brodie bikes 2001 brodie has been around awhile. This will mark the 15th year that mountain bikes bearing the venerable "b" have been produced and broken in here in BC. In the beginning Paul Brodie used his skillful torchmanship to build elegant 4130 hardtails. In fact much of the geometry of today's mountain bikes pays homage to brodie design. You didn't see sloping top tubes before Paul made them - this is partially a product of geography. Because brodie is based here, his bicycles addressed the needs of local riders, like low standover height and durability.

The same can be said today. The 2001 line is a bountiful harvest of beefy tubes and elegant design, built with the demands of the North Shore in mind. There are a total of 11 bikes pointing straight at the freeride market - 7 of them duallies. Even the xc bikes have the sort of attention to performance and durability that make them very comfortable hub deep in the gnarl.

Click on Images to enlarge

8-ball $4999 Cdn.
This is the first time brodie has offered a built up, ready to roll downhiller. Many locals use their 8-balls for freeriding and it has proven to be a tough and forgiving ride. Despite looking rather fragile, the unique square cross section linkage, which passes through the frame and joins the rocker. has yet to see a failure. Despite this brodie has beefed up the linkage for even greater durability. The promising but unproven Marzocchi Shiver handles the 7.5" up front (matched with a full 8" in the rear). An interesting choice on the model I saw was the Marzocchi designed stem, which bolts directly onto the top of the upper crown rather than clamping around the steerer. It looks like a very simple and precise solution but it could prove to be a problem if you decide to sell the fork; the steerer is cut shorter than normal to acccomodate this system. Nice details include an adjustable wheelbase and 8 inch Hayes rotors front and rear. This frame, along with all of the full suspension models, is built with brodie designed 7000 series aluminum tubing. This bike is made for hucking large.

Click on Images to enlarge

devo $3799 Cdn.
This model is pointed straight at the big hitter freeride market. Upgraded to 6 inches of travel in the rear, the devo now comes with Marzocchi Junior T's which also sport 6 inches for 2001. This is a no compromise set up with Hayes hydros, splined cranks by Truvativ and Maxxis tires (2.4" r. 2.7" fr.). If you are slapping down for a devo you might want to look into a telescoping seatpost - there isn't much room to slide the post down for the descent without hitting the resevoir on the fox vanilla rc shock. You shouldn't spend much time maintaining the devo - it has only one pivot which runs flawlessly on replaceable cartridge bearings. I can't wait to swing my leg over one of these on the trail.

Click on Images to enlarge

Diablo $3299 Cdn.
The diablo travels 5" at both ends but while sharing the devo's frame design. The front shock is a Marzocchi Z1 QR20 "plus" which signifies a 20mm axle which has a QR but is also bolted into place like a downhill hub. The diablo also boasts Hayes hydraulics but has an 8 inch front rotor. This wasn't possible with the devo because of compatibility problems with the Junior T. The diablo gives great bounce for the buck.

Hardtails
Click on Images to enlarge

holeshot $3199 Cdn.
This is one of the coolest hardtails I have seen for awhile. The holeshot is the ride if you are looking to get serious about urban riding, dirt jumping and the most barbaric trails around. Built with Easton's top of the line RAD tubeset, RaceFace splined cranks, hydro hayes with an 8" rotor on the front (a big balls spec for a hardtail) and maxis rubber there is nothing missing here. The cranks are matched to a truvativ bb - a test for the compatibility of the isisdrive system.

Click on Images to enlarge

evolution $2250 Cdn.
The evolution loses the Easton tubes and is spec'd with a Taiwanese copy of the same tubing. It appears to be similar stuff to what Kona used on the Stinky 5 and they seem to be holding up well. The downspec is well thought out. You save some cash on the tubes, the Z5 replacing the Z1 and the truvativ crank. You still get Hayes hydraulics, 5" of travel and XT derailleurs. Very little is lost that will impact the off road performance of the bike. Call it the brodie value bundle.

Click on Images to enlarge

electro $1650 Cdn.
The electro shares the evolution frame but loses the xt derailleurs in favour of Deore, goes down to 100 mm of travel and stops with hayes very promising cable actuated discs. It also comes with a conventional crank/spindle interface so if you are a big dropper you might want to upgrade. I have seen too many folks coasting down the fireroad on Fromme with only one crank.

Click on Images to enlarge

bruzza $1199 Cdn.
An entry level freeride machine, the bruzza also specs the mechanical hayes hmx-1 discs but everything is mounted on a massively gusseted round tube 7005 aluminum frame. The front end is held up with an 80mm Rock Shox judy tt shock and it's component group is made up of shimano alvio and deore bits, sun hillrod rims, truvativ cranks and a nice looking set of Wellgo flats. A cheeky touch is the sticker set which resembles bianchi's classic "celeste 227" green.

Miscellaneous Treats
Click on Images to enlarge

I was salivating on the entire line of new brodies - not just the freeride bikes which always catch my eye. The xc bikes, which Bruce Spicer says are more like adventure racers, are built tough and speced out to handle some very bony terrain. The spark comes with a gusseted frame that will take a fat rear tire and is equipped with 4 inches of RockShox psylo travel all for $2699 cdn. Light enough to race but tough enough to have some real fun.

Click on Images to enlarge

I have always lusted after singles. I don't know if I would ride one much but I would love to have one all the same. The unibomber is the pick of the litter. For a buck less than a grand you can have yourself a 22lb hardtail that will kick your ass and make you strong. The uni uses a spot brand single speed specific rear hub and some vintage brodie gator blade forks.

The Paul Brodie built classics are also still available as frame only. The lovingly sculpted chromoly, expresso, catalyst and sovereign await the refined taste of an old school rider looking for the incomparable feel of a handbuilt steel hardtail. It may not be fashionable to say so but nothing sings on single track like chromo. You can also pick up the 8-ball, devo, holeshot, evolution and spark as frame only.

The rodie as a classic euro road racer built with specially drawn oval tubing and a carbon fork. If you are looking to round out your collection with a rocket ship the rodie can be yours for as little as $2099. I have to admit it - I love going fast on a skittish little filly of a road bike once and awhile.

This is a sampling of the 24 bikes brodie is offering up this year. Get 'em while the tig welds are still warm.