Post Tagged with: "Hija de la Coneja"

GOALHOLE: The best of 2012

December 29, 2012 at 7:34 am

As 2012 draws to a close, we take a look back at what have been our most popular posts of the year since it all started in March. Just click on the names of the winners and place getters to see the post.

Most popular post of 2012

Winner: Polo Dictionary

2nd place: Hija de la Coneja

Top 5 “Lookin at ya bits”

Winner: Scottie dMello (Marino)

2nd place: Ollie Wykeham (Colossi)

3rd place: Benee (Milwaukee Bruiser)

4th place: Nick Dellwo (Joust)

5th place: Danny Cox (Hija de la Coneja)

Benee's Polo bike

Top 5 worldwide City Report

Winner: Zaragoza, Spain (by a landslide!!)

2nd place: London, England

3rd place: Pskov, Russia

4th place:  Zagreb, Croatia

5th place: Sheffield, England

Top 5 Australasian City Report

Winner: Wellington, New Zealand

2nd place: Sydney, Australia

3rd place: Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

4th place: Christchurch, New Zealand

5th place: Timaru, New Zealand

Top 5 WHBPC 2012 profiles

Winner: Chris Proulx

2nd place: Machine

3rd place: Alejandro Carrillo

4th place: Jono Marshall

Tied 5th place: Elena Mironova and Eric Crandall

Top 5 Australasian player profiles

Winner: Brook Tait-Styles

2nd place: Robin Clancy

3rd place: Jordan Heppell

4th place: Yohei Okamoto

5th place: Kristine Kenins

By GOALHOLE (Virginia Castellan, Ollie Wykeham, Jamie Barber and Bennett Rust)

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Lookin’ at ya bits: Virginia Castellan

October 11, 2012 at 7:17 am

 

Owner:  Virginia Castellan

City:  Sydney, Australia

Frame/Fork: Hija de la Coneja

Stem/Bars/Grips: Race Face 110 stem /Azonic risers / Nuke Proof Grips

Seat/Post/Clamp: Odyssey “Nightwolf” seat / no name post / DMR double clamp

Pedals:  Shimano SPDs

Cranks/BB/Chain ring/Sprocket: Race Face / Race Face / Race Face 34T / No name 17T

Brakes/Lever/Cables: Avid Single Digits / Paul Duplex / Sparkly pink!

Wheels/Hubs/Tyres: Alex rims / Shimano Hubs / Marathon Plus tyres / Moulded fibre glass wheelcovers

Why did you choose this bike?
I had been thinking about getting a polo specific bike for a while.  When I saw pictures of the Hija de la Coneja I fell in love and got my order in for the first run.  I liked the idea of getting a frame designed by a polo player and what better player to design it than Alejandro Carrillo. The price was also a huge selling point- $us450 frame and fork delivered to Australia.  When I had previously looked into getting a Joust, they quoted me $US300 just for postage.

How long have you played on this bike for? Have you played on anything else?
I have played on the Coneja for 8 months.  Before that I played for 2 years on an old Yeti mountain bike frame we found on the street. The most expensive thing on that bike was the tyres. I also played on a DMR Sidekick for about 10 months.

What are the best things about your bike?
Everything! I got the frame about a week before a tournament.  I intended to build it up for a test ride then put my old bike back together to play on. As soon as I got on the Coneja, I couldn’t get the smile off my face and there was no way I could go back to my old bike.  The turning circle is amazing. Turns that used to make me jack knife off my other bike are smooth and easy. I love the short wheelbase and how much more upright I feel.  If Alejandro made them in a 700 I would probably buy another one and build it up as a commuter.

What are the worst things about your bike? What would you change?
My wheels – and they aren’t even that bad.  I am testing a really cheap wheel set at the moment to see how long it lasts.  I probably should just get a proper set built. I would also love to get Paul brakes even though the Avid ones work really well, I just think the Paul ones look hot.

By Virginia Castellan

Want to see more polo players’ bits?  You need to go here.

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WHBPC 2012 profile: Alejandro Carrillo

September 10, 2012 at 8:19 am

About You

Name: Alejandro “Jugador Internacional” Carrillo

City: Barcelona, Spain

Team: Dirty Sanchez

Years played: Three

Occupation: Bike Monkey

Super Power: Brown Moustache

Favourite Heckle: Hit them in the mind!  Hurry up, I have to poop!

