You are looking at - again - a 2001 Brodie Rocket, and it is The War Wagon - my entry to the 2025 Cheap Bike Build Off.
Kids these days will refer to this as a MonsterCross bike. It's a great name, but certainly nothing new in cycling. One of the first to make mountain bikes, Charlie Cunningham, built drop bar bikes for the legend Jackie Phelan to race on in the early 80's. And probably the most famous dropbar MTB was John Tomac's Yeti C-26, which he raced in 1990.
This, by the way, was what 7-11 coach Jim Ochowicz required of Tomac if he wanted to be on the 7-11 road team and still race mountain bikes. He told the press that he wanted Tomac to have the same riding position on his mountain bike as his road bike, but I'm certain this was an attempt by Ochowicz to make Tomac quit MTB altogether.
And I think he hoped that would happen because honestly, racing an MTB with drop bars just doesn't make sense. The road bike is made to get the rider from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible over pavement. The mountain bike is made to get the rider from point A to point B over roots, rocks, sand, and gravel, going up steep hills and down steep hills. A dropbar just doesn't cut it for this.
If you need me to back up this claim, just look at the stems on the Cunningham and Salsa above - they're very tall and short reach - Why? To compensate for the extra length and low hand position of the dropbar - those stems are just putting the riders hands right back where a regular flat bar would put them. Furthermore, as soon as Tomac didn't have to run dropbars, they were gone. He used them through the 1990 and 1991 season, but he ran flat bars at the last Grundig World Cup race of 1991, securing the XC World Cup title.
And if that wasn't enough, nobody else ran dropbars then, and nobody runs them now.
This, by the way, was what 7-11 coach Jim Ochowicz required of Tomac if he wanted to be on the 7-11 road team and still race mountain bikes. He told the press that he wanted Tomac to have the same riding position on his mountain bike as his road bike, but I'm certain this was an attempt by Ochowicz to make Tomac quit MTB altogether.
And I think he hoped that would happen because honestly, racing an MTB with drop bars just doesn't make sense. The road bike is made to get the rider from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible over pavement. The mountain bike is made to get the rider from point A to point B over roots, rocks, sand, and gravel, going up steep hills and down steep hills. A dropbar just doesn't cut it for this.
If you need me to back up this claim, just look at the stems on the Cunningham and Salsa above - they're very tall and short reach - Why? To compensate for the extra length and low hand position of the dropbar - those stems are just putting the riders hands right back where a regular flat bar would put them. Furthermore, as soon as Tomac didn't have to run dropbars, they were gone. He used them through the 1990 and 1991 season, but he ran flat bars at the last Grundig World Cup race of 1991, securing the XC World Cup title.
And if that wasn't enough, nobody else ran dropbars then, and nobody runs them now.
But I digress....
Back to the War Wagon. I realized pretty quickly that building from a frame up was not going to work for the budget constraints of the Cheap Bike BuildOff, so starting with this $100 Brodie was the way to go. I have made changes that I did not include in my budget, but only because they didn't factor in on the function of the bike. It came with Hugi Compact hubs on Mavic rims, which I'd already put on another bike, and I just didn't feel like taking them off that bike when I had these Rolf wheels not being used.
Plus I know that Max the Mullet Mechanic - check him out on Youtube - sold parts off his bike and deducted that from his budget, so if we're doing that, I'd say that after selling the Hugi wheels, RaceFace headset in a colour only available on a '94 Rocky Mountain Vertex, and Manitou X-Vert 100mm fork that came on this bike, the contest owes me $200.
Back to the War Wagon. I realized pretty quickly that building from a frame up was not going to work for the budget constraints of the Cheap Bike BuildOff, so starting with this $100 Brodie was the way to go. I have made changes that I did not include in my budget, but only because they didn't factor in on the function of the bike. It came with Hugi Compact hubs on Mavic rims, which I'd already put on another bike, and I just didn't feel like taking them off that bike when I had these Rolf wheels not being used.
Plus I know that Max the Mullet Mechanic - check him out on Youtube - sold parts off his bike and deducted that from his budget, so if we're doing that, I'd say that after selling the Hugi wheels, RaceFace headset in a colour only available on a '94 Rocky Mountain Vertex, and Manitou X-Vert 100mm fork that came on this bike, the contest owes me $200.
I was very excited to find out about the Cheap Bike Build Off, as it feels like what I've been doing for the better part of 20 years. I'll buy nearly any frame or collection of parts, sit on them for ten years in some cases, and eventually make something that works.
And not always just something that works, but something that's cool. Lately I've done it with the intent of making money, but that's been very difficult. Bikes are not worth a lot where I live. And further, doing something that I think is cool - like the Cannondale above - is just not that popular, so selling it at a profit is nearly impossible. But what can you do?
And not always just something that works, but something that's cool. Lately I've done it with the intent of making money, but that's been very difficult. Bikes are not worth a lot where I live. And further, doing something that I think is cool - like the Cannondale above - is just not that popular, so selling it at a profit is nearly impossible. But what can you do?
From watching the MtMM's videos, I know that he built the same style of bike, and in fact, was also going to use Maxxis High Roller DH tires. However, his Reflex frame - love these bikes btw, I always wanted one - did not have the frame clearance for them. But for The War Wagon it's not a problem thanks to its wicked CNC machined chainstay yoke. The crazy fork has tons of clearance too.
Now, having gone on a long tirade about drop bar mountain bikes, it's actually pretty damn cool to ride this on the brake hoods. It really makes you feel like a ProTour rider. But, as I say, I'd prefer a riser bar for trail work.
Anyway, I don't know how it works at this point, but voting for the contest starts on the 24th of February, so I'd appreciate some votes if you don't mind. Check my Instagram page for details.
Now, having gone on a long tirade about drop bar mountain bikes, it's actually pretty damn cool to ride this on the brake hoods. It really makes you feel like a ProTour rider. But, as I say, I'd prefer a riser bar for trail work.
Anyway, I don't know how it works at this point, but voting for the contest starts on the 24th of February, so I'd appreciate some votes if you don't mind. Check my Instagram page for details.
RSS Feed