Ah what an adventure - riding the wheels off an '89 Brodie Romax until the thing was falling apart, doing a frame-up resto on it in '98 ... and then logging another zillion kms on the thing until this, that, an the other things started waering out and going on it again.
I was going to either trash it, or rtade it in ... but everything new that I tried just didn't have that same ... je ne sais pas ... so, I took to fixing crap as the pieces went. Then, some young New Zealander bike mechanic at Ride On Again (on Broadway in Vanc) mentioned that "those old, original/handmade Brodies are now 'collector's items' and will fetch a small fortune" ...
So, I surfed around and lo-and-behold ... the dude was spot on (I had no idea there was a vintage/retro mountainbike community out there!!).
A phone call here, a used/beat up old R/M Vertex there (with a cracked frame) for parts scavenging, and off I go to the paint shop (Toxic Harald) with a totally stripped and very tired looking frame. Three weeks later, a bit of thought about a colour combo/design ... and here I am with a utility room full of near-new XT parts waiting to go on, and an absolutely gorgeously painted frame ready to go (Harald did a bang-up job - EXACTLY how I had hoped it would look!!).
'Cept becasue I'm trying to finish a HUGE/longgg project in a fairly short order, I decided to allow the paint to cure for about six weeks, before starting to bolt all the bits and goodies back onto the frame. I did take the frame out to show Mr. Brodie himself on the weekend (he held a show 'n shine at his frame building school location by the Abby Airport), and I'm all stoked up to finally see her finished and dressed by mid-July (or thereabouts).
Anyway ... she's been a fabulous ride, for the entire 26 years I've owned it (had it custom built for me-self back in '89), and soon enough the trusty Romax will be glittering and gleaming in the summer sunshine again!
But from now on - no hammering through any rough stuff ... just roads, sidewalks, and maybe the odd gravel pathway or two.
ps: how do ya add a photo on this forum?
I was going to either trash it, or rtade it in ... but everything new that I tried just didn't have that same ... je ne sais pas ... so, I took to fixing crap as the pieces went. Then, some young New Zealander bike mechanic at Ride On Again (on Broadway in Vanc) mentioned that "those old, original/handmade Brodies are now 'collector's items' and will fetch a small fortune" ...
So, I surfed around and lo-and-behold ... the dude was spot on (I had no idea there was a vintage/retro mountainbike community out there!!).
A phone call here, a used/beat up old R/M Vertex there (with a cracked frame) for parts scavenging, and off I go to the paint shop (Toxic Harald) with a totally stripped and very tired looking frame. Three weeks later, a bit of thought about a colour combo/design ... and here I am with a utility room full of near-new XT parts waiting to go on, and an absolutely gorgeously painted frame ready to go (Harald did a bang-up job - EXACTLY how I had hoped it would look!!).
'Cept becasue I'm trying to finish a HUGE/longgg project in a fairly short order, I decided to allow the paint to cure for about six weeks, before starting to bolt all the bits and goodies back onto the frame. I did take the frame out to show Mr. Brodie himself on the weekend (he held a show 'n shine at his frame building school location by the Abby Airport), and I'm all stoked up to finally see her finished and dressed by mid-July (or thereabouts).
Anyway ... she's been a fabulous ride, for the entire 26 years I've owned it (had it custom built for me-self back in '89), and soon enough the trusty Romax will be glittering and gleaming in the summer sunshine again!
But from now on - no hammering through any rough stuff ... just roads, sidewalks, and maybe the odd gravel pathway or two.
ps: how do ya add a photo on this forum?
, it'll probably disappear by itself, if not then a Moderator will be able to delete it.
