<div column 50% #intro>
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===== Brodie Bicycles =====

Paul D. Brodie started Brodie Research and Technology Inc (BRAT) in 1986 in Vancouver, BC, Canada, producing finely crafted fillet brazed frames for over thirty years.  Paul got his start brazing frames at [[rm:start|Rocky Mountain]], which shared space with the Peddler Bike Shop, where he was working.  Many of the 113 frames Paul made for Rocky Mountain starting in 1984 were shipped with "Designed By Brodie decals."  The first large Brodie decal appeared as early as 1985, despite being made at Rocky Mountain, so the timeline will start there.

Paul got his inspiration from a [[ritchey:start|Ritchey]] MTB which showed up at the Peddlar, where Paul was busy assembling [[apollo:start|Apollo]] ten speeds.

<blockquote>
In the Summer of 1983 ... a Red Ritchey Team Comp with matching Red Bullmoose Bars showed up and totally blew me away. I had never seen anything like it, and couldn’t believe anyone could make a bike that beautiful. I had little money, so I decided to make my own...

That same afternoon I went to the dumpster behind Bikes on Broadway, and pulled out a 25″ Sekine road bike frame. I cut off the rear end, and lowered the top tube to give it a slope. I started gathering parts, and building wheels. It was exciting!

The finished product. Looks like a mountain bike, but is not. The head tube angle is too steep, and the bottom bracket is way too low. Even with 165mm cranks I had to be very careful when pedaling in corners.
<cite>
Paul Brodie [[https://nsmb.com/articles/5501-brodie-bikes-how-it-all-began/|nsmb]]
</cite>
</blockquote> 

{{1983.jpg?300|1983 prototype}}
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1983 Sekine/Brodie prototype [[https://nsmb.com/articles/5501-brodie-bikes-how-it-all-began/|nsmb]].  165mm cranks dragging on the ground, with a lot of toe overlap.


Brodie bikes got its first break when Brent Martin, one of Brodie's early customers, became Canadian MTB Champion in 1986.


Brodie starting making bare frames, built up with customer's custom component choices, then their own Brodie branded components including Brodie Boosters and Gatorblades, which sold well beyond Brodie bicycles.  By 1996 Brodie sold a selection of complete bikes with mid and upper level components.  Brodie peaked at twelve employees in 1989, peaking at 500 frames per year, with a total of 4,269 frames created.  Brodie sponsored a successful race team and went to four trade shows per year.  

Paul was inducted into the [[https://mmbhof.org/mountain-bike-hall-of-fame/|Mountain Bike Hall of Fame]] in 2005.  Paul's autobiography, "Paul Brodie, The Man Behind Brodie Bikes", is available at [[https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Brodie-Man-behind-Bikes/dp/0995065802|amazon]].  More recently, he has been teaching [[https://www.ufv.ca/bicycle-technology/|Frame Building]] 101 at the [[https://www.ufv.ca/|University of the Fraser Valley]] in Abbotsford, BC.


<blockquote>
For most of my life, I’ve always known I could make more money by just working as a welder, machinist, or whatever. But what fun would that be? I’ve always followed my bliss and done my own thing. It was never about the money, but, at the same time, it was always about the money.
<cite>
Paul Brodie, The Man Behind Brodie Bikes, [[https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Brodie-Man-behind-Bikes/dp/0995065802]], as quoted in [[https://www.gvmps.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2019-paul-brodie.pdf|Paul Brodie PDF]].
</cite>
</blockquote>

Resources:
  * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brodie_Bicycles]]
  * [[https://www.brodiebicycles.com/]]
  * [[https://www.facebook.com/brodiebicycles/]]
  * [[https://www.youtube.com/@paulbrodie]] (Paul Brodie youtube)
  * [[https://nsmb.com/articles/makers-paul-brodie/]]
  * [[https://nsmb.com/articles/5501-brodie-bikes-how-it-all-began/]]
  * [[https://www.pinkbike.com/news/throwback-thursday-the-true-story-of-brodie-bikes.html]]
  * [[https://mmbhof.org/mountain-bike-hall-of-fame/2005/the-british-columbians/]]
  * [[https://www.vintagemtbworkshop.com/1989-brodie-romax.html]]
  * [[https://mombatbicycles.com/MOMBAT/BikeHistoryPages/Brodie.html]]
  * [[https://www.gvmps.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2019-paul-brodie.pdf]]
  * [[https://www.instagram.com/brodie8191/]]  (Brodie instagram)
  * [[https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Brodie-Man-behind-Bikes/dp/0995065802 , see also:]]
  * [[https://archive.org/details/paulbrodiemanbeh0000brod/mode/2up]]
  * [[https://flashbackfab.com/]]  (Paul's personal page)


</div>


<div column 45%>
{{paul.jpg?400|Paul Brodie, 2021}}
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Paul Brodie, 2021,
[[https://nsmb.com/articles/makers-paul-brodie/|NSMB]]

{{1984.jpg?300|1984 Rocky Mountain}}
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1984 Rocky Mountain, October 1984.  Frame #24.
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Fillet brazed frame & bullmoose bars, sloping biplane forks by Paul Brodie.
See also: [[https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/1984-brodie-custom.337330/GA|retrobike]].
[[https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/show-us-your-brodie.474458/page-2|retrobike]]


Model names:
  * climbMax    - Jul 1986
  * romax       - Aug 1986
  * catalyst    - Aug 1989
  * sovereign    - Jun 1990
  * light beam  - Dec 1991
  * rodie       - Jun 1992
  * eXpresso    - Jun 1993
  * libido      - Aug 1995

Starting in 1996, Brodie introduced a set of complete bikes.  The lineup included nine new models: nucleus, rocket, evolution, kinetic, infinity, dynamo, torque, energy & quantum.

