sweet head. we've been using 3/4" flat HDPE for grass pitch polo for 15 years. It's durable and can be drilled for weight reduction...for all you carpal tunnellers, try drilling the shit out of it, you can control the weight by how many and what size holes you drill, its amazing how the HDPE keeps its strength despite looking like swiss cheese
St Cago Polo Works (HDPE mallet heads)
This two-tone little piece of plastic represents the next big thing for me and mallet making. The yellow stuff is good ole' HDPE gas pipe. The same stuff you've been playing with for years, the stuff that holds threads for cross pin bolts, the stuff that lasts longer on rough courts like the Pit in NYC or the Garage in MKE. The black stuff is a cap machined from HDPE sheet. It has the same wall and face thickness as the pipe does.
The magic here is that the two are fused together. They are, molecularly, the same piece of plastic. It's the same technology and equipment as the gas company uses. My hope is that if it can stand up to gas or liquid at pressure, it can hold up to polo. We'll see. A few prototype models will be sent out to test markets while I work out the kinks in the manufacturing process and use their feedback to make improvements.
They will only be available in 2 3/8" (60mm) Outside Diameter. 1 or 2 caps. 5 1/2" or 6", they will probably be 15 dollars US, like St Cago's other heads.
Who wants to test 'em? The first one is going to Dumptruck in Chicago.
Done. I need two or three more folk who will volunteer to play the hell out of one of these heads in as short a time period as you can, and report back to me every detail of weight, handling, balance, wear, color, etc. that you notice. Like or dislike.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
I'll be a tester but the snow wont be gone from our court until the end of march at the very earliest
3...2...1...GO!
Mallets Of Mayhem
But I will be spending a minimum of three weeks in florida in february
3...2...1...GO!
Mallets Of Mayhem
I'll be a tester! Third come first serve? When you send one to NYC just put mine in with it... it could possibly leave you with cheaper shipping!
BOOM!
Lucky, what's the weight on these?
I have no clue. "They" are an "it" right now, and "it" hasn't been drilled out for shaft and crosspin or for weight. So: heavy. Ask Dumptruck to weigh it after he drills it out.
Zack: I've already got one going to NYC. Ask to borrow it and give me some feedback. I'm looking to spread the prototypes out a little, so more people can handle them.
Alexis: I'm trying really hard to get down to Pensacola. If there's some ski poles around (hint hint) I'll shaft one or two heads for everyone to try out during pick-up games.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
its... beautifull.
"Bike polo is the sport of gentlemen...
Gentlemen with mustaches"
Want me to test one out in 43 degree heat (109 Farenheit)
http://www.theage.com.au/national/melbourne-swelters-on-second-day-of-he...
Melbourne Forecast
Issued at 5:00 am EDT on Thursday 29 January 2009
Warning Summary at issue time
The CFA has declared a day of Total Fire Ban for the Central Total Fire Ban District for Thursday 29 January.
Strong wind warning for Port Phillip.
Forecast for the rest of Thursday
Sunny. Winds north to northwesterly averaging up to 50 km/h easing to 30 km/h during the afternoon. A seabreeze will develop during the evening.
City Windy. Max 43
Maximum Fire Danger: Extreme
UV Alert from 9:30 am to 5:40 pm, UV Index predicted to reach 11 [Extreme]
Actually, maybe I wont be playing polo :)
Good job on the bonding, What's the wall thickness and weight of these little units?
--
urbanbicyclist.org
I will infuse one with drillium if you need someone to test to see how much it will handle!
you're a maverick, Lucky.
{}------- lexington -------{}
yo sent to Seattle.. we'lll all have a wack at it. 6811 46th ave south, sea wa 98118...thanks 3 times a week 25 players. It might not even last that long. let us know Lucky!
Messmann
bikepologuru
seattlebikepolo
since 1998
If we could get one capped side one open I think this would be better for Seattle Style. Messma be sure to share since we only see you on Thursdays I want to see this mallet out everyday of the week.
Leon
Seattle Bike Polo
Done. A BJ for Seattle and Two capper for NYC.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
Thanks
It helps for getting the ball off the wall or fence. Also we to are subject to the weak wrist syndrome in Seattle and I thought this might be able to appeal more to the majority.
