Machine Politics vs Beaver Boys, May 2011. Photo by Bruce Carver
for a high quality slayer mallet?
Assuming the choice was:
- High quality alloy shaft(7075 aluminum and higher)
- Light weight durable HDPE material(with pilot holes for easy install and leaving plenty of material for the indivdual player to drill out however they see fit.
- Universal clean hardware mounting design
- High quality cap choices(none,single,double)
Can I go ahead and say Zero Dollars Zero Cents? I'm all for the DIY in this sport, and the various mallet constructions/abominations are one of the things I love about it.
That said, maybe you're price-pointing a small operation, and this is me lording my northern Ski-Poles-A-Plenty over the Polo South.
So yeah, I guess parting with 40 bones would be okay, but I sure wouldn't be very cavalier with it. How much are those fat bastards paying for golf clubs nowadays?
I like the DIY aspect too... but I was happy to buy a Lucky mallet head... and I would love to be able to buy a almn stick for a fair price (10-15 bucks or so) rather than trying to find ski poles at second hand shops in OK. U know someone will eventually create a modular polo specific mallet system sooner or later.
...What is this perfect world you speak of?.. is this the one where my house is filled with sexy naked women and fried chicken and cold beer?... uh .. even if I did have all this I would still be making my own mallet ... so the answer would be $0 ... I like to pick the poles I use .. and drill holes where i like em ..and cut it at a certain length...its something everyone in this sport should know how to do .. I have seen some interesting ways of building mallets .. and well .. you know a good one when you see it .. its not rocket science.. i just don't like it if I find someones mallet with screws or pokey sharp things sticking out..DANGER BAY!!.... uh same goes for wheel covers .. go find some plastic signs .. or if your me .. cardboard from under your bed .. and figure it out monkey .. its all part of the fun..
...BallAholics...Multiple Scoregasms...Thundercock...
Do you keep fried chicken under your bed too?
"so the answer would be $0 ... I like to pick the poles I use .. and drill holes where i like em ..and cut it at a certain length...its something everyone in this sport should know how to do .. I have seen some interesting ways of building mallets .."
Cory, not sure if I explained myself well enough or you misinterpreted me, but the perfect world I speak of would have only the highest quality ski poles available. As for drilling like I stated in my post previously pilot holes would be drilled so the individual player can DIY 80-90%. Drill to your little heart desires or leave the head solid. The pole would be UN-CUT so the individual player has THAT choice.
Do you have any photo's of your interesting mallet building techniques? I'd be curious to see them, if they are in deed interesting like you said.
...Uh NO I do not keep fried chicken under my bed ... that would just be fucked up....
I do however understand more of what your up to .. and well I'm not against it .. I personally would still just be making my own .. hey has anyone ever tried calling one of the companies that makes good poles and just try to get some raw unpainted poles?.. I have no idea if they would even sell em like that... hmmm..
as for interesting mallet designs.. there is a guy here attaches the head of the mallet to the pole using bike spokes.. I will try and get a picture for ya some time..its not a great way to do it..but well .. he can say he made it himself.. I have seen one held together with hemp string.. no bolts .. and a few people who have slid a beer can over the mallet head.. and it always gets shredded and there are sharp edges everywhere..yikes!!..
This is the last one I made with one cap on it..
...BallAholics...Multiple Scoregasms...Thundercock...
DIY and if you must pedal the parts at tournaments and pick-up to pay for your play. Should never pay more than 30 for a mallet.
twenty bucks.
everything in the world is either $20 or $100. no way I'm paying a hundred for a mallet.
Doug D
Brooklyn, New York
http://www.hardcourtbikepolo.com/
good mallets mean good play. if the product was nice enough, there'd be people lining up to buy it at $60 a pop.
---
victoria bike polo
WTF, the invisible hand plays polo? I don't think so.
I've agreed to buy regular "DIY used" mallets off of people for $10.
If I were somewhere where I could make mallets, I wouldn't buy them. The only way I'd pay is if they were indestructible, in which case I'd pay $50 per.
