Brodie Holeshot Titanium review from Mike Gill
The below is a review of the Tiatnium Holshot from Brodie Bikes by Mike Gill from Brighton MTB
Why a Holeshot Ti?
Since July 2008 my favourite bike has been an On-One 456Ti. During this time a number or full suspension and hardtail bikes have come and gone but the 456Ti has been a constant and easily the most used of my bikes. However; I have been looking for a second hardtail as our group has recently witnessed a number of broken and bent bike frames and I don’t want anything to happen to the 456Ti. My selection criteria were titanium, relaxed geometry, designed to take a 140mm fork and a bit different to the normal options. In addition, although I am just under 6ft my torso is disproportionately longer than my legs for my height, this means that I need a long top tube for a given bike size. After the usual faffing I decided that Brodie Holeshot Ti would fit the bill.
I called Simon at Progressive Bikes and after a 20 minute chat I decided that the large size was for me so paid the deposit on the MkII version of the Brodie Holeshot Ti. Delivery was delayed a number of times but Simon kept me fully informed of the order status and expected delivery dates, I couldn’t have asked for more and was happy that I was getting treated as a valued customer. Great service and excellent communication from Simon, I couldn’t give him a high enough recommendation. The Frame arrived in May 2011 and I set about building it using a mix of old and new parts.
Build
Fox Talas fork 140mm 15mm axle, Hope hubs with Mavic 719 rims, Formula Mega brakes with 180mm rotors front and rear, X9 shifters and mechs with XTR crank set and cassette. The cockpit is my usual layback seat post and wide high-rise bars. Tyres are Maxxis Highroller 2.35 inch with sticky rubber. I’m not sure of the weight and to be honest I don’t care but it is about the same as the built up 456Ti.
A couple of points stick in my mind from the build. The cable stops welded to the frame are very short and really need to be twice as long in order to securely anchor the plastic cable shrouds when the cables are not under tension. In addition the stop at the rear of the seat post for the front mech cable needs to be welded at a more acute angle as well as being increased in length. Alternatively, loops to take full length outer cable runs would ideal. These are small points and the gear shifting is not affected; however they did make the assembly more of a hassle than it should be.
The front of the frame is very burly with large diameter chunky tubes while both the seat and chain stays are svelte and lovely and curvy. All welds are small and neat and look identical to the ones on my Lynskey built 456Ti.
The Ride
During the shake down rides I immediately noticed two things: Firstly; impacts come straight up the seat post and into my rear end, I assume this is due to inflexibility of the 31.6mm diameter seat post; and secondly the bike was superbly stable at low speed turns. So far so good.
My usual test route includes, a long very rooty descent, a 15 minute double track climb and a long downhill single-track with roots, jumps, berms a short steep rooty climb and finally a very steep chute/descent. As usual with titanium the faster I went the more compliant the ride.
On single-track the Holeshot Ti is noticeably fast, point it and pedal and it is off encouraging the rider to stand up and ride fast adopting a leaning style around corners. The previously un-noticed dropped top tube makes moving about and weight shifts very easy. I was soon going at some rapid speeds, scarily faster than the 456Ti. The steep climbs were no problem as it was very easy to carry speed around the corner of the approach. The steep descents and chutes were taken with confidence. I was having great fun and even chose to suffer another long climb in order to blast more single-track.
The ride position is quite laid out along the bike and I found both manuals over obstacles and wheelie drops required more body movement than I am used to. I soon adapted and started looking for little drops to practice the exaggerated weight shifts.
In general XC riding the frame is stiff and as mentioned above impacts at the rear wheel are transmitted straight to the seated rider, much more so than my MKI 456Ti. I find myself riding along and looking for anything, a trail or a hill or just a rock etc. to ride down or over.
Conclusion
For me the Brodie Holeshot Ti is an absolute single-track blasting machine, it encourages me to hooligan behaviour and is stable at very rapid speeds. As an XC bike it is fine but there is no getting away from the harshness of the rear end. I’d be happy to ride it for 20 miles but for longer days out covering high mileage I think it would make itself felt.
As a single-track bike I can easily justify the Brodie Holeshot Ti, it isn’t cheap but the smile it puts on my face is worth it, I find myself giggling out loud on single-track. It puts every other hardtail I have owned into the shade for single-track riding, a list that includes On-One 456 Ti and steel, Cotic Soul, and various Trek and Specialized bikes. Other hardtails may offer as much but I’m very happy with the Holeshot Ti. Between the 456ti and Holeshot Ti I think I have the perfect hardtails for XC miles and single-track fun. A luxurious but expensive position to be in but I’m happy and that what counts.
Last Updated: June 06, 2011