because we ride... Polo Time.

This week we have our fearless GM's, Matt, polo bike. We've got a nice little write up for you, enjoy:

'A winter commuter turned polo rig.'

The frame is a Specialized HardRock that I got from Doug Koster in the spring of 2005. I don’t know where he got it and that’s probably for the best. It was stripped bare and rattle canned in the basement of 2208 Godwin in Grand Rapids. The fork is a RockShox Quadra that came from Doug at the same time. The steer tube was extended and re-welded to fit this bike. Shimano STX headset and stock Specialized stem and bars. Lefty style Altus 420 brake lever to a Tektro rear cantilever. Brake housing is routed through a top tube pad purchased by Bob Zeilstra during a holiday in Japan. My future grandchildren will thank me for the Raceface stem pad. Specialized seat post, Schwinn saddle, Salsa clamp.

The front wheel is a 26” Deep V ATB (OG Chukker) laced to a Velocity ATB hub with butted spokes. The rear wheel is a 26” Aeroheat rim laced to a Velocity cutout flange track hub with 14 gauge spokes. 32 spokes each and both are 3 cross.

The rear hub has been re-spaced to accept a 5 speed freewheel which is the only way I could get the chain line and length to work out. Gearing is 27x21. Cranks are 170mm Shimano Alivios…black on one side silver on the other due to an unfortunate bike chucking incident. Rear tire is a Continental Town and Country from Jacobi’s tandem, front is a Specialized Crossroads that was probably on the bike when I got it. She’s a real gnarly bitch.

For those of you who need a little 'how to' on the ins and outs of Bike Polo, I found a video for you below. Come this spring if you're in the West Michigan area and want to try your hand in the sport, on Sundays and Wednesdays under the S-Curve there are matches normally going on.