Machine Politics vs Beaver Boys, May 2011. Photo by Bruce Carver
Last week I got my Sidi stuck in somebody's spokes and it felt like tried to stop a lawnmower blade with my toes. It seems all the kids are taking off their covers these days. I got a new back wheel and was tempted to keep my covers off too. After that unfortunate and painful incident I reconsidered and covered my wheel back up. I've been thinking about taking the plastic shields out of some old elbow pads and making some elastic straps for them so they fit over the ends of my shoes. Anyone done anything similar?
Wheel covers -
Pros:
1. More even, playable surface for the ball.
2. No ball through the spokes - this includes 48s. I've seen 'em go through.
3. No mallet in spokes.
4. Reduce impact of mallet/ball
5. No toes/fingers in spokes - this has happened to me as well. It sucks.
Cons:
1. Weight
2. Wind
3. Truing (unless you have a sweet spoke wrench.
Wheel covers will not make you a better player. But you can't say they don't help.
I agree with 2nd Pro. I've been scored on that way!
wheel covers significanlty alter handling. It is really hard for me to play with them.
I have small durace mine spoke wrenches but someone needs to make spoke wrenches as thin as cone wrenches that are not going wear out fast but can still just slip it on the nipple. Sucks pulling your covers off to true a couple spokes.
i think ben schicago makes a spoke wrench that can be used with wheel covers. ben, where can we get one of those?
I am about to switch over to 48s and will be running them coverless because I want my polo bike to serve more of a utilitarian purpose and wheel covers just get knocked around too much commuting.
this happened the first game of the FTL tournament. It did not seem fun at all.
Anyone who witnessed Luis (Paris) vs Eddie (Munich) at the Paris BFF tourney knows that 48 spokes + chukkers won't be of much use against a rival player's pedal in a crash. Double disc FTW
Yorgo
LONDON: http://bricklanebikepolo.wordpress.com/
PARIS: http://panambikepolo.blogspot.com/
i seen it! 8 spokes and a broken nose later, i would rather rock wheel covers.
"ok Mr. Schwinn fucking Armstrong!"
Body to bike is illegal. Also toe covers sound really really useless.
Foot in rear wheel is how I broke ribs. The rear end t-bone sucks no matter how it occurs.
i think it's sort of a grey area. my feet are clipped in; if they get caught in someone's spokes, it's not because i was flailing or putting my body onto their bike. doesn't my shoe count as part of the pedal (i.e., part of the bike) in this instance?
it's not necessarily the person who gets their foot trapped that causes the accident.
also, my two cents: if you can't handle a little cross-wind against your wheelcovers, you could use the practice anyway
Columbia, MO
Like I said, sucks no matter how it happens. I certainly didn't feel I was at fault when I broke my ribs.
When I think about it now toe covers kind of sound like the perfect stocking stuffer. Are you sure they sound really useless?
all this coming from someone playing fixed, brakeless, with no foot retention? come on man wheel covers and "toe covers" are the least of your worries
Yeah, that's funny. I've got a brake now and I'm loving it. I think maybe I'm a little tougher on defense now because I can stop exactly where I want. I'm also free to go faster on breakaways. Yet the simplicity of how I rode all last year has it's beauty.
Although I haven't gotten around to making a prototype "toe cover" I think they have merit and they could save shoes and toes from being torn up. As much as I'd like everyone to have wheel covers It probably isn't going to happen. Someday hopeful there will at least be toe covers for those that are safety minded.
the simplicity of how I rode all last year has it's beauty.
is this that "clean lines" thing?
having personally experienced the pain of foot in wheel crashdom I am pro wheel cover. good points from Ben and Sveden
Skid & Destroy
Axles of Evil
My toes ended up in a front wheel in Victoria. No major crash, but lots of pain for me. I have been thinking about steel-toed boots, but I have been playing clipless and that doesn't work out well. I would say full wheel covers for everyone, but I like it when my shots go through spokes!
I think the elbow pad into toe cover will create lots more issues with pedal strike. But I'd love to hear how it goes if you try it out.
(by the way, I HAVE gotten my foot caught in a lawnmower blade, foot in wheel is way less painful... just so you know)
I've gotten my own foot stuck in my back wheel before though. it hurts =(
"ok Mr. Schwinn fucking Armstrong!"
foot in wheel insert foot in mouth
http://www.mkebikepolo.com/wordpress/
get some removable wheelcovers gus legit style. ive been thinking about it recently. its fucking windy in nyc the past couple days
Pros
Hypnotism
cons
attracting bottle kids in the hood.
MKE 05-06
CHI 07-Pres.
My foot has gotten stuck in another player's front wheel at least three times, and twice my foot as taken out multiple spokes. Luckily, no damage to my foot or toes. In fact, just last Wednesday, my foot got stuck in a gal's front wheel when she sideswiped me, and my toes getting caught pulled the nipples right out of the rim.
