You arrive at the courts for day two of a tournament and you are feeling pretty good.  You leave your bike on the grass next to the courts. All is going well and then, out of nowhere, a garbage truck drives over the top of your bike and keeps going. Not the best start to the day for one Jamie Barber.

Photographs by Gemma Baxter and Brook Tait-Styles

The Cats of Australasian Bike Polo are brought to you by Domenico Natoli

If you missed TDR being a pussies, you can check them out [here]

Mallet #2 – Jamie Barber (Brisbane Australia)

If any of you have met Lindsay Shaw (reclusive ex-polo player from Brisbane), you will know he is a perfectionist. 2 days in a forty plus degree warehouse, watching a heavily tattooed autistic redhead slaving over a lathe, when all you want to do is play polo is not the best way to spend a weekend. However, the result was definitely worth it.  Since being made it has undergone a facelift, with the head being replaced. However I still love my mallet dearly, it is perfect.

My overseas adventure was about to start and Lindsay had decided that I needed the perfect pair of mallets. He worked as an instrument technician and had access to industrial plastics as well as a lathe and some serious mallet making hardware including a drop-saw and drop press. Pity his warehouse was in the middle of nowhere and seriously under ventilated.

The original heads have since worn down and been replaced, but incorporated one capped side with 2 degrees of angle toward the capped side to reduce wear on the non capped side, seriously drilled out for weight. It was the first I had ever played with a capped head, or a drilled out head. I immediately felt a improvement in my shots and a decrease in mallet hand fatigue. These magic heads were drilled to the 2011  vintage Fixcraft black shafts (in my opinion the best combination of low weight and bend and breakage resistance). I still have the longer of the pair, the other resides with Netje, somewhere in NZ or far north QLD.

Not only do I love my mallet because it traveled with me to worlds and London Open, but because it has also been used to fend off deadly kangaroos at a mental hospital and  to scare off potential villains on the midnight train to Ipswich. The mallets took so long to make, they were perfect; noone will ever own one like it. It has since been retired and sleeps next to me. Really, ask my girlfriend.

If you have special love for one of your mallets and want to share that with the world, send us an email at goalholepolo@gmail.com 

If you missed seeing Hazels’ shaft, you can check it our here.

The face-mask is the new vouge of Australian polo. Or so it seemed at AHBPC12 in Perth. For the boys seemed to be looking to protect their assets by any means necessary. Unlike our ever tough polo ladies, who laughed at this wanten display of vanity. Here are a couple of photos I snatched between beers and hangs. There aren’t many photos, I was having too much fun, drinking/talking/pickup all took priority, so enjoy the few I have.

Ned demonstrating the Mycro Hurling helmet he, Scottie and Jordy-Boy swear by, these helmets seem light, durable and the cage does not block the view like others. Jordan upgraded to one of these from a cricket helmet, which he said limited his view too much. (I want a Mycro, but I still secretly want to try a cricket helmet first!)

Domenico, my team mate (♥), opted for a Bauer ice hockey mask. His is clear perspex. This avoids any potential inhibited vision, but the down side is it can fog up. He was telling me that in big games when he is sweaty and under the pump that it is like being in a sauna.
From the man himself:

“You can’t touch your face at all. But it’s extremely light weight and you forget you have it on you face. As after a game at Nats in Perth I slammed a beer into the fish bowl.”

Rob once again testing Teds ice hockey mask. Teddy Boy bought this off ebay for cheap cheap cheap in the days before nationals, he wore it a little but said it was uncomfortable. To be honest I think it cramped his reckless style. Ether way we got his moneys worth for him in one night of drunken antics pre AHBPC12. This looks to be a great budget option.

This is Jamie attempting to punish himself after asking Ted to put the mask on, then punching him hard in the face. No Ted’s were hurt in the making of this photo. Nor in the testing of these masks. Nor in the pre AHBPC12 celebrations.

If DIY is your thing, or you want some more options or discussion have a look at the LoBP thread on this matter.

In conclusion: if you want to protect your pretty looks, get a face cage.
There are plenty of options out there, just be smart and weigh up the pros and cons, or as Wikipedia just taught me the “pro et contra” – (the original Latin, meaning for and against.)

