Re:
hi all
yes adrian, this is a very interesting example.
last year a brodie frame turned up which cast doubts on clearly identifying certain models
of brodie frames. I am refering to the tig welded romax jhoreth gave us the pleasure of seeing.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=244236&hilit=romax
up till then most of us, probably all of us, were under the impression all romax's were fillet
brazed. the sovereign was supposed to be the tig welded counterpart.
since this discovery it now appears the only true way of knowing what you have is to
have it confirmed thru pauls records. had jeff not checked and just went with the expresso
decals on the frame this jewel would have been lost to obscurity maybe forever. I'm not saying
everyone should email paul their serial numbers to be sure. he'd kill me if he found out I said
to do that. pretty sure 99% are legit as the decals state. but some of the earlier ones pre 1989
without decals may be suspect as to which models they are. if tig welded romax's exist then
why not fillet brazed sovereigns. or how about a fillet brazed climbmax?
according to paul what you see here is just such an animal. this is a 1988 fillet brazed climbmax.
it shares some of the characteristics available to the romax. such as the top tube internal cable routing
and the pump peg. these features were mostly found on the romax. but undoubtably could have
been ordered on other models as well.
this is one odd duck.
as noticed already the cable routing is a total mystery. looks like provision was made to run one
piece cable housing to rear derailleur. no idea how rear brake is to be cabled. no provision for a
brodie noodle at all. something else irregular is the fact that it's got bosses for cantilever brake.
all or most brodie frames at this time had u-brakes. there is also a single cable stop on the underside
of the down tube which isn't in use, and I have no idea how it could be utilized.
in my opinion this is an awesome find and an extremely welcome addition to my collection.
with some luck, at harald's show this may, paul brodie and mike truelove will both be there.
this frame will be one for discussion. if you've never heard of mike he was one of the original
brodie welders. good chance your frame was made by him and not paul. when paul was
busy doing everything else for the business who do you think was cranking out product.
here are a few pictures. what are your thoughts.