Leon
Seattle Bike Polo
That Angelo Shuffle is weak shit dude.
send one up to east van lucky. i will both test it, pass it around so others can test it, drill it, then test it again.
redarmypolo
2301-C Trinity St
Vancouver, B.C.,
V5L 1B9
Canaduh
TOP CENTER 4-EVA
don't bother lucky. this is the biggest limp-wrist in all of bike polo. send it to rory or drunkie, maybe, but please not martin. we brought him a capped (abs) mallet in 818 and all he did was bitch bitch bitch.....
nyc
It's true. He bought one of the capped ABS heads at the NACCC and whined about how heavy it was all the way back across the border.
On the plus side, his carpal tunnel treatments are free from national health...
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
what about "pass it around to others" did you not understand farty mcfarterson?
TOP CENTER 4-EVA
oh please martin. we all know you don't pass.
nyc
Bahaha i'm still laughing chris. But no, seriously Martin totally passed...
all his beer out and blamed me for stealing it.
I miss you Martin.
-Don't bring cake to a donut fight.-
yeah chris, but it's not just in the 818! send it to me lucky, perhaps for psychological testing... 7 inch double-capped, i'll drill it out to spec. i'm going to put it up against total polo lab's offering, you can both vie for being my exclusive supplier along with pabst blue ribbon, jager, and bc gold. 2204 ferndale, vancouver bc, V5L 1Y5. as soon as ben sends my bike back from from madison i'm back on the court, it'll be 55 here tomorrow. miss you chris, when are you moving to east van?
So far I have only seen PE pipe in 2 3/8" (60mm) outside diameter. That's bigger than the mallet you play with habitually, no? Also, 7 inches? That's crazy-long. How do you keep from bashing it into the ground and ruining all your shots?
I was going to make you and Joe from Chicago hockey style 2" (50mm) capped ABS heads. 80 degree shaft angle, 1/3 to 2/3 bias along the length.
I'd appreciate a head to head (ha) test with TPL's product. Just for weight, balance, and handling. Their design will last even longer than mine, just cos you can turn the caps 180 degrees and start again.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
i have to measure my heads, but seven inches is pretty much it. remember, you were the one that called me crazy. i appreciate your offer to make my head but i have to make them all the same, there are bizarre measurements that involve the use of bottle caps and an old length of bike chain, 80 degrees and thirds just isn't it. i use a custom screw system too. i'd be interested to try the wider diameter stuff as well though, it must be great for blocking shots and give an even larger shooting surface. let the experiments begin.
fall 09 is the beginning of my perhaps permanent east van sabbatical. right around harvest time for the next crop of gold. miss you too. martin, not so much.
nyc
Send me one down to Pensacola. I just lost my good mallet head. patiently awaiting the arrival of ottawa for some new heads. ill rep it big during the SESPI and we'll have a spot for you at our beach house!
I'm going to send one to Seattle. They play three times a week, so the thing will get a run through a little more quickly.
Y'all are way to loose about posting your addresses on-line, by the way.
I think I'll just bring some to Pensacola. You may have one of your choice of St Cago products as a thank-you for hosting the tournament.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
i think i'm a little late on this, but if you want a DC tester, and possbile USG sanctioned feedback, I'd gladly volunteer.
If you still need testers....
I can give you feedback on usage from the hocky rink we play on.
I really like your St. Cago logo, Lucky. Did you screen those star-de-lis on there or are they stickers?
SUCK TOWN POLO
A polo player in St Louis works at a sign shop, so those are cut vinyl stickers. They are actually the "waste" from the stickers I put on the ABS heads. It's half of a six pointed star from the Chicago flag and half the Fleur-de-lis from the St Louis City flag.
I'd use 'em on the PE heads, but I doubt there would be enough material left for the square inch decal after folk add their drillium.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
If you want someone from DC to really
beat the shit out of this thing, I'm your guy.
Also will be going to P'cola.
I really like the look of these heads, Lucky. Best so far!