By Ollie Wykeham

Owner:   Jamie Barber

City:   Brisbane

Frame/ Fork:  eighth inch scrambler v2. Size large (58cm top tube)

Bars:  C-UNiT bars with vans grips. 5 cent piece bar ends

Seatpost:   No name seatpost with a turbo saddle

Pedals:   Plastic Odyssey flats with BO-Gear ‘Strap-ons’. I have had the same set of strap ons for nearly 2 years. Have only had the 2 sets since I started playing polo nearly 4 years ago.

Cranks:  Milwaukee 35t with bashguard and Sugino cranks. I stripped my previous cranks assembling them drunkenly at worlds. Luckily I was able to buy some second hand down at the courts the same day.

Sprocket: piece of shit 22t dicta, seems like I am buying a new one every 3 months or so, should just buy a white industries one.

Brakes:  Tektro long pull on the front, my rear is a Campagnolo Mirage I requisitioned from my AIS road bike. I was having a lot of troubles running my front brake with a 26 inch wheel, I was too lazy to fit v-brake mounts, the brakes often rubbed the tyre, causing the side walls to wear. I filed the brake arms a little, now they have a few mm more reach, I still have to shave a bit off the top of my brake pads so that they won’t rub though. Paul dual lever.

Front wheel/tyre: Velocity 26 inch, 48 spoke. CST ‘Traveller’ 1.5 inch tyre. I really like the responsiveness of the 26 inch. I was riding 700c, but one week I had a flat and used a mate’s 26 on the front, I really liked the feel and haven’t gone back.

Rear wheel/tyre: I think it is an Alex rims, not sure of the hub. Brought it brand new 2 years ago off a guy who ‘upgraded’ to an aerospoke. Has stayed true with only truing since I have had it, it only cost 40$.

Why did you choose this bike?
At the time I chose this bike, it was one of the first polo specific bikes in Brisbane. There really wasn’t a lot to choose from. I had read positive reviews from people doing fixed freestyle and polo that they were a good starting frame. I wanted something sturdy but cheap, something I wouldn’t be afraid of having damaged when travelling. They were one of the cheapest bikes available at my local bike store, so I brought one.

How long have you played on this bike for? Have you played on anything else?
I began riding fixed after losing my licence in early 2008. The prime minister at the time was giving everyone free cash. I purchased a Bianchi Pista, which I played on with drops for a while. It was completely impractical and I eventually brought an Avanti Pista for polo and freestyle riding. That bike is still used by rob in Brisbane, super light aluminium with carbon forks and has played in all 4 Australian nationals. I have played on my current bike for maybe 18 months, maybe closer to 2 years.

What are the best things about your bike?
It was cheap. I am not afraid of it breaking. I have been able to travel the world with it. My daily commute takes me across a golf course, I can get some pretty serious air off some of the grass mounds. That is usually the highlight of my day. Some of my best memories took place on that bike; doing the ‘PoloCat’ race before the London Open, riding down to the lake at Worlds in Seattle and the strip club in Adelaide.

What are the worst things about your bike? What would you change?
Part of me really just wants a pretty bike with awesome componentry. Once or twice a week, I go into Gear Brisbane and froth over the custom Colossi that Kristine is putting together. It is the nicest machine I think I have ever seen, but I know I just wreck nice things. The bike is super reliable, I will ride it into the ground.

By Jamie Barber

If you missed last week, we took a look at Brook Tait-Styles bits

The first time I saw Jamie was at the 2009 Melbourne Nationals.  He had long blonde hair, really short shorts and cardboard wrapped around his forks.  I thought “who the fuck is this weirdo?”  Many years down the track, much has changed.  The hair is shorter, the shorts are longer and the cardboard is long gone.  Jamie is definitely one of my favourite people to play with and against.  Here’s a little more about Jamie.

City:  Brisbane, Australia

Team:  Majestic Pink Shafts

Years played:  4 years

Super power:  Hamster style

Favourite heckle: Your Dad tried to molest me but he’s impotent

Bike:  8th Inch, freewheel with dual brake and 35:22 ratio

Mallet:  MKE Shaft with uncapped head with closed sides

Protection: Pull out

What do you love most about bike polo?
The smell of man sweat

If you missed our last player profile on Morgan Allen, you can access it here.

By Virginia Castellan