1994 brodie badass

[KayOs]

I think the bike deserves it's own little build thread.

So what's it about?

I discovered an offer on ebay by chance a few months ago and thought it was a joke at first...

"Old 26 inch Mountainbike Brodie"


But my curiosity was piqued, so after a brief and very friendly and informative email exchange with Paul Brodie, I placed a bid, after all, I'd been looking for one of his bikes for ages and this one was just round the corner.

With the help of @MattiThundrrr and Paul Brodie it turns out the "badass" was a publicity stunt by Wellmann bike shop here in Germany for which they ordered 10 identically painted Expresso's from Paul and then re-labelled them.

I think maybe they are the ones in this picture Paul Brodie shows in his documentary about Brodie Bikes.

I'm not sure where the rest of them are now, but I've seen two or three on a german forum.

One advantage of the pictures in the offer was probably that they deterred several buyers and the price didn't go completely through the roof.
When I came to pick it up the seller furthermore gave me a good discount as the Mag21 couldn't hold the air.
I don't want to know what happened here...

The previous owner had also sprayed the whole bike with a kind of wax sealant, which made all the surfaces dull. However, the stuff could be polished off quite easily.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

So glad I could help you out. Now I think of this as "my Brodie in Germany". I'll come up with a better nickname for it eventually.
The seat stay/seatpost junction and brake cable noodle are gorgeous.

 

[KayOs]

So glad I could help you out. Now I think of this as "my Brodie in Germany". I'll come up with a better nickname for it eventually.
The seat stay/seatpost junction and brake cable noodle are gorgeous.

It's yours to use should you ever be visiting.

 

[sovereign]

Totally different paintjobs

 

[JCS]

Great to see you rescued it.

Some of those frames on the right look huge:


Ouch, that seat-post clamp... please say you have moved it so it is forward facing

 

[KayOs]

Great to see you rescued it.

Some of those frames on the right look huge:
View attachment 896941

Ouch, that seat-post clamp... please say you have moved it so it is forward facing

View attachment 896942

Of course I did

 

[Tsundere]

Beautiful frame.
The wax coating will have done wonders for preservation of the paintwork.

 

[KayOs]

So now I finally had a brodie, but with a defective fork.
I wanted to ride it as soon as possible so I had to find a solution.

Some time ago I had bought a bike as a donor for future projects that had everything I needed.

A DT Swiss wheelset, wonderfully light and still in good enough shape for the next few years, but not time correct.....don't matter.
Instead of a cassette, a singlespeed kit was fitted. It's ideal, the focus here is on having fun and I don't have to think about the front and rear mech and suitable shifters.

If I feel like it, the algorithm can search for suitable parts while I'm wrenching and riding.

Of course, this was also the opportunity to finally fit all the Canadian parts I could find in my boxes...which was a stem....and a crankset. Awesome!!


As for the fork, it didn't look so easy. I couldn't find a Gatorblade (who would have thought) and the only two forks I could find in the shed that would fit in terms of height were an Alpinestars and a smudged P2 whose steerer was a bit too short. But fortunately this can be remedied...
The shaft is lengthened.



And then it turns red...soon.



The seat post just had to be long enough and the saddle was also left over. Something else will probably be found here too.

I've been riding the bike like this during the summer and it's really great fun. Light, playful, climbs as if by itself.... a dream!


The fun is only spoilt by the brakes.

They are unbearable in terms of adjustment and performance and need to come off as soon as possible.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Light, playful, climbs as if by itself.... a dream!

Easy climbing is a gift on a singlespeed! What gear ratios are you pushing?

 

[KayOs]

I'm not a good climber, I run 32/16 or 52 gear inches at the moment. The steepest section on my round is 16% and I just about manage that.