Sasha
I'm all for people engineering the perfect mallet head, especially when they are mostly blank slates that people can modify for their own use. If someone was able to fabricate a shaft that was basically the same as a high quality ski pole for a reasonable price I suppose I'd be into that idea as well... but I doubt I would ever buy a pre-assembled mallet. Too many personal factors come into play, and I'm really picky about the way I build mine.
That said though, I'm still surprised that the process of building a proper mallet is lost on most players. There's probably a market for it among polo players; especially those who don't own simple tools, or aren't particularly mechanically inclined.
{}------- lexington -------{}
fixie inc mallet
Yorgo
LONDON: http://bricklanebikepolo.wordpress.com/
PARIS: http://panambikepolo.blogspot.com/
Yes, there would be drilling and assembly required. There would also be sawing involved for individual player preferences.
"The original post sounds like there would still be drilling and assembly required, thus negating the only reason that I can see for needing to buy it in the first place."
I'm guessing you have no problems finding the proper mallet building materials where you live? This would be geared towards players that are fairly knowledgeable about the various polo materials that have been tried and tested and know what works the best. So when your mallet breaks and your in a different town, You'll spend 60 bux on set of 7075 alloy poles at the sporting good store and you already know where the gas company is working that particular day eh? experienced polo player! that should be on the "you know when you take polo to seriously thread."
Do tell where you purchased the titanium tubing, and you can sell me some of that.
Would you mind telling us where we can get titanium poles, tube stock etc... for a reasonable price?
If it was super light, strong(could last 6 months of tri-weekly play) and custom built to my preferred dimensions, i would pay up to and including $39.99. Add $5 if it has a cool logo on it.
I have a cool logo! As well as light weight durable HDPE material(with pilot holes for easy install and leaving plenty of material for the individual player to drill out however they see fit, universal clean hardware mounting design, and high quality cap choices(none,single,double).
Are you all saying that I don't charge enough for my heads? Cos I can raise the price, if that's the group consensus.
On a more serious note: I have looked into having 7075 aluminum extruded for mallet shafts (although I only ever thought of re-selling them in 42" lengths - you cut it to size and install it yourself.) It would be crazy expensive to do, and because of how extrusion works, it would yield no fewer than 1200 shafts. I didn't think I could re-sell that many at 10-15 a pop. That was almost a year ago, though. Perhaps I should re-calculate to account for the explosive growth of the sport.
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-fun
$5 max per shaft.
$15 head.
-self assembled.
I'd like to see some more mass produced heads out there. I've used 3 different Lucky models & a couple TPL caps. I've loved all of these. I was dumb to sell off my TPLs for gas $ home from COG. Is Capriotti still making these?
I also like what Lefty "MVP" Joe is doing with the geometry of his hockey shaft & angled head. The axis of the arm is aligned with the head of the shooting end. Smarts.
Keith,
$5/ per shaft unfortunately is unrealistic in our market today unless you want to use crap poles that will not last and bend/dent very easily. With that said your still saying you wouldn't pay 15-20 for a pole that you know will last?
I have not seen any TPLs for sale recently either.
You forgot to mention in your description of lefty Joe's mallet about the 5 degree play between head and shaft. Crazy!
I bought (2) 7075 kerma shafts at the thrift store last week for $1 a piece!
www.mkebikepolo.com
What a find! I'll buy one off you for $5
Jake,
I don't think those kerma's were 7075. Where they labeled? I didn't see that on mine. Btw, i'll be testing it out tonight!
my red kermas were labeled as 7075... your white one was not labeled but appeared to be 6063
www.mkebikepolo.com
I really don't break shafts. I'm a big guy & I play physical (when I'm healthy). I guess I don't get frustrated & bang the shaft out on my handlebars enough. Play-it-Again sports has ski poles for $5-20 a pair. The cheeper Scott ones seem to last longer among the Chicago folks. I like the idea of polo people making polo equipment. I'd pay $20 for a pole that would last long enough that I could swap out heads when they wear down, but it would have to really transcend the current ski pole method.
The craft of Joe's mallet-making is pretty ugly (he would be a crack shot with pretty much anything though), but there is something about the logic of aligning the head of the mallet with the hand that sounds right.
e-mailing him right now... Thanks Alex.
