They also helped out with Birmingham’s Top Tube Map, a visual representation of our traffic-free cycling routes.  Check it out.

We’re collecting our wood next weekend, so the most important things are pretty much resolved.  Registration is open, so if you want to play, please paypal your team’s £30 registration fee to birminghambikepolo@gmail.com.

That’s right, things are about to get serious. Very, very serious! 

Nah, we’re just kidding. Birmingham wouldn’t be Birmingham without the laughs, the heckles and spilling drinks all over the courts mid-match… ahem. After a winter lull and the loss of several of our finest players, we are back to fighting form and have been plotting secretly to take over the polo world. Black Stabbath made a victorious come back at the Bristol NS by being voted best up and coming team (they’re only three years old after all), the newly formed Birmingham Hardcourt Bike Polo Association have been getting super organised and we decided to step up and host the UK Champs. What’s that you say? The UK Champs? Hell yeah, BIRMINGHAM ARE HOSTING THE UK CHAMPS!!! What’s more, we’re going to make it the best UK Champs so far…with a Brummie twist of course. So register your teams interest, book your tickets and watch this space for frequent updates on scheduling, format and of course those ever elusive sponsors.

To fill you in so far:

Taking place on the 30th June – 1st July 2012 on two adjacent outdoor boarded courts of 27x40m. The courts are located less than 2 miles from the city centre and are extremely accessible from the main Birmingham train stations via cycle route. They are of a similar surface to London’s Newington courts and fully enclosed with fenced off space for secure bicycle storage. We also have official consent from the land owners and the local council so there is no danger of the tournament being cancelled or re-arranged.

The format will consist of Swiss Rounds (number to be confirmed) and a double elimination on the Sunday to determine a UK Champion. This is not a NS tournament, however, the rule set will be in line with the current NS regulations and a designated head referee will brief players on the Saturday morning. Teams must consist of at least two UK players (those predominantly playing within the UK polo community) and for clarity, please add player names when registering your teams interest.

Due to our central location and cheap transport links, we hope for a high level of interest and aim to host as many teams as possible. Housing is limited however and those travelling the furthest will take priority, warehouse space is available for the remaining teams. For the moment, registration will remain uncapped. Registration will cost £30 per team, and we’d appreciate if you paid via paypal ASAP to birminghambikepolo@gmail.com

That’s all for now folks…we look forward to hosting a fantastic 2012 UK Champs!

PS. If you or your company would like to sponsor the UK Champs, please get in touch with Jess at birminghambikepolo@gmail.com. UK tournaments rely on the kindness of our cycling community friends and without your support, we would have a much lower standard of competition! Thank you. BHBPA

I’m not saying you have to spend hundreds or thousands on custom build, with classy Californian components though.  A sensible set-up that you’re confident on, and that doesn’t limit your game doesn’t have to cost much, and can hugely improve your performance.

It’s because polo is still new and as yet relatively unserved by mainstream manufacturers, that having a set-up that works well can maximise your strengths and minimise your weaknesses more completely than in other disciplines.  In MTB, road, TT etc etc, the designs are pretty well evolved, and the regulations so tight, that nobody can get much of an advantage by getting the next best thing.

The pendulum has swung to the extremes of shortness and tightness in terms of frame geometry, dual brakes are getting better and better and in some cases are being replaced by single front brakes, fixed is (practically) dead and I can’t wait to see the next developments.

I’m probably being spectacularly short-sighted, but I think that most of the big innovations have been and gone, and there will follow a period of consolidation and standardisation.  That’s not a bad thing, necessarily, and it will help to mature the sport, but I have to say that these last few years of wacky ideas and trends have been great to be a part of, and hopefully some genius will prove me wrong with a radical triple-brake system, 700c/24″ wheel combo or other craziness.

I started playing polo back in November 2010. I was riding a cheap fixed gear at the time, so started playing on this. I eventually converted into a polo bike with correct gearing, wheel cover and a front brake, and played AWESOME fixed polo until the bike (and fixed polo) died around the time of the 2011 London Open last July. I then played on a rusty frame for a while (still fixed) as I waited to put together my first freewheel polo bike. I borrowed Asim’s Birmingham Bike Foundry-built bike over the winter as he was out of action due to a bus collision and this helped me to make the transition from fixed to free. I don’t have the money to pay a Peruvian to build me a custom frame, so it was a case of getting hold of a cheap mtb frame and finding/borrowing the rest. This bike was created as an introduction to free-wheel polo, a stop-gap before I buy myself some super custom frame and in fact I don’t even like it very much. It does however handle well, weigh less than any other polo bike I’ve had and only cost about £80.

Specifications

• Frame – Carerra Vulcan 15″
• Forks – Carerra rigid forks
• Bars – Stock 400mm flat bars
• Headset – Stock
• Stem – Kona 60mm with 5 degree rise (I’m using it upside down)
• Grips – Stock
• Lever – Promax Dual
• Front Brake – Tektro V-Brake
• Rear Brake – Reverse mounted long-drop bmx caliper, (this is front caliper, hence the long bolt)
• Front Tire – X-rated (cheap)
• Rear Tire – Bontrager
• Front Wheel – Mavic 26″ EX721 / Shimano Disc hub (without disc)
• Rear Wheel – Rigida
• Free Wheel – Shimano 18t
• Crank Set – Stock mtb / 32 Chain ring
• Chain – Stock Half-link
• Pedals/Toe Straps – Stock
• Chain Tensioner – Surly
• Saddle/Seat Post – Stock
• Wheel Cover – Strawberries and Cream by Mya
• Re-Spray – An EMM Special ‘Red Mist’ Fade

Straight out of Geneva, Switzerland, ‘Milk’ heads are one of the newest tech upgrades on the block. Machined from ‘Ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene’ featuring a slotted shaft that fits perfectly into a machined groove, these are extremely sturdy and light.

