pinkpowa

Rules for ordering a Brodie:
1) Find a dealership.
2) Be patient.
3) Realize that their sizing chart is about 1 size off (order a size smaller, IMO)
4) Be patient.
5) Love your LBS for being patient with you and helping you get an awesome bike.

So this has been a long time coming, but I figured I’d post a few pics and the build sheet as this is to be my main commuter. The commute is 6.5 miles, 99% on road, 5 days a week. I wanted to build something that could be robust all season, take panniers and fenders, and be pretty fast for the occasional group ride/sprint tri/overnight tour. And if the local cyclocross circuit would let an amateur run a commuter with disc brakes, then that too. Pretty wide range of tasks, but I think it’s a nice compromise all together.

The 2007 Romax frame got the call because of the sloping top tube, disc tabs, rack mounts, cyclocross geometry, all at the right price. The Spinergy wheels were an ebay find prior to settling on a frame, and I haven’t seen anything like them anywhere (700c 32h disc wheels below 1700g). Avid BB7’s, FSA crankset, Xpedo pedals, allen skewers and the Selle Italia were the logical choices. For my commute that is mostly all pavement, I could have gone with a true touring/road tire, but I wanted to keep it a little ‘cross, hence the Vittorias. I’ll probably end up on some Schwalbe touring tire in a few months, but these are fun for now. Great in grass/hard pack dirt. The SRAM Rival group was probably a deviation from common logic (and my LBS’s love for Shimano), but the solid feel of the brake levers, aero cabling look, weight, and wanting to be different made that selection. The Salsa bars are HUGE, but I’m loving the many hand positions they offer. The LBS owner commented that they’re nearly MTB bar width if you grab them like they’re bar ends, offering some really useful leverage.

He is a smidge over 21# in current form, and the racks and fenders are going on in a few days. The LBS has dubbed him “Cry Baby”, because that’s what they called me when I whined about my bike not being here for 3 months. I think it suits the blue well. I ordered a 56cm, which should be way too small by their sizing chart as I’m 6’1”, with a 33” inseam, but the standover is perfect. I went with a 130mm stem to get me a little over the bars, but that might be overkill, so we’ll see if I need to go back to the 100mm after riding it a bit fully loaded.

Build sheet:

SRAM Rival Shifters
SRAM Rival rear derailleur
SRAM Force front derailleur
SRAM PC1070 10sp chain
SRAM OG1070 cassette
Avid BB7 Road Front Brake
Avid BB7 Road Rear Brake
Thomson Elite Stem
Ritchey comp seatpost
Selle Italia Gel Flow Black
seatpost clamp
FSA Gossamer Compact
xpedo SS pedals
Vittoria EVO Cross XN
tubes
Skewers (allen)
Headset
bar tape
Spinergy Xyclone wheelset
Salsa Moto Ace Bell Lap Handlebar
2007 Brodie Romax Frame & Fork


I’ll post some pics of it loaded up with the fenders and panniers later this week, but for now, here’s what I got:









For more pics (including ones of me being a dumbass and crashing it), click here.

Comments, suggestions, and general heckling is always welcome

markhr

Congratulations, that's an awesome bike.












...and of course, your saddle's too high

pinkpowa

Thanks man! It was pretty sweet on the commute this morning. Very fast, though I've still got some tweaking to do on the rear disc. I might have to go to the Nokon (sp?) housing, as it's just not nearly as crisp as the front. We'll see how it does with some weight on it when the Ortliebs go on.

And the saddle suits me just fine at that level, thank you very much!

pinkpowa

I did pretty good on the group ride yesterday with it. A few 16# carbon bikes set a brutal pace, but as the only cyclocross/commuter bike (and the only bike over 20#), I held my own I think. Apparently wearing a tshirt and gym shorts isn't the way to go on group rides either. Oh well, my 3W LED helmet light was pretty sweet on the way home

Still dialing in the BB7's. They're a bit tricky to set up right, as you have to center the caliper on the rotor, then adjust both pad's initial position, and then the cable tension. The back one is much better than it was, and the front one is good, but I'm expecting it to be stellar. They were dragging in the front a bit yesterday, but they're a little better today. We'll see

enginerd

David, that's a gorgeous bike. Looks like it was definitely worth the wait.

JeffS

I think at some point most people get used to the longer pull and stop fiddling with them so much.

Capt_Sensible

Very nice. I like the clean look of the cable routing with SRAM brifters. It's interesting that Brodie have dropped the disc brakes for canti's for UCI compliance on the 2008 Romax. There's also a scandium "Romax B" frame for 2008.

pinkpowa

Thanks!

The removal of the discs is a shame, IMO. But I understand the economics of not wanting to have a bike at that pricepoint that you can't race legally. That has to be a pretty limited market (me!) Regarding the Scandium Brodie B team frame, it's goregous in person. There's a 58cm one in my LBS that they sent me by mistake, which ended up being a good thing because we figured they run a size off. So now I'm rocking a boring Aluminum Romax instead of a Scandium Romax B team, but at least it's the right size. And if anybody wants a 58cm Scandium Cyclocross Frame, let me know, because it's just going to sit at the LBS for a while it looks like...It's really, really light.

DataJunkie

ooOOooOoO! You said I could heckle!
BEND YOUR ARMS!
Hey YOU BEND YOUR ARMS!
BEND 'EM!
NOW!

Ok. I am done.
Nice looking bike.

pinkpowa

Thanks!

I went down to a 100mm stem and I'm not as stretched out as I was. Now I just have to find a home for a 130mm 10deg 26mm Thompson Stem...probably the same place I found it: ebay!

rickyaustin

Orange Spokes!!!

d2create

That's a beauty of a bike! Congrats!

But how's the aluminum frame/aluminum fork feel?
I couldn't do that with the roads around here... ouch!

ultraman6970

cool how much did u pay for the frame? 400 +?

pinkpowa

I think Retail for the frame is $750, but I paid a bit less than that since it was an 2007.

TwoTones

this bike is more or less exactly what i want