{}------- lexington -------{}
Wow, everyone. Thanks for your interest. I'm going to make just a couple more prototypes for a total of three tester models. One is on it's way to Chicago, the other two are going to NYC and Seattle.
I will also try to make 10 or so to bring to sell at the SESPI, unless all the testers fall apart. There will be refinements to the design after that. Currently, I am designing in favor of longevity, which adds a little bit of weight. We'll see what folk do with their drill and how that affects things.
Thanks again for all the offers to beat the hell out of something I made! I'm really excited about these, and I hope I can make a sizable batch soon.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
Seriously bring me one to Florida. I feel like between Ottawa and myself we should be able to annihilate or embrace your creation. I'd like a one sided cap personally.
please
-Don't bring cake to a donut fight.-
Holy crap, we are dying here.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/as-train-tracks-melted-and-trees-wilte...
The week has been our hottest known. It was the first time since records began in 1855 that there had been three consecutive days above 43 degrees.
--
urbanbicyclist.org
You know, Australia is no longer a prison colony for the British. You could always move to a more temperate climate. Like Chicago, where it's -12 Deg C.
Hell yes...
Chicago seems like a good part of the US to be in at the moment... (Been there once, made a bunch of friends) Though I've had my dose of freezing North American cities I've got East Van to thank for this polo bug... In the meantime we're building the bike polo scene here, just to get our weekly fix... (weekly on mondays, weekly on tuesdays, weekly on wednesdays... :)
--
urbanbicyclist.org
god damn thats hot!
Last year in toronto we had a week of 40 degree weather and I thought I was gonna die. I was a foot courier, I can only imagine how the bike guys were doing.
"Bike polo is the sport of gentlemen...
Gentlemen with mustaches"
Lucky, I'll take some for SF and distribute to the most frequent players. I'll send you a private message to make arrangements. We'll play Mondays through the winter unless it rains. Lately there has been a Wednesday game plus 1-2 guys heading over to Oakland to play.
Why the angle inside the cap? I measured the wear on all the heads in St Louis. The erosion was almost always 3/4" in from the edge and at 14 degrees from the surface of the pipe. So, theoretically, for a little extra weight, you get maybe twice the playing time. Because where open pipe would come to a knife edge from wear, the cap on these would grind away to the normal wall thickness of the pipe.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
i think this thing needs to see the abouse of racked concrete ill take a 6 inch please
MKE!
Are they fused or bonded? I don't know a lot about plastics but I thought fusing creates a bead. Of course you could have shaved it off.
I hope they hold up. I want a couple.
They are fused. High temperature and pressure. It did leave a bead. I trimmed it off.
I hope they hold up, too. Test batch coming end of this week, maybe. I'll post results.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
Save one for me when you get your first batch together, Lucky. I'd like to give one a go.
{}------- lexington -------{}
I would love to test 'em down here at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale, FL USA
Christopher, Messman: Your mallet heads went in the mail today. The postman sez they'll arrive Wednesday, plus or minus.
After you get 'em, drill them out to your preferences. Then please weigh them on a gram scale (if you have access to one) and post a picture here. Then go play the heck out of them and tell me what you think.
Edit: I have the undrilled weights. The 2 3/8" diameter, 6" long, two capper I sent to NYC is 173 grams. The 5 1/2" long one capper (BJ) that went to Seattle is 140. By comparison, the fully drilled out, ready to play, ABS heads I also make are 138 grams for the 2 3/8" diameter, 6" long, two capper is 138 grams and the 2 3/8" diameter, 5 1/2" long, 1 capper (BJ) is 110.
So you're only about 30 grams under the ABS weights, and you have yet to drill any holes.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
thanks for the update lucky. the pit is dying to sink its teeth into this thing. i'll document it all for you. martin can verify for you that i like a heavy head anyway.....
nyc
Lucky when you say "heads" I take it you sent Two (2) proto's our way right? Okay if so will complete the following request. Did you want them mailed back? Or just a complete break down of the action? Marco. by the way. What are you holding in your picture above. something gray?
Messmann
bikepologuru
seattlebikepolo
since 1998
No. I meant "your heads" as in one for each of you. I was addressing two people. Sorry to get your hopes up.