Like Keith, I don't break mallets much either. In fact, I've never had one of mine snap or break off in someone's wheel or frame. The only time I've considered one destroyed was when it got a super dent in it that would've totally bent it on the next hard shot. I just grabbed my spare mallet and continued playing.
I have worn through heads though. I'm only really comfortable replacing heads once or twice on the same shaft. I'll rotate the shaft and make the pilot hole further up as to minimize the chance of weakening the shaft with holes so close together. Other times, I've added a length of wooden dowel rod or a skinny piece of scrap ski pole tip to reinforce the drilled shaft. Basically though, once I've gone through two heads, I pretty much relegate that mallet to the "community pile".
{}------- lexington -------{}
I should add that if a polo-specific shaft became available, I wouldn't even consider it unless it had a tapered end like ski poles do. To me, that is key to having the tightest-fitting, strongest head.
{}------- lexington -------{}
If we lived in a perfect world I would have a mallet that flies across space and time at my beckoning.
Its origins would be mysterious. Not likely made by mortal man.
I would pay nothing for it. It would be bestowed upon me by forces I can not comprehend. My life would be devoted to fulfilling its purpose.
This.
Mallets simply materialize out of thin air for the B.O.P.
EAST VAN: WE'VE BUILT IT AND THEY'RE COMING.
I think the only money I have spent on mallets is for piping and screws. Never paid for a mallet - have friends in cold, ski places with parents' garages full of old poles.
Don't know that I could bring myself to pay for one either. I'm with Emerson on this one. DIY. Keep it real.
It's great to be able to take a $50 set of ski poles (retail) put some labor of love, stolen tubing, grip tape, and a bolt in each one and end up with a couple of $15 mallets. I'm not a fan of things being expensive but I put a lot of care into each mallet I make so there is no way I'd sell a brand new fresh mallet for legit prices. Of course, if you want to just come over I'll help you make your own. That said, I think $35 to $65 for well-crafted mallets could be sustainable.
you guys are missing the point of the post. its not 'hey should we keep the sport diy?' its what would you pay. if you elitists are going to be above the purchasing of a mallet somebody else made then consider if/when you were a punk rocker and wanted a studded belt. sure you could spend the day putting the studs all neatly into a belt, or you could get one already assembled for roughly the same price. everything loses its diy eventually.
dont get me wrong the diy of this sport is great, but there will come a time when people laugh at the thought of building their own mallets. hell the germans are already crafting mallets and they look great. i spent more than i would like to admit in seattle for a hockey shaft when i broke my mallet in seattle, but that was the only money i spent on one.
in an ideal world people would pay me to use their mallets. i would probably say $15-20 per mallet unless you make some super badass mallet, but i still dont see anybody spending $30 on a mallet. and those prices are in us dollars.
I still want a "MVP style hockey mallet. Will you make me one, Joe? I'd pay $30.
>I still want a "MVP style hockey mallet. Will you make me one, Joe? I'd pay $30.
I'm interested in this but I'm confused by your description earlier. can you point to a photo online somewhere?
is it anything like this?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanbicyclist/3219342658/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanbicyclist/3217057695/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanbicyclist/3219342668/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/urbanbicyclist/4002967464/
--
bikepolo.com.au
urbanbicyclist.org
i would pay $35!
so you know blank ski poles in bulk are about 7 cdn per shaft. ( brand new) you can also order whatever aluminum tubing you want from metal suppliers so check with your local. someone should be able to produce mallets complete for about $20 retail.
Concerning the $7 blank ski shafts: Cool! Now how do I get some? I want names, numbers and addresses. Thanks coach.
BOP: Eating Ben Hunter's shit since yesterday.
Even in the ski pole starved south, I can buy ski poles for $5 each and get head material for free. I charge people $5 for heads because I cut them up and hauled the material home. Other than that hockey tape and the plastic cap i put on the end Cost to me =$6, Cost to people I make them for =$10. So $20 might be my max for buying a fancy mallet off of somebody, and it had better hold up longer than mine or I wouldn't ever pay for it. The heads would probably last about the same so it would be getting a shaft that doesn't dent or bend to look like it had been pillow humping between games.
-We play polo in the ATL
Thanks for
the well thought out responses pertaining to the original post.
45 dollars