# USA vs. Canada Steel Frame Shootout



## bushpig (Nov 26, 2005)

Not quite a shoot-out, but definitely two nice examples of hand made steel frames. The green bike is a fillet-brazed Brodie Romax that has been retro-fitted with Columbus track drop-outs. The Team Violet bike - is a Team Violet 91 Yo.

The picture is pretty weak, but I wanted to share.


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## Ryano42 (Aug 2, 2004)

YO Eddy!!!

GREAT Frame!

(May I submit the bulletproof Yeti ProFRO?!?


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## bushpig (Nov 26, 2005)

Ryano42 said:


> YO Eddy!!!
> 
> GREAT Frame!
> 
> (May I submit the bulletproof Yeti ProFRO?!?


It'll be a two on one fight against the Brodie. It had better hope there is nice Canadian steel out there willing to step up!


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## lebikerboy (Jan 19, 2005)

I think the ultimate measure is who's still in business? Brodie.


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## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

2 different geoms.: all canadian hts seem to have steep seat tubes and longer head tubes. funny cause they cater to the same kind of trails: slow, steep and technical.
nice bikes. is the yo a medium? i thought you would size a S/M.


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## Guest (Jan 24, 2007)

Sorry to hi-jack the thread but i wonder if that's a Romax too. Has anyone seen a Gatorblade with curved blades before? Me not...

Carsten


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## hollister (Sep 16, 2005)

Carsten said:


> Sorry to hi-jack the thread but i wonder if that's a Romax too. Has anyone seen a Gatorblade with curved blades before? Me not...
> 
> Carsten


cool chain


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## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

lebikerboy said:


> I think the ultimate measure is who's still in business? Brodie.


 hmm.. i don't think that logic applies here.


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## LIFECYCLE (Mar 8, 2006)

I have just come in my pants.That multi coloured Brodie is a beaut!!,is it for sale does anyone know?


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

It actually looks more like a repainted rocky mountain to me. That lug at the top of the seat tube and those dropouts, with the U-brake... just screams avalanche, tantalus and thunderbolt.


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## bushpig (Nov 26, 2005)

DeeEight said:


> It actually looks more like a repainted rocky mountain to me. That lug at the top of the seat tube and those dropouts, with the U-brake... just screams avalanche, tantalus and thunderbolt.


D-8 - You're wrong on this one. Brodies often came with the rear seatstay mounted U-brake. Check the details against mine - spot on. In particular, check the finishing at the top of the seatstays.


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

Except I couldn't make out if yours had the same lug at the top of the seattube.


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## Guest (Jan 24, 2007)

LIFECYCLE said:


> I have just come in my pants.That multi coloured Brodie is a beaut!!,is it for sale does anyone know?


sorry, it is not for sale. it is part of a "museum" at a bike shop (not Firstflight...). many other cool bikes there:

http://www.mtb-news.de/forum/showthread.php?t=249769

Carsten


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Carsten said:


> sorry, it is not for sale. it is part of a "museum" at a bike shop (not Firstflight...). many other cool bikes there:
> 
> http://www.mtb-news.de/forum/showthread.php?t=249769
> 
> Carsten


They need to do some dusting. 

Nice little collection they've got going on there.


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## stig (Jan 20, 2004)

I have an '88 Brodie ClimbMax. It is the same layout (lugged seat tube, seatstay U-brake) as that pink/blue Brodie. Originally built with Tange MTB, Brodie switched to Prestige in late '89 early '90. A really great deal back then...


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## LIFECYCLE (Mar 8, 2006)

Do you want to keep it?


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## g-t- (Dec 22, 2004)

*I am partial to Candian Content....*

Here are 2 of my cdn made steel bikes.......

G-T-


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## g-t- (Dec 22, 2004)

*And as much as I would like ot keep pristine....*

they do get ridden, g-t-


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## top_ring (Feb 9, 2004)

Give me the sloping top tube every time - Canadian!


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## AndrewTO (Mar 30, 2005)

top_ring said:


> Give me the sloping top tube every time - Canadian!


**** YEAH! :eekster:   :thumbsup:  

Eddy WHO?

:devil:


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## UMMADUMMA (Oct 11, 2006)

*canadian junk!!!*

gimme an american masterpiece any day!!!


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## UMMADUMMA (Oct 11, 2006)

*Hey.. Wait I Got One Them's Brodies Too....*

N' SHE' S A FINE STEED!!!!!1


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

Ok... my turn.... from my current collection...

RM Thunderbolt









Mikado Kamikaze









A pair of True Norths

















RM Fusion









Oryx Team XC









Norco Sasquatch









And from my former ownership pile covering the past oh 10 years...