You don't need to mail it back. Hopefully it will last so long and perform so well that I'll have moved and the return address you have won't be any good anyway. Please do take pictures of how you drill it out and how it's wearing down. Also, please note whatever anyone who plays with it says about it. Heavy, light, unbalanced, level, soft, hard, whatever.
The thing in my avatar is me flask o' whiskey. I am toasting you all.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
Still plenty of work yet to do, but ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: Pumpkin Heads!
They are all 2 3/8"(60mm) X 5 1/2"(140mm). There are eight 1 cap (BJ) models and four 2 cappers. They will be available at the SESPI for the introductory price of 18 dollars a piece. Standard early adopter rules apply, you will pay a little more and help de-bug/beta test the product. With your feedback I should be able to deliver a more refined (and a little cheaper) batch of 50 or so in a couple of months.
For sure I will not start with coiled pipe. Which means that the next batch, the first real production run, will probably be black pipe with black caps. So the orange and black head will identify you as a first generation user. If that helps make up for the 18 dollar price tag at all.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
10-fer!
Messmann
bikepologuru
seattlebikepolo
since 1998
thank you lucky! it arrived today.
though i think i got the head meant for messmann, because it measures in at just over 5 & 3/8 inches, with one cap.
either way, we here in new york are going to play it to death. i'm going to shaft it and play with it before drilling it out at all and weighing it. but i'll let you know how all that goes.
Woops. Crap. Sorry. Thanks for sticking with it anyway. I hope Messman is as forgiving.
Yeah, get that thing to the court ASAP. The original one that went to Chicago fell apart already. I made it very wrongly, which I could not have known until I made these two and the orange and black ones rightly. I.E. Using rented professional fusion equipment heated to the correct temperature, as opposed to an iron and a vise. I'd like at least a little confirmation that the fusion process can stand up to polo before I sell the orange and black ones.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
this one held up well through its first night of testing: no critical damage. most everyone who got their hands on it thought it is very heavy compared to what they are used to, and most of them play drilled out hdpe. i personally don't find it too heavy for regular use, and so am going to leave it undrilled for now. one problem with this, though, is that because the unicap head is unevenly weighted it wants to turn on its downswing, so those who prefer using only one cap might think about drilling out more on that side of the shaft than the other to compensate for the initial imbalance. more testing to come.
...because the unicap head is unevenly weighted it wants to turn on its downswing, so those who prefer using only one cap might think about drilling out more on that side of the shaft than the other to compensate for the initial imbalance. more testing to come.
I was going to experiment with this also, I recognize that it could be an issue. Probably two big holes on the upper half of the cap end, and two smaller holes in the same place on the other end. I'll ask Andy for some help with the math while we're driving for 14 hours tomorrow.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
lucky, how much does one cap weigh by itself? we are going to drill out exactly that much from the capped end.
the one you sent to nyc is still undergoing thorough scrutiny in The Pit, and still holding up well. Chombo gave it a name: the coconut. This is thanks to the noise it makes when hit; with only cap it sounds like those guys in the monty python movie pretending to ride horses. kinda like what we're doing.....
one less horse, eh martin?
Ha!
OK, I finally found the little scrap of paper that I wrote this all down on. One cap, before facing and fusing (in which some material is lost and some more material is...changed) weighs 33 grams.
When I set my 2 cap HDPE head up to play with in Pensacola, I drilled a mess of 1/4" holes around the edge of the black caps. It helped take some weight of the very ends of the mallet for batter balance. I'll see if I can make that a regular feature of the next batch.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
Or you could just quit being a limp-wristed pansy... I've experimented with counter weighting the shaft of the mallet by wrapping batteries in athletic tape and hammering them into the end of the shaft. Wrap enough tape so they don't slide down the shaft you want them to remain at the top near the handle. don't be an idiot and leave the nodes exposed either but, mainly, quit being a limp-wristed pansy.
Don't bring cake to a donut fight.
good advice ian. thanks. do you think this video game will help me to not be such a limp-wristed pansy?
