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Congratulations @Canuckbiker ! It is a beauty for sure.

Congratulations to @pete_mcc.

Congrats Alla and thanks to all who voted! Quite the turnout. Paul Brodie is the clear winner this month!

I am struck by the geometry and angles of this bike from the mid 80s. I believe It has more in common with today’s modern hard tail mountain bikes than the steeper angled xc race driven mountain bikes of the 90s. With the sloping top tube and slacker head tube angle, Paul Brodie, influenced by...

Just managed to sneak this one in under the Christmas tree. I’ve always felt the red and white had a bit of a Yuletide vibe so a December entry feels right. I’ve even staged it under the festive lights in the spirit of the season. The build thread has been a while in the making but is available...

Oh no she didn't come with me. It was just me, my iPod, and the open road. Bliss! :cool:

Here’s the MBA article, hopefully it comes through legible. April 1987 edition.

Last job was finding some tanwall IRC X1 tires, mount the Bullmoose bars as per the original spec, and head out for a ride….

Clearly the bike needed a more appropriate saddle and I set about locating a leather Turbo as per the spec. Although I did manage to find one I also came across a Craigslist ad in Vancouver for an original leather Selle Italia Anatomic that was not only a RM branded saddle but it was also...

Repro decals were ordered but unfortunately were not an exact replica since the shadow on the letters of the OG decals have dots and the repros did not. Fortunately I was able to track down some original “Thunderbolt” decals here in BC (thanks Jim!).

Next up, what to do about those decals?

The bike had come from interior BC in a region known for its desert landscape (Kamloops is at the Northern tip of the Sonoran Desert that extends down through the US) so the BB needed a serious clean and lube!

Some nice original features had survived the years, Suntour brakes and pedals, Laprade seatpost, Magura break levers. Unfortunately only one original spec rim remained, the other being a later replacement but as luck would have it it was a rim a friend needed and what do you know, he had a spare...

A strip down and rebuild was in order so I consulted the original specs from the 1986 Rocky Mountain catalogue. I also found a fantastic review of the Thunderbolt in MBA April 1987, complete with photos which helped immensely with the plan. I’d never seen a slope top tube...

Once the bike was home I poured over all the details and concluded it was indeed serial number 109 and therefore very likely a Paul Brodie built Team Thunderbolt. After a donation to his coffee funds, Paul confirmed to me the following, “109 is a 19” Thunderbolt made at Rocky. I did a run of 10...

The meeting was met, the deal was done, the bike was in the car and I headed back home to Whistler. I was so giddy at seeing the 109 serial number I was driving along in a haze and completely missed my turn off out of Kamloops and instead of the shorter route through Cache Creek I ended up...

Happy with the photos and the (to me) clear authenticity of the bike I decided to bid farewell to my wife and head out on the 10 hour round trip North, to the home of free ride itself, Kamloops BC. It was lovely day for a drive after all.

Here are some photos from the seller.

I have been meaning to post some pictures of this build for sometime. So here it is finally. The story starts a long time ago in a land far away (from the UK). More specifically, it was 2019 BC (before Covid) and in BC (British Columbia, Canada). I was idly cruising the local sale sites and...

Nice frames Roy. Look forward to seeing one built up. And bonus points if you bring it along to the next meet and pull a few trials manoeuvres :cool: