What makes a polo bike?

One question we get quite a bit is about what kind of bike you need for polo play. The basic bike is the garden variety mountain bike. Many prefer the older non-suspension bikes that you can often find at yard sales or even in a nearby dumpster.

From there, there are two important changes. First, you want to reverse your brakes so that your left hand operates the rear brakes. This is important because your right hand will be busy with your mallet. If you clamp down on the front brake, you could easily go over the handlebars. On my bike, I have removed the front brakes altogether. Others prefer a system where both brakes are operated by a single left hand lever. Either works well depending on your style.

The next thing is the addition of polo bars. These are small, U-shaped bars that will allow you to swing your mallet on either side of the bike. You can get these from Boxwood for ten bucks.

From this point, you want to put your bike on a diet. Get rid of everything you don't need. I ditched the front derailleur, all of the reflectors, racks, and anything else you can dump. In the end you have a lightweight bike that is built to serve one specific purpose. If you need help building your polo bike or you want to try one out before you do your own swap, feel free to stop by on Sunday or get in touch with us by email.