Velo City: Bicycle Culture and City Life

The Teacher’s Approach: Paul Brodie’s Own 27.5 MTB

The 27.5 MTB that Paul Brodie built for himself

After teaching countless students how to build their own frames, Paul Brodie has finally managed to make something for himself, this rowdy 27.5″ MTB. It’s a personally sentimental creation, too.

The 27.5 MTB that Paul Brodie built for himself

Back in the mid-80s, when Paul Brodie began making mountain bike frames for a burgeoning scene, he managed to get one of his Romax models under a talented Canadian racer named Brent Martin.

The 27.5 MTB that Paul Brodie built for himself

The Brodie name was relatively unheard of, and Brent was a bit unsure about the unknown name on his downtube. So he split them in half and plastered ‘Bro’ on one side, and ‘Die’ on the other.

The 27.5 MTB that Paul Brodie built for himself

Brent went on to win the ’86 Canadian Championship (with an injured wrist), which kickstarted the brand. The Brodie name was no-longer unheard of and went on to become a very popular manufacturer, both in domestically and internationally.

The 27.5 MTB that Paul Brodie built for himself

That wasn’t the last involvement Brent had with Paul’s work: 24 years later Brent was instrumental in getting Paul to start teaching his popular and long-standing Framebuilding 101 class at the University of the Fraser Valley.

The 27.5 MTB that Paul Brodie built for himself

Paul’s new personal bike has a history, too. Around 20 years, ago, Paul got a call from Rocky Mountain, who were looking to sell their entire stock of Tange tubing, including a whole bunch of 1 3/16” Prestige top tubes. Paul took the lot.

The 27.5 MTB that Paul Brodie built for himself

Circumstances, however, had other plans, and Paul ended up selling the stock to Mike Truelove in Squamish, who had spent 8 years building Brodie frames. Years passed, and Paul began teaching his class, wishing he still had all that Tange tubing.

The 27.5 MTB that Paul Brodie built for himself

20 years later, Paul began thinking about a mountain bike for himself and needed some material, so called up Mike to see if he had any Tange left. He’d sold most of it, except for the oddball 1 3/16” top tubes. Perfect.

The 27.5 MTB that Paul Brodie built for himself

Paul went to work, creating the most up-to-date Brodie MTB ever. The 30.9mm Reynolds seat tube is nickel-silvered, with a Chromoly lug connecting a rolled 4130 tube, and a Columbus down tube with a gentle bend was enlisted.

The rear spacing is 148 boost, connected to the 83mm BB by a 41.5mm chainstay, and there’s an effective seat tube angle of 74° with a 68° head angle. A 100mm RS Reba fork sits up front. The bend in the seat tube nicely compliments the top of the seat tube.

The 27.5 MTB that Paul Brodie built for himself

Paul sanded, Scotch-Brited and waxed the frame, as he’s thinking of adding a chainstay bridge … like he tells his students to do.

Paul Brodie Instagram

Thanks to Darren Stonoski for the portrait of Paul.

The 27.5 MTB that Paul Brodie built for himself