Thank you for the visual reference. I don't watch SNL. Lately I've only been watching AMC and TCM. AMC has been prone to show old B&W samurai films from time to time. Can't have limp wrists if you want to be a samurai. TCM has been showing a lot of Clint Eastwood films of late. When you sling revolvers as often as Clint does you can't have limp wrists... "Dying ain't much of a livin'"
and video games won't help you. If you want to take my training program come visit. I'll let you use my parking meter mallet.
Don't bring cake to a donut fight.
All right kids, the pumpkin heads are out there! Send me pictures of how y'all drilled 'em out, how they're holding up over time, and if you can, how much they weigh after drilling.
The data will go into the design process for the next production run of 60 or so heads, which will be available in 2" and 2 3/8" diameters probably sometime in May, for the summer tournament schedule.
For anyone who is/has played with both the St Cago ABS and HDPE capped heads, what are the differences you notice? Aside from durability on rough court surfaces, do they play differently?
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
back in my day, we called our mallet heads bees because they had a picture of a bee on them. "Five bees for a quarter," we'd say.
(hint: DT wants a PE fusion head)
Testing begins tomorrow! 321polo
slapdick bike polo - washington dc
It took a few minutes to get used to one side of the head weighing more than the other, but it played awesome. I am going to switch it over to a new pole though. I have 3 of the same poles, so I will put this, a TPL, and a regular PE head on each identical pole so testing can be more exact.
As you can see, the TPL head is slightly shorter because I asked for 5" then took one of the caps off. I don't think it will be that noticeable though. Sorry for all of the crappy camera phone pictures, but you get the idea.
slapdick bike polo - washington dc
That's great, Ryan. Thanks for doing a head to head to head head test. I imagine a few people will be watching that.
Also, don't be afraid to drill through or over the fusion seam. According to the literature, the seam is just a color difference. It's all one piece of plastic on a molecular level.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
Seattle is testing I will have pictures soon. Mess brought it last night and I took it home. It's not what I hoped for since we got the NYC head but it plays really well. I will be drilling it out a bit more and I will send picture and a more in depth review soon.
Leon
Seattle Bike Polo
just saw off one end, and then you've got the mallet you wanted to test in the first place.
I thought about it but mess already put it on a pole and I like my mallets to be even on both sides I'm not a big fan of the off center. Since he drilled out a lot of the rest there is no remounting but I was thinking of drilling out one of the ends but I think I will do it in stages to see how the ball shoots differently as the whole gets larger.
On another subject you should get a team together and do the France trip with us. If you think you can swing it give me a call and will see what we can come up with.
Leon
Seattle Bike Polo
The last of the pumpkin heads went out today. Two to Chicago and one to New Orleans. Now I'm just processing your feedback to refine the design. So please keep it coming so the next batch can be even better.
Thanks to all.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
i'll be needing to try this one next time you make a batch. the ABS + caps shoots like a dream, but i can tell it won't last very long on our playing surface, i need HDPE!
Columbia, MO
I didn't get the chance to ask you last weekend. What does S.P.A.T.U.L.A. stand for?
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
Lucky,
Can I get on the list for one of your next batch of HDPE heads? I like the caps on both ends. Thanks!
Keith.
Lucky, saw you in Indy at the handmade bike show and didn't even think to ask you about these heads. Any idea when you'll have some to send out?
I've still got four styles of ABS heads in stock. As to he next batch of HDPE heads, I'm looking to get them done sometime in May, for the summer tournament season. Come to Dayton for the Mid Wests, and save a few bux on shipping.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
Lucky, I need your paypal account name to order two ABS heads. Can't wait until Dayton to snag some of the HDPE pressure resistant pipe bombs.
Please use the "contact me" page of my .ca profile. I'll get you hooked up.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
finally got some more good use of the orange pipe even though the shaft broke tonight so gots to reshaft it. getting use to it and hitting some awesome shots now. thanks lucky. i will be ordering another when the next round comes out. ya got me hooked.
OK everyone! I'm in the planning stages for the production run hopefully to be completed in May '09. Send in your pictures and reports so I can tweek the design around how they're getting used and abused. Have the caps failed on any of them? Has anyone worn through the edge? Does the PE still hold threads after 8 weeks of abuse on the court?