RM Team Comp #1









RM Team Comp #2









RM Summit









RM Blizzard







'

RM Hammer 









Brodie Sovereign (had two of this exact model/colour, one 20" and one 16")









Balfa Minuteman









Oryx Team XC (unpainted, had 8 of these at one stage)









TeamChance









Oryx Equipe 2500


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## rhett101 (Apr 17, 2004)

*Canadian Love...*

mmm...


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## AndrewTO (Mar 30, 2005)

DeeEight said:


> Ok... my turn.... from my current collection...
> 
> RM Thunderbolt


*Showoff!*  

But a very patriotic one. :thumbsup: 

UMMA - that's a nice piece of _bs_ you got there.


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## tosis (Jul 25, 2004)

*OOOooohh, I wanna play*

Some from the vault.


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## woods247 (Jun 22, 2006)

I can't believe the spokes on the rear wheel took four twists! I use to twist mine three times with straight 14g DT spokes. When they popped the wheel was finished... I had a lot of success with Mavic double eyelet 231 and 261s.


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## tosis (Jul 25, 2004)

*part deux*

Here's a pic of the man, in his workshop, chatting w. Bruce Spicer, current product guy at Brodie...

In case anyone's wondering what he's up to now... Makes those guys at OCC look like a bunch of chumps!

http://flashbackfab.com/

Oh, and save your sheckles if you like his stuff: it ain't cheap!


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

woods247 said:


> I can't believe the spokes on the rear wheel took four twists! I use to twist mine three times with straight 14g DT spokes. When they popped the wheel was finished... I had a lot of success with Mavic double eyelet 231 and 261s.


Deore DX hub, Sun CR17A rim, DT Competition 14/15/14 DB spokes and DT alloy nipples. I actually broke a nipple on that wheel about 8 years ago, and didn't notice till two days later that the rim was rubbing the pads a bit. Replaced the nipple, wheel's still going.


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## Ryano42 (Aug 2, 2004)

Not steel, but INCREDIBLE Canadian quality: :thumbsup: Handmade in Ontario!

Oh, Canada...


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## bushpig (Nov 26, 2005)

tosis said:


> Some from the vault.


Nice!

Does anyone have an idea of the serial number scheme? Mine is 1298.


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## tosis (Jul 25, 2004)

*SN's*

Romax # 1 was actually numbered 113 in 1986-87 (I believe). After he had built 112 RMB's he started Brodie Research and Technology.

Final PB Sovereign was delivered this past June, was numbered 63?? I think. Soooo, 1298 was somewhere in 1988-89 probably.

AC


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## hollister (Sep 16, 2005)

Ryano42 said:


> Not steel, but INCREDIBLE Canadian quality: :thumbsup: Handmade in Ontario!
> 
> Oh, Canada...


who needs home ice advantage.

12-9

western division rules!!


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## donk (Jan 28, 2004)

Carsten said:


> Sorry to hi-jack the thread but i wonder if that's a Romax too. Has anyone seen a Gatorblade with curved blades before? Me not...
> 
> Carsten


Yes, on an early 90's merlin. it was powder coated pink to match the brake booster.


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## donk (Jan 28, 2004)

tosis said:


> Romax # 1 was actually numbered 113 in 1986-87 (I believe). After he had built 112 RMB's he started Brodie Research and Technology.
> 
> Final PB Sovereign was delivered this past June, was numbered 63?? I think. Soooo, 1298 was somewhere in 1988-89 probably.
> 
> AC


My climbmax from late 88, built with 89 tubing(brodie select vs prestige) is #1257. So yours is probably a "true" 89.


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## CraigH (Dec 22, 2003)

DeeEight said:


> Oryx Team XC (unpainted, had 8 of these at one stage)


My brother bought one of those from you in size huge.


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## pooka (Jul 16, 2006)

Best of both worlds and the beautiful younger sister of steel in one single frame united


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## G.G. (Jul 16, 2006)

*Waterford 2400*

Not much to say but another great bike.


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## IF52 (Jan 10, 2004)

DeeEight said:


> Ok... my turn.... from my current collection...
> 
> Oryx Team XC (unpainted, had 8 of these at one stage)


So is the bare frame that NYCBikes is hawking on ebay the same thing as the frame you show there? How about that other frame they are selling that they claim is a RM 'Concorde'? For $70.00 would it be a waste of time stagging one of them as a beater?


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## VernDog (Jan 17, 2004)

*My Canadiana....*

In no perticular order...


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## GonaSovereign (Sep 20, 2004)

stig said:


> I have an '88 Brodie ClimbMax. It is the same layout (lugged seat tube, seatstay U-brake) as that pink/blue Brodie. Originally built with Tange MTB, Brodie switched to Prestige in late '89 early '90. A really great deal back then...


