Prince Philip could be cool
 

And I thought bike polo was a 2K hipster's game. Awesome. RIP.

Courtesy United Press.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...61329ec377.png

British Cool!

RIP!

Interesting bike. The fork appears reversed and the cranks appear to be curved. I kinda get the forks, but what's up with the curved cranks? Bet it was fun to ride.

I only got a feel for the man thru The Crown, but what an interesting life.


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a26e052dff.png

Purpose-built bike polo fixie. Straight forks so you can spin the front wheel at outrageously tight angles (including reverse). Can't explain the curved cranks, other than it might be just another example of someone failing to understand that pedal position is irrelevant to crank shape. I notice a curved seattube though.

-Kurt

Curved seat tube = shorter wheelbase = tighter turns

Curving the crankarms effectively shortens their length. Perhaps it was a custom bend to prevent tor overlap with that outrageous short wheelbase. The guys I knew who played preferred single speed with coaster brakes as well as wheel covers to prevent mallets from jamming in the spokes. It was fun to watch. I didn't dare play with my knee in wretched shape.

Also looks like next to no fork offset (I know straight forks otherwise have offset but that one looks straight in line with the headtube). I guess that means seriously high trail, lots of wheel flop, therefore tighter turns still?

I had no idea there was such a thing as a dedicated polo bike.

When I took the UBI framebuilding class, one of the students was building just such a thing.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...10f80fa111.jpg
Polo frame guy in the middle, light blue jacket, holding bike like a rifle.

I went to lunch with him one day, he told me about interesting tweaks to standard frame design for polo. Super strong wheels with more spokes than typical, and freewheels with more pawls - competitive advantage as it will engaged a split second sooner than one with fewer pawls.

Great minds, etc.

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