Bike: Virginia’s bike (Hija de la Coneja)

What is your best polo memory? The moment I was asked to be a part in this interview. Best. Moment. Ever.

Where do you see polo in 5 years time? Roller skating refs with skimpy shorts working the court. Shuffle goals still not allowed

About your home town

Number of players: Remember when we were 30+

How often do you play? 3 times a week. Sometimes we do Dominpolo.

What is your home town famous for? Getting drunk and the Sagrada Familia

By Virginia Castellan

If you missed our last profile on Eric Crandall, you can access it here.

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Lookin’ at ya bits: Danny Cox

June 15, 2012 at 8:04 am

I used to have the only Hija de la Coneja in Australia.. then along came Danny Cox.  It’s great to see another one of Alejandro’s bikes in the country.  Hopefully there will be a lot more in the future.   Danny is just lucky he lives in Melbourne because I would probably start stealing parts off his if we were in the same city.

Owner: Danny Cox

City: Melbourne

Frame/Fork: Hija De La Coneja (Large)

Bars/Stem: Charge Straw with Specialized Ergo grips/Thomson Elite 90mm with 5 degree rise.

Seat/Post: 80s Turbo saddle/Thomson

Pedals: Shimano spd platforms

Cranks/BB/Chain ring: Shimano SLX, Shimano External BB, 36 tooth Blackspire Mono Veloce

Sprocket: White Industries 22T trials freewheel

Brakes: Paul Motolites. Paul Duplex Lever. SRAM cables

Wheels: 26″ 48 hole chukkers to Brick Lane Bikes Freestyle Hubs

Why did you choose this bike?
I was really interested in getting a bike designed specifically for polo after seeing some of the first Marino customs and 14 bike co frames. This was within my budget and i liked that it was designed by a fellow polo player and was keen to support his endeavour.

How long have you played on this bike for? Have you played on anything else?
I’ve played on this bike for about 6 months now. Before this i had a Charge Stove, which was about 6 times heavier and could plow through any other bike on the court. It was a great bike to learn to play polo on, but i’m glad i’m no longer using it.

What are the best things about your bike?
It’s my dream build. It has my old team name (BeRightOn) inscribed in the top tube! I was saving up for so long to build it to this spec and now i have it, it makes me smile every time i ride it. It’s better than any other bike i’ve ever owned and consequently i’ve sold every other bike in my stable because they were no fun to ride in comparison.

Most importantly, it feels amazing to play polo on or sprint through the city hopping up and down curbs.! The geometry is just right for me. It’s not too twitchy like some other customs i’ve tried, yet it’s still super responsive and agile. There’s no toe overlap, but it’s remains really compact. It’s definitely changed the way i play polo now, for the better.

What are the worst things about your bike? What would you change?

I feel that the build quality of the bike could be a little better. The welds are a bit ugly, i had some trouble fitting a headset and the fork and rear dropout spacing were slightly off. In saying that it hasn’t really been a big deal and for the price it’s definitely not an issue i’m going to complain about. I don’t think i would change anything about the actual bike except the gothic colour scheme. In the future i may get some disc tabs brazed on the front fork, and if i continue to travel with it i’d love to get some couplers.

By Virginia Castellan

Photographs by Richard Brown and Virginia Castellan

If you want to know more about the Hija de la Coneja frame and fork, read our interview with the designer, Alejandro Carrillo here.

If you missed checking out Scottie’s bits, you can get a look at them here

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Hija de la Coneja

March 21, 2012 at 8:00 am

an interview with Alejandro Carrillo


I recently bought my first ever custom bike polo frame and fork – a Hija de la Coneja designed by my friend Alejandro Carrillo, a polo player from Barcelona.  This is seriously the best polo bike I have ever ridden and has completely changed the way I play.  Alejandro kindly agreed to answer a few questions about himself and the newest (and in my opinion, hottest) polo bike on the market.

How long have you been playing polo for?
A bit over 3 years.

Where did you first play and where do you play now?
I started here in Barcelona, but not at the spot we play now. We started at the world trade center, then moved to Arc de Triomf and finally we settled in our beloved Aspirina.

