Brodie Romax Redux - not sure what that means

by Nobalance
Spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars on a bicycle while the power bill goes unpaid and your kid plays soccer in Crocs is not exactly what some would call responsible. And I have a bike already - in fact I have two. But I wanted a road bike. In my easily obsessed mindspace, I had become convinced that my very life depended upon acquisition of a road bike. At 38, and after far to many days lugging the typically sized east coast adult out of their home on a stretcher, my back and fitness screamed for non-pounding miles accumulation. Throw into the mix that the days of hopping on my bike on Herbert Rd and a full 5 minutes later dropping into Wrandee's for a quick spin are dead, as I now must drive, at minimum, 15 minutes to the trail head; and that a full life revolving around three kids and blessed partner and a big ole dog is sweetly time consuming. Not whining; love my life; just not the fleshy middle, burning lungs and dead legs that has come as part of the package. A road bike would fix everything, commuter, fat burner, back-saver, leg hardener; a road bike - the salve for all that ails.

Oh, and the joy of the search. The seemingly endless hours on websites and scouring eBay and shop floors were glorious. How many people did I annoy with none-too-bright questions about anything and everything skinny tired? And the message came back perfectly clear. Hit 1500 bills and a bazillion of great rides, from almost all of the big brands are there for the pickin'. And folks were clear, a road bike, not a cross bike; "hell man you've already got two bikes designed for the woods and slicks get you a commuter - what in the hell do you want a cross bike for" - (I don't know, and in fact don't think I wanted one)? Made perfect sense, mais non? Then, while surfing, I stumbled across the Brodie Romax. Wow. Glib little write-up thumbing it's nose at those evil roadies, so adroitly sucking me into that coveted space known as, 'the enlightened and cool outsiders.' Beautiful lines, so exuberantly utilitarian and disc brake equipped - sweet jebus, sold! Thousands of hours and many expert opinions gathered; decision made - a non-roadie roadie it is - sometimes I amaze even myself.

So now floating in the dream-like post new bike purchase honeymoon I sit to write the definitive Romax review; or at least to begin to set out for you my growing love for and multiplying neat experiences with my new bike. I'm sick as a dog from riding so much. Did I mention I love my new bike? I would be amiss if I didn't stop for a second to talk about the woman that has deigned to fashion a life with me. Certainly, it is obvious to all but the most deluded romantic that monogamy is neither biologically sensible nor pertinent in the modern age. In fact it's probably hurtful. But many of us still soldier up, faced with the absurd, roll eyes skyward, kick rational thought to the curb and accept that fate or delusion puts before us a choice. Not a rhetorical question to mentally masturbate over, a freaking choice. Will you take this hormone-induced series of moments that equates to the big love and decide to make a life? We did. And, holy Christ the work; not everyday and no one is obviously holding a gun to your head. We chose to communicate and we chose to be loving. Probably most importantly, she gets me. She saw my need, and respecting my contributions to our shared hallucination and knowing our seemingly constant dire financial straights still supported completely my obsessive belief that all of life's ills could be assuaged by the purchase of yet another bicycle. A bicycle that would require from her single-parenting episodes that last in the hours. I love her. And she's damn fast - having skunked the field recently in 10 km run by finishing in 39:08 after three kids and 38 years. I love her. Thanks babe.

On to the newest love in my life, the Brodie Romax. The good folks at Brodie suggested that given my height and current size of mountain bike I should be riding a 54cm. So a 2006 Romax, sized 54, is what I ordered and what I received. Fits like a glove. Kind of always thought I'd feel all stretched out and aching on a road bike, but not with this puppy. I do notice a tich of toe overlap at slow speed but it really hasn't been an issue.

Now for all those that tuned in for the expected tangents in my posts and have no real interest in a bike review, the next paragraph will rather boringly detail the part specs and geometry. All techno geeks who are barely hanging on, what with all of the sharing of emotions and words larger then cool, we're finally hitting the good stuff. Butted aluminum frame mated to an aluminum fork certainly leads one to believe that there is potential here for jarring and rattling fit to pop fillings. Nope. Those big nobbies (Maxxis as shipped - 700-35 mm) and the neat black Sun Assault rims, along with the talent of the good people at Brodie in tube selecting and geometry setting (71.5 head angle, and 73.5 seat tube; 11 inch BB height and 16.5 inch chainstays) ensures a rather compliant, in a good way, ride. No fancy or delicate carbon fiber in the seat stays or fork, yet there seems to be enough compliance dialed while retaining more then enough stiffness through the bottom bracket for my size quads and this bike's intended purpose. Truvativ Roleur cranks sporting a triple (more on that later) are connected via a Shimano cassette to a Shimano hub. Nine speed 105 handles the shifting and derailing duties. And to bring this beauty back down from speed - wait for it - Avid Road disk brakes. Yup, disc freaking bakes. Neat. And they work. Now, I'm sure that good roadie rim brakes work, and I'm even willing to concede old style cantilevers found on most cross-like bikes work as well. But my road bike as disc breaks - and that makes me smile. Rider interface is handled in house with lots of Brodie branded, utilitarian and black aluminum doing what it's supposed to do - providing a post on which to sit and a bar with which to steer. Nothing spectacular here, but with full 105, the Avid's and the wicked frame, one should not complain. If anything breaks, or when the, 'I want's,' strike, then I'll upgrade with more emotion inducing bits.

And while I love the ease and precision of the shifting and the fact that, after countless curb drops and a couple of burns through rutted singletrack, the wheels are still rolling true, a bike, this bike, is greater then a sum of its parts. As in all great bikes, and this is a great bike, something 'other' happens between design and part hanging and a trip to Taiwan. This thing rails. It's perfectly comfortable trundling along on my 30 minute commute to work. It loves hateful east coast roads and makes sneaking up the local rails to trails a blast. Don the lycra, pump up the tires and wee; it amazes me how efficient and quick it is out on a long road ride. It will and in fact is making me a fitter and better cyclist. But the best part, the truly almost weird part is that the Romax is a blast to ride in the woods. Not huck off a ravine blast, or take to Whistler and shuttle, blast. But if any of you have recently experimented with the following: returning to a hard-tail, riding rigid, single speeding or testing the 29 craze, then you would be surprised how much you can ride on a drop barred freak like this. And I dare you to just try and wipe the smile of your face.

If you are on a budget and can't afford a number of highly specialized bikes, or if you just in the mood for something different, you need to consider this bike. Winter beater, commuter, wood buddy and fitness machine; everything short of taking you to the podium in the provincial RR championship - this white beauty - the Brodie Romax - does it all. If you're ever on PEI I'll hook you up for a test ride.

Posted by bikergrl at June 18, 2007 11:28 AM

---