Serial numbers:
  * 001+        Mar 1984 -> May 1986, Rocky Mountain
  * 114         May 1986, first non-Rocky Mountain frame
  * 380         Oct 1988, switched from Tange MTB -> Tange Prestige
  * 428         Aug 1988, switched to TIG welding
  * 509         Nov 1988, switched to u-brakes
  * 1038                Mar 1990, mostly returned to cantilevers
  * 1393                Apr 1991, switch to 1 1/8" head tubes
  * 2578                Aug 1993, added anti-chainsuck plates
  * 2712                Aug 1993, head tube angle 70.5' -> 71.2'
  * 2722                Aug 1993, CNC dropouts
  * 3090                Mar 1994, dropouts TIG welded to stays
  * 4263                Feb 2013, eBee e-bike introduced
  * 4265                Feb 2015, NAHBS Best City Bike award

</div>


<div column 50% #s1985>
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===== 1985 =====
Fully Brodie badged Rocky Mountain Brodie.  SunTour u-brakes rear with internal cable routing prohibiting the seat post from descending past the internal brake cable.  From "The True Story of Brodie Bikes: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8ng8MYcGL4|youtube]] by Paul Brodie.  Rocky Mountain decal on the head tube.
</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1985.jpg?300|1985 }}
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1985
[[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8ng8MYcGL4|youtube]]
</div>


<div column 50% #s1986>
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===== 1986 climbMax =====
Frame #135.  Sloping top tube.  Fillet brazed frame & fork.  U-brakes rear.
Many components swapped.  Repainted.
</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1986.jpg?300|1986 climbMax }}
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1986 climbMax
[[ https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/show-us-your-brodie.474458/page-10|retrobike]]
</div>


<div column 50% #s1987>
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===== 1987 romax =====
Frame #257.  Sloping top tube.  Fillet brazed frame & fork.  U-brakes rear.  Internal shift cable routing.  Fully restored.

</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1987.jpg?300|1987 romax }}
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1987 romax
[[ https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/the-%E2%80%9Crichie%E2%80%9D-brodie-romax-257-restoration-1987-fillet-brazed.483582/|retrobike]]
</div>


<div column 50% #s1988>
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===== 1988 romax =====
Frame #278.  Sloping top tube.  Fillet brazed frame & fork.  U-brakes rear.  Internal shift cable routing.  Tange MTB decals.  Original colors but otherwise full restored.  See also: [[https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/1988-brodie-romax.483473/|retrobike]]

</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1988.jpg?300|1988 romax }}
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1988 romax
[[ https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/the-%E2%80%9Crichie%E2%80%9D-brodie-romax-257-restoration-1987-fillet-brazed.483582/|retrobike]]
</div>


<div column 50% #s1989>
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===== 1989 romax =====
Frame #585.  Fillet brazed frame, Nitto brazed stem, and very early Gatorblade forks ((The first 25 Gatorblades had curved and tapered legs.  Later forks would be straight.)).  Brodie brake boosters.  All else non-original.  Tange Prestige tubing.
</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1989.jpg?300|1989 romax }}
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1989 romax
[[ https://www.facebook.com/groups/927406034014215/permalink/5528844537203652|facebook]]
</div>


<div column 50% #s1990>
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===== 1990 catalyst =====

1990 catalyst
Frame #585.  Fillet brazed frame, Nitto brazed stem, and very early Gatorblade forks ((The first 25 Gatorblades had curved and tapered legs.  Later forks would be straight.)).  Brodie brake boosters.  All else non-original.  Tange Prestige tubing.  See also: [[https://www.facebook.com/groups/927406034014215/permalink/5528844537203652|facebook]].

</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1990.jpg?300|1990 catalyst }}
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1990 catalyst
[[ https://www.facebook.com/cultmtb/posts/pfbid033ahXVeazuBE13vaDAwMtMexq8LpHUCNEqrjHKQm9S4rrhkFJhXTNMy6NymfrFJqyl|facebook]]
</div>


<div column 50% #s1991>
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===== 1991 climbMax =====
A rare mostly original example.  TIG welded, sloping top tube, rear u-brake with brake booster, straight Gatorblades front.  SunTour XC Pro GX rear derailleur (1989-92).  SunTour brakes & pedals.

</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1991.jpg?300|1991 climbMax }}
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1991 climbMax
[[ https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/show-us-your-brodie.474458/page-17|retrobike]]
</div>


<div column 50% #s1992>
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===== 1992 sovereign =====
Original?  TIG welded, u-brakes with Brodie Booster.  Brodie
Mix of Shimano Deore XT M732 & M735 derailleurs (1989 -> 1992.)
</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1992.jpg?300|1992 sovereign }}
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1992 sovereign
[[ https://www.mtb-news.de/forum/t/brodie-sovereign-1992-mit-gatorblade.997719/|mtb-news.de]]
</div>


<div column 50% #s1993>
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===== 1993 eXpresso =====
Too pretty to ride: blinged out with mid 90's [[https://www.paulcomp.com/|Paul Component]] [[https://www.bikemag.com/mountain-bike-gear/derailleur-sells-1000|Rasta]] ultimate CNC artwork.  TIG welded frame and bolted fork.
</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1993.jpg?300|1993 eXpresso }}
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1993 eXpresso
[[ https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/show-us-your-brodie.474458/page-9|retrobike]]
</div>


<div column 50% #s1994>
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===== 1994 sovereign =====
Shimano XTR M900-SGS (1992-93), RaceFace crankset, TIG welded frame.  Gator forks?  Cantilevers front and rear with Brodie brake booster.
</div>
<div column 45%>
{{1994.jpg?300|1994 sovereign }}
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1994 sovereign
[[ https://www.facebook.com/groups/235433082462/permalink/10159947520327463|facebook]]
</div>