I am pro wheel cover. I don't care if you have 48 spokes in your wheel or not. Doesn't have to be rear also, but I am definitely in favor of as many people playing with at least a front cover as possible. Anything gets caught in that front wheel and you're going to go down, or over. At least with the back wheel you'll just lock up and slide.
One thing I see a lot of, which really fucks up a wheel, is when someone's pedal gets stuck in a spinning wheel when there's a collision. Goodbye spokes!
{}------- lexington -------{}
Miah here in SF made himself a slick carbon fiber sheet that fits the obtuse cone of his spokes and leaves some breathing room. But not enough for a ball. 1/10 days there's a strong wind blowing perpendicularly down a street here you have to cross on the way to polo. And cars. Whatever covers I try are going to have breathing space.
I really like the light weight idea there too ... heavy wheels you have to accelerate in your line, and rotationally as well. Light wheels make your bike feel faster. Because it is.
I just got a bunch of spokes ripped out of my front wheel (48 spoke) like a zipper in a wreck. I think it was the other player's front axle, but maybe the pedal...who knows. Point being, wheel covers are definitely going back on. I'm not made of money.
OGT-COMOPOLO
I have ruined 3 pairs of shoes form catching them on people front/back spokes because they dont have covers. the worst part is now i need a new favorite pair of shoes. I too believe that steel toes are my plan as well
MABEY THESE http://www.steel-toe-shoes.com/Nautilus-Steel-Toe-Shoes-n1522.jpg
i was at the Florida tournament and smashed my toe in my second match, my toe just stopped being purple, but the toenail is about to fall off. i used a wheel cover on my front wheel for a while but getting blown around by wind on the way to play sucks too much. plus it seemed like i had to fix the shit all the time because when a ball or mallet would hit it, it would get a bulge or little scrap hanging off and rub on my fork. super annoying.
anyone try making covers out of wire mesh from a hardware store? might be a good idea.
It's plastic garden/gutter mesh. Needed lots more cable ties. Weakness is that it would catch on a mm or so of your neighbours axle/QR if they get too close.
--
bikepolo.com.au
urbanbicyclist.org
What are you people doing that your toes are getting caught in wheels and spokes and whatnot?!?! Jesus. Just stay on your bike
3...2...1...GO!
Mallets Of Mayhem
Little Richmond Bros Of Prey
Yeah, next time a rookie player comes screaming in at me, full-speed and sideswipes me, causing my pedals (which my feet are attached to) to get stuck in their spinning wheels while they lose their balance and basically fall into me and my bike, I'll try to keep in mind that I should really be trying to stay on my bike, and if not, I'm totally doing something wrong.
{}------- lexington -------{}
Yeah give it a try. You never know, it might work
3...2...1...GO!
Mallets Of Mayhem
Little Richmond Bros Of Prey
wheel covers front and back recently. feel much safer going into high speed interactions. i almost look forward to high speed interactions with a rider using covered wheels. less to think about. plus they look cool.
if your concerned about weight, change gearing just slightly, big difference in getting the horse running.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=9693436&id=840445715&op=1&view=glo...
danaL
gem city
anti-slayer
diagonal text
jamming your opponents food in your spokes is a good way to get rid of your competition so you can win the all florida tournament...
double disc somehow reduces the wobblyness in high winds..
Yorgo
LONDON: http://bricklanebikepolo.wordpress.com/
PARIS: http://panambikepolo.blogspot.com/
er, you mean you just get blown laterally instead of wobble that direction?
Regarding lower gears for bigger weight: A = F / M, where F is force provided by your noodle, mass is how much your whip weighs, and A is how much sooner you get to the ball before the other person. Weight is less important for a frame, and more important for wheels because you have to A ccelerate wheels rotationally in addition to the straight line ahead of you.
not knocking covers here - going to try them. Just sayin.
Have yet to experience this. Before I can get my hands on some covers, I need to get my hands on a bike...
i have seen alot acadents that happen when there are no wheel covers
like in victora i blocked a shot from oleg and his wheel rubed
against my toes it fuckin hurt YES wheel covers prevent injury
and i think that at all tounerys that all people should put them on thier
bikes it stop people from jamming thing like thier toes mallets
and most of all fingers
While watching one of the games at the Midwests in Como, I overheard a conversation about mandatory front wheel covers and helmets at tourneys. Can't say I disagree with the idea.
{}------- lexington -------{}
Surely there is a happy medium if you cut some air holes or slots in the discs?
I think you get used to them though. Rebuilt my front wheel over christmas with nice new straight gauge spokes and played one game without disks. Bang. Over the bars I go. Bent spokes. It's not worth it not to use them for me.
