.5-2.5" commuter/slick tires work amazingly, the wider you go the easier it will be to balance at slower speeds and track stand but you wont be quite as nimble. next time there is an election in town keep your eyes out for blown over signs or wait till its over and ask for the signs they don't need anymore, trace the inside of your wheel, cut the circle, cut a notch for your valve stem and a slit to allow the disc to conform to the rim, poke/drill some holes for zip ties and you have yourself a disc cover.

Any other questions let me know but thats the just of it, my polo bike is an old steel shwinn MTB that cost $40 and has taken a heck of a beatingllleventually I upgraded to some 48spoke wheels from boxwood polo company but other than that everythings still stock...just minus a bunch of parts