I think your team name at WHBPC2011, The Euro Cheater Mullets, was fantastic.  Do you usually play with the same people for tournaments, or do you mix it up?
Hehe, yeah The ECM’s was such an epic team! I think we were the shortest team in Seattle! hahaha. Actually, I had never played with either Yorgo or Max before. I’m a bit of a whore, so when I want to play a tournament, I always try to find someone willing to team up with me, or just get in as a missing third. I do have a set team though, Los Pelos, but it’s not always possible to arrange our schedules and play together.

What have been your best results in tournaments?
Well, I got a bunch of 2nd places and a few 1sts….  Toulouse, Olot, Zaragoza,Vancouver (metal tournament), Mexico…We came in 9th at the euros last year with Los Pelos, and 5th at the Epiphanie tournament in Rouen with Los Cosmicos which was pretty cool.

Hija de la Coneja translates as Daughter of the Rabbit.  Where did the name come from?
Hahaha! Well, there’s a common mexican expression that’s not very nice and I used to yell it on the court quite a lot. Lucas from El Club would to make fun of me by yelling hija de la coneja instead. He was also the first person to push me to make a few frames. When I finished the bike, that’s what it was, an Hija de la Coneja!!

Why did you want to design a polo specific frame?
I’m an industrial designer and I’ve always had this dream of “making my own bike”. You know, that dream we’ve all had at some point. I broke a few frames playing polo and I just got fed up with it. At the time, there was really a couple of choices for a polo specific frame, but they weren’t exactly what I was looking for, so I started developing my own. I got really lucky along the way and the rest is history.

Have you designed frames before?
The first bike I designed was the prototype of what would become la Hija de la Coneja. It was called Beer Point. I used that one for a year an a half and it was such a crazy bike. I loved it. There was nothing tame about it: extreme angles, extreme tolerances, super short… motherfucking polo bike! It was pretty helpful in validating my theories about geometry and bike behaviour.  I’ve done the technical development of other bikes since then, but the Coneja is my latest work.

What I first loved about your design was that it took 26 inch wheels and had v-brake mounts.  What were the main features you wanted the Hija de la Coneja to have?
I wanted the bike to behave in a particular way more than anything. I wanted for it no be nimble, to turn on a dime and to be very rigid, but also, and very importantly, to be stable, specially in bigger courts where you have to be able to control your bike at higher speeds. I see a lot of custom designs aiming to be excellent at one of those points, but lacking sometimes in the others.   Also, I wanted it to be able to be built with very common components, so you could go as cheap or as expensive as you wanted.

Do you feel you achieved everything you were aiming for?
I’m really happy with the behaviour of the bike and I’ve gotten very positive feedback from other poloistas using them. I can’t say I’ve achieved everything, because there is always room for improvement and that’s kind of the best part of designing the bike…. how can I make it better.

I couldn’t stop smiling the first time I jumped on my Hija de la Coneja.  How did it feel the first time you rode yours?
Hehehe. I had the second-to-last bike to be delivered and the very last bike to be shipped. As you know we had some delays on our first production run and I wanted to get everyone else’s bikes delivered before I got mine.  I had finished my first draft of the technical drawings back in september and I started the production in late november, so I couldn’t wait to have it. The anticipation was just too much.   When I finally got it, I put in together the same day and went immediately to try it. It was love at first ride. I had been riding the prototype for a while now and to a certain degree it wasn’t too much of a change, but anyway it just felt right. We had a shuffle tournament that same weekend and the Coneja got it’s first trophy.

What sets this bike apart from other polo specific frames?
Well, I think everybody brings their own solution to what they see should work best on a polo court, you know? I don’t think there is just one way of doing things and obviously not everyone rides the same way. I’m happy to be able to sell a proper polo bike at an affordable price, anywhere in the world, with a few options available for you to make it your own.

The first production run sold out very quickly.  How many different countries did orders come from?
I’ve sold frames in Australia, Mexico, US, Spain, France, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Great Britain and Ireland. Hopefully one day we’ll get one in every continent (Antartica bike polo, anyone?)

How long until the second batch are ready to ship?
By next week most probably. Frames are done and painted, forks are being heat treated… so we just need to paint them, pack them and ship them.

What is the price including shipping to Australia and New Zealand?
$450USD, express shipping.

How can people from Australia and New Zealand contact you to order one?
I’ve had a few inquiries, mainly from Australia. Maybe on the next batch we’ll send a few more over there!

by Virginia Castellan

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