One of our guys a couple of weeks ago put his mallet into his front spokes off a shot and ripped out four spokes. Ended that game for him real quick.
i only ever wear steel toe caps when playing polo .i've had my toes in your spokes several times polo world. i've seen guys deliberately try to catch my toes in their spokes to their detriment. YOU KNOW who you are coz your wheel tells you so
"so this is how it ends"
Its really not that hard to remove wheelcovers, if you use normal zipties just use a flathead screwdriver, pick, key, corner of a credit card, finger nail to pull back the ziptie tab a bit and it will slide free...or get some of those fancy zipties for $2 that have a big tab you just press with on your finger to free it when not poloing.
I can understand helmets being mandatory but I think we're starting to go overboard with demanding wheel covers being mandatory. I tried them once, didn't like them, never looked back. I typically stay out of pile-ups but if someone crashes into me and gets body parts stuck wherever in my bike, why is it my fault if they suffer injury? What happened to being responsible for your own actions, especially if it causes injury to yourself? Maybe people will think twice before playing bike to bike so roughly.
I was playing last Monday against a someone with plenty of skills and experience. I reached over my left to poke the ball out of his possession, low velocity, both of us under control, friendly all the way. The head of my mallet caught his front wheel at the wrong angle and wrong time, for him. He lost 12+ spokes right there. I heard it more than felt it. It was a weird thing, no one had seen anything like it before.
He's got covers now. I agree about not making it mandatory, it's just a very good idea. The person without a front wheel cover is the one risking broken spokes and painful endo's.
for any one who needs wheel covers, like you cant find coroplast anywhere, or just don't feel comfortable stealing liquor store signs, i make them
i have 4 x 8 sheets of the stuff in all sorts of colors. AND i do vinyl decal graphics, so if you want a custom one made up, email me your graphic.
if you were at the NAs, Joker from LA has a custom cover made by me. i will be posting more pics as i make more.
but if you just need some blanks, i can send a 2x2' square and you can cut em. or i can send a blank circle that's 23" diameter with a 2" hole.
email me at
acwainscott@gmail.com
-Jinxy
danielnola's wheel cover looks awesome. i might get one from you one day, but i have a bunch of coroplast now that election season is over. do you have a flickr or something with pictures of covers that you've done?
i have a few pictures, but not quite enough to put together a whole gallery. soon though i will have everything ready for a proper display of what i can do
I have yet to use a wheel cover.
I do have the interstate commute to polo though, on a bridge where a wheel cover in the wind could send you into a girder.
Goodbye collarbone. Hello Vicadon...
Have thought of making some fabric ones. Ladies at our family business make fabric Elizabethan collars for dogs, I think I could adapt that design, shove em in the bag, and put em on when I get to polo.
I understand that wheel covers are inconvenient for folks that commute on their polo bikes and all. But, I'm a lefty with a fixed gear, and when I get the ball and u-turn to the right (w/out side jointing muthafuckas), it seems like a righty is always up in my business on the right. I stay in front of them, and would back off if their front wheel passed mine (I see this as: if I'm in the front it's T-boning to hit me) but if it doesn't, my pedal ends up plucking their spokes. Up to now I've backed off and changed directions or dabbed not to break spokes but if folks had wheel covers (on both sides) I don't think this situation would exist. Should I say "that's polo" and keep pedaling? Am I completely out of line?
Sincerely,
"Doesn't know where to turn"
i'd say if you're just holding your line, and an opponent moves his/her wheel into the path of your pedal stroke, then you would not be in the wrong for popping a coupla spokes. although in pickup it is probably better to err on the side of safety.
x2. And with the clarification: it reads like he's not just holding, but out positioning and out athleteing the player who put their spokes into his pedal. Without a lefty cover.
I changed my thinking on wheel covers. I still dislike riding them in the wind. But. I really dislike blown up wheels and I play more polo than I ride my polo bike in the wind. Plus, kids love them. That's the best - having some 5 year old's eyes light up and point at your wheels.
had all 5 fingers go in a back wheel the other night...luckily at slow speeds...pulled them out as they hit the chainstays during revolution...hurt so bad but literally could have broken every finger if not worse. gonna rock double wheelcovers for others' safety now and gonna rock lacrosse gloves for mine...
How does that even happen!? Yikes! Sounds like you're a lucky man, that could have been verrryy nasty.
Wheel covers save your spokes; other people's extremities and being embarrassingly scored on through spokes. (plus they stop the doubly embarrassing "self malleting" incidents I've seen occasionally)
The "kids" are taking their wheel covers off because 48° is becoming more common. I have seen one incident where a foot got lodged between the rear triangle and wheel resulting in a outward bending seat stay. It was a pretty gnarly crash.
As for toe covers. If I was worried about my digits, I'd go steel toed work shoes.
my2cents
www.mkebikepolo.com
www.mkebikepolo.com/wordpress
www.mkebikepolo.com/wordpress