As I'm planning it now, the production run will consist of about 50 2" O.D. two cap heads and about 50 2 3/8" O.D. heads, mixed one and two caps. Does that sound right to y'all? More one-cappers? No 2" pipe?
I looked into injection molding, so I could add more cool features to the caps, like waffling in the face. Having a mold made would not pay off for me until the 400th mallet head rolled off the line. At current interest, that's 2-3 years from now. We'll see what happens this summer.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
i'm stoked. consider this a standing order for a 2".
still planning on including the fourteen degree angle inside?
Columbia, MO
are you gonna be doing mail order stuff???
i got one at the pensacola tournament, and it works really good.
let me know if you will have a mail order thing or whatever........
Yes, I will be doing mail order. Look for an announcement on this site when the batch is done. I'll also be at one or two tourneys this summer playing and selling heads.
As of right now, I am planning on keeping the 14 angle. I know it's extra material and therefore weight, but I think that potentially doubling the life of the head is worth it. I've got a few things to try to take a little weight off elsewhere to balance it out.
We'll know for sure when folk start posting here that they finally wore through the cap.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
the angle is where it's at, man. make it heavy, i'll adjust. i just want equipment that will last.
Columbia, MO
Lucky, your mallets shoot really fucking hard and really fucking straight. I felt like I was cheating. Will probably order some more for friends here soon. The ones you sent are 2" ABS with white end caps. These are bonded, not fused right?
Also, I just liberated some HDPE gas pipe from a parking lot and it was bundled/wrapped. Is there a quick way to make it straight? Heat? Brute force?
Depending how big it is, use a round dowel or broom stick and leave it in the sun for awhile. It will straighten out all on it's own. Except this doesn't work so well if you're in a hurry, like you kind of indicated.... heat might work but keep an eye on the plastic so it doesn't go soft on you and start to sag, then it's too late.
....... __o
........\<,
.... ( )/( )
There's still plenty of work yet to do trimming, drilling, weighing, and balancing. But here's some proof that I had a busy weekend. 104 heads. 5.5"-ers on the right, 6"-ers on the left. 2" outer diameter at the top, 2 3/8" outer diameter in the middle (1-cap) and bottom (2-caps).
Maybe by this weekend. Maybe next, after the Mid Wests. We'll see. I'll announce here when they're sale-ready.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
im going to need to purchase one of those seeing as my last one was destroyed along with my bike in a UPS fire. BASTARDS!
Maybe by this weekend. Maybe next, after the Mid Wests. We'll see. I'll announce here when they're sale-ready.
If you live in MN, IA, MO, WI, IL, MI, IN, KY, and OH why not join the Midwest Club page?
do you still need test subjects?
victoria is running out of good pipe
we need some HDPE!
Luke, I'll bring some next time I'm down your way. I'll have yellow gas and black and blue municipal water pipe. I ussualy cut it up in 7 inch long pieces so everyone can shorten it to their perospnal liking. But if you want a specific length I have a chop saw tha makes a pretty square cut, just let me know.
Lucky, I haven't gotten around to mounting those ABS heads but it's at the top of my priority list.
When are the orange pumpkin heads going into production sales?
cheers
....... __o
........\<,
.... ( )/( )
These are the production run of the pumpkin heads. Only, this time I used black pipe and white caps. This particular pipe came in straight lengths, not from a coil, so the heads have been easier for me to work with.
The cap material is a higher density HDPE than the black stuff from the test run. We'll see if that translates to better polo performance, but the engineering specs made it seem a little bit stronger. Higher tensile strength, harder.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
was the black stuff from the pumpkin heads softer than the white caps you used on the abs/hdpe heads? i think the abs heads shot harder.
Columbia, MO
Yes. The black HDPE from the pumpkin heads is softer than the ABS. If you feel engineer-y, here are the numbers:
ABS.