Next up we have the Northern Standard polo glove all the way from Vancouver, Canada. These are made from ballistic stretch nylon upper and full grain leather palm with silicone print grip and carbon fibre crash pads.

In Birmingham, UK, I’ve also been working on a prototype disc brake bash guard after hearing complaints from players who’d received one too many slaps shots that bent rotors. I’ve tried to make them strong yet light and as universal as possible. It’s still early days but I intend to keep developing including designing a front guard. Not only is it intriguing to chart the developments in equipment but technological advances help push the game forward too.

Ladies Army is an annual all women polo tournament. This year it is taking place in Kentucky with teams from all over the world competing. Here in the UK the whole polo community has been helping to raise funds to send some lucky women to compete. There is a Birmingham fundraiser with a bicycle film night at Ort Cafe on Saturday 7th of April, be sure to catch the Brum to Berlin showing. If you’re in London on Easter Sunday get down to Look Mum No Hands!  for an epic party!

So I finally bit the bullet an bought a frame that was actually suitable for bike polo. My two previous incarnations were i) a brakeless hack bike from yesteryear ii) a cumbersome XL mongoose maurice, from which I transplanted most of the parts.

The change has been fantastic. The large frame size is spot on with a shorter wheelbase giving me more maneuverability but still comfortable to ride for someone at 6’1” (186cm).

However the biggest decision was to put a 26” wheel and fork on the front end. Dan had the same set up on his previous bike, so I knew it would work (#behindthecurve). I wanted to do it for a couple of reasons. First to steepen the headangle to get a better trail and second to push my riding position forward over a smaller wheel for better ball control with the addition of a 90mm stem (which is long by polo standards). I chose schwalbe kojak 2.0 after some advice from LFGSS forum which is grippy yet light and raises the bottom bracket just a little bit to avoid pedal strike.

I’m very happy with the results and would recommend a 700/26 combo for other pompino users. It’s easy to hop around and pirouette having lost around 1kg(!) in weight but maintains good front end control. I will experiment with a few different tyre sizes up front to see how that affects control and will upgrade the brake outer to stop them bending. I hand sprayed the frame satin black to negate the contrast of bright orange wheels on a chocolate brown frame (barf).

FRAME: On One Pompino
FORK: Generic 26” Steel
BARS: Generic flat steel (46cm)
STEM: Generic (90mm, 5 deg)
HEADSET: Stock
LEVER: Pro Max Dual Pull
BRAKES: Tektro V-brake
GRIPS: Stock
TYRES: F – Schwalbe Kojak 26×2.0. R – Schwalbe Marathon plus 700×32
WHEELS: F – Generic 26”. R – Stock deep v 700c (hand drilled for schrader valve) 20t Dicta freewheel.
CRANKS: Sram DualDrive, 32t
PEDALS: Time Atac
SEAT: Generic
SEAT POST: Generic

Frame: 70s Dawes racer

Ratio: 22:16 FIXED GEAR!! (the only way to play)

Wheel (front): 32h steel (27”)
Wheel (rear): 40h Mavic double eyelet, plain gauge spokes (700c)
Tyre (front): Continental Ultra 25c
Tyre (rear): Vittoria Zaffiro 28c
Brakes: Shimano dual pivot
Lever: Mission Cycles dual
Crankset: unknown wierd MTB ones, 130mm!! (used to have a second set of holes at 170mm but I cut off the excess)
Pedals: Primo Magnesium BMX
Stem: unknown front-loader with quill-ahead adaptor
Bars: unknown
Chain: KMC 1/8″

At the moment I am very happy with my setup and wouldn’t change anything, although I have considered and then rejected a couple of modifications.

The first is swapping the ultra-short cranks from a set that are less leverage-challenged. I might be able to accelerate slightly faster with a longer crank arm because of the mechanical advantage but I would run the risk of creating opportunities for pedal strike, which up until now has never been an issue and I can corner as aggressively as I like. The second consideration was to cut down the right hand side of the bars (non-brake-lever side) to facilitate a clearer path for my arm when swinging for the ball as I’ve caught my arm on the bar-end many times. However, if I ever retire this bike to be used for more conventional duties on the road, I’d like to keep the same bars and having a lop-sided set-up could get annoying, although if I sourced a Dirty Harry lever or similar that you can run on the bend of the bars this could be overcome.

The frame I use had a seatstay repair done by Ryan of Oak Cycles (top bloke). From what I heard from the few framebuilders I contact when looking for a suitable repairer, many Dawes frames from this era with the trademark leaf-shaped crimp at the seat cluster suffer from this structural failure. Freewheel for to/from the court, fixed for the games.

Fixed up polo 4 life!