Here's my late 88/early 89 ClimbMax. You can see the seat tube reinforcement Brodie used on the Tange MTB-tubed frames, plus the U-Brake with Brodie booster.


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

I don't know what NYC bikes bought from them but there's never been a RM Condor. There was a canadian bike company called Concordia as I recall though. Or something like that.

Procycle had unpainted 26" frames, and they had apparently unpainted RAID frames, which were the 29ers in OX II tubing which were an unsuccessful model (considering they tried selling them in 2003/2004, the market just wasn't there yet for them). The frames I got were factory wholesaling for $30CDN per frame, but the Raid's they wanted $100 per frame for so I never ordered any myself. They ALL had disc mounts though, and the slot cut in the seattube is on the back of the tube, not the front as in those frames that store is selling on ebay.

As to the ones they're calling just "handmade canadian" with no brand identification at all, yeah those came from the procycle factory, but who knows which ones they are. None of the frames I got looked that bad with heat discolouration of the tubing.


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## IF52 (Jan 10, 2004)

Yeah, the frame you posted looks nice. The ones they list are kind of discolored. I can't tell where the slot is though.

The ones I said were Concords, my bad, that is the color, concord black. They actually claim they are a RM Route 66, which appears to have either been a casually use 700c hybrid or 26" mtn bike from the late 90s, spec'ed with STX or LX. Sold complete when new for $700 or $800US. If that is what it really is then it might not be a bad candidate for a cheap beater/winter trainer. And other then the fact that it would be another thing in the basement for a while, my wife can't really ***** about $70.00 for a frame.


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## WBMB (Nov 7, 2005)

That Brodie hanging from the ceiling is my Wifes. I worked at the shop at the time and it was the first bike I purchased while working there. He has several gems if you look around. The owner of the shop is Daniel Murphy and he is definitely one pioneers of mtn. biking here in Texas. 
He has among others a never built 10th anniversary Yo Eddy, 3 wickeds with box crown forks, 2 Mtn. Goat Whiskey Towns one that is virtually new with original XTR, 3 Mtn. Goat Deluxes, a Mert Lawill Fisher that is new, 2 late 80's Melins one of which has never seen dirt, a Tommasini Mtn. bike with full Campy, Yeti Bruiser, several Ritcheys, and a couple of limited # production bikes that are still in boxes.


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## Guest (May 3, 2007)

WBMB said:


> That Brodie hanging from the ceiling is my Wifes. I worked at the shop at the time and it was the first bike I purchased while working there. He has several gems if you look around. The owner of the shop is Daniel Murphy and he is definitely one pioneers of mtn. biking here in Texas.
> He has among others a never built 10th anniversary Yo Eddy, 3 wickeds with box crown forks, 2 Mtn. Goat Whiskey Towns one that is virtually new with original XTR, 3 Mtn. Goat Deluxes, a Mert Lawill Fisher that is new, 2 late 80's Melins one of which has never seen dirt, a Tommasini Mtn. bike with full Campy, Yeti Bruiser, several Ritcheys, and a couple of limited # production bikes that are still in boxes.


yes, it's a really nice collection there and great guys at the shop. i love the relaxed atmosphere. i deffo need to check back for the 2 Merlins and the 2 MG Deluxes, have only seen one so far and no Merlin at all. and they need to open those boxes for me 

i saw one Fat with box crown fork and a few other bikes in a room next to the shop but yet did not get into that room...

edit, i saw 2 MG Deluxe. the gorgeous green/blue 82/83 (love it!!) and a somewhat newer pink-blue one...

Carsten


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## Agamemmnon (Mar 15, 2004)

*I heart Canada AND America!*

Ohhh yeah! I have always had a thing for steel Canadian bikes; those old Off Road Toads gave me major wood!! Found my Expresso in rec.bicycles years ago, but that frame developed cancer is now going to be a wall hanging.

The FRO was my other must lusted-after bike, and I bought that new in 93 or so. It even made the pilgrimage to Durango and got touched by Parker himself! That bike is still alive, but I am scared to look inside the tubes. No cracks yet, but I fear for rust on this one too.

Main off-road bike is now a Brodie Rocket (aluminum) with a suspension fork (sigh) but I stlll use THUMBIES! Yes!

aggie


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## xy9ine (Feb 2, 2005)

tosis said:


> Some from the vault.


 some good stuff there. paul was (well, still is i assume) a great guy; used to come out to support all the local (vancouver) races. i love the old fillet frames. he did some neat work with big bikes also. the well-ahead of its time 99'er gearbox frame:

edit: spicer is a blast from the past as well. he kicked ass on the pro circuit back in the day.


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## outside! (Mar 15, 2006)

tosis said:


> Makes those guys at OCC look like a bunch of chumps!


They are a bunch of chumps. Nothing ever fits together. What goobs.


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