Tensile strength: 5400 psi
Impact strength: 7.3 lbs
Rockwell "R" hardness: ± 105
BLACK HDPE. (pumpkin heads)
Tensile strength: 4000 psi
Impact strength: 1.3 lbs
Rockwell "R" hardness: ± 70
WHITE HDPE. (current batch)
Tensile strength: 4400 psi
Impact strength: 2.4 lbs
Rockwell "R" hardness: ± 70
ABS is harder than all the forms of HDPE I have experimented with so far. I also believe that means a crisper shot off the mallet, but the down side is that harder means more brittle and less long lasting. It will chip away. HDPE will grind away, like a pencil eraser.
My focus right now, given your feedback, is to make longer lasting mallets. When I get through with the trimming and drilling of this batch next week sometime, I'll weigh them and post the results. If it's even close to the ABS heads of the same size, I'm going to direct my energies this way and make fewer, if any ABS heads.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
Lucky, what do you have in stock right now?
Nothing. I am in the middle of making a batch of HDPE heads in all the usual sizes. See Mike K, he's putting together a London group order to save on shipping.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
yo lucky
cant wait till there done.
when they are can i get one with 2 caps
thanks
and I hope you don't come between me and the cold hard ground.
Lucky can I place an order for the new style?
....... __o
........\<,
.... ( )/( )
I definitely agree that HDPE is the better material for heads. I also think MDPE is superior to ABS, even though it tends to give a more sluggish shot due to the bounce (recoil) it has when it connects with the ball.
Longer-lasting is always good too!
{}------- lexington -------{}
I got some more work done, but not enough. I'm sorry to say that the tournament unavailing of the batch will have to be COG. Not the Mid Wests, which I was shooting for.
Mail order should be ready to go towards the end of next week. I'll send out an email to all the folk who've mailed me with orders/requests to set aside those heads before I schlep the rest up to Milwaukee.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
There's still a day's work to do at the drill press before this batch is ready for shipping. But I wanted to report on the weights. Amazingly, the HDPE weighs LESS than the ABS!
2" X 5 1/2" X 2 caps 79g
2" X 6 X 2 caps 84g
2 3/8" X 5 1/2" X 2 caps 119g
2 3/8" X 6 X 2 caps 134g
2 3/8" X 5 1/2" X 1 cap 125g
2 3/8" X 6 X 1 cap 139g
The single cap, "BJ" models weigh more than their 2 cap counterparts of the same length because I only drilled out the cap side. I figured balance was more important than a few grams off the total. According to my no too terribly scientific test, the holes I did drill will mean that the mallet won't fall towards the capped side while you're trying to do something else with it during a game.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-now
2 3/8" X 5 1/2" X 1 cap 125g
I want two of these at cog RSVP
www.mkebikepolo.com
please hold one of each for me:
2 3/8" X 6 X 2 caps
and
2" X 6 X 2 caps
i'll hit you up at the next I-70 friendlies, which we should discuss sometime.
Columbia, MO
http://www.bluecollardistro.com/fixcraft/categories.php?cPath=992_1282
if anyone was still interested
.edit for clarity. this is not the same as the top introductory post by lucky. the stuff is thinner, will grind through rough surfaces quickly (I would guess 2 months of 2-3 days a week will grind it out, unless you play at a really smooth spot like sacramento, etc).
side note, you can buy the abs solid core for 3.50 a head (no caps).
Thanks for ruining the surprise, Maxxx, remind me to come to your next birthday party dressed as something you hate. An open 5-hole, maybe...
So, yeah. St Cago will now be distributed through Fixcraft, like I mentioned 8 months ago. The reasons why it took me so damn long to make this batch and the extra-slow pace at which I've been getting back to people and missing deadlines is why someone else needs to take the emailing and shipping stuff off my hands.
So there ya go. They've got 249 heads and, like, 6 brake levers over there to sell to y'all. They'll be going to tournaments and answering emails and shipping out daily. They're a great company to work with if you have any polo products what need distribution. I recommend them hardily.
If the organizers of the 7 regional qualifiers and the ladies army happen to be reading this thread, please send me an email with the names of whichever people you handed out the St Cago gift certificates to as prizes. They've waited long enough, they get dibs. Only a couple have contacted me directly.
Thanks, poloverse.
-Lucky
i'll gladly test a 6" double-cap in the pit for you, lucky.
nyc
fixcraft.net