The Custom Ocho

*NOTE: You can find Arlyn wrenching bikes at Bert & Macs Source for Sports in Lethbridge, Alberta.  He has spent countless hours, days and months touring all over Canada so be sure to catch one of his cycling tales if you ever get the chance! Assembling a custom bike is something people seldom get to do so at Brodie we’re stoked when someone chooses one of our frames for their project!

“My new Brodie Ocho was built for commuting five kilometers to and from work year round. My city, Lethbridge, Alberta, is mainly flat so I do not need a real low gear. The bike needs rack, fenders and lights so one can ride at all times and seasons. The weather here ranges from hot and sunny to wet, snowy and cold so the components must be able to handle these extremes.

I decided to use an internal rear hub with disc brakes for simple maintenance. The hubs used are a NuVinci 360 rear and a Formula disc front. They were hand build to Velocity Chukker rims with stainless spokes and Kenda small block 8 tires. The NuVinci 360 is a continually variable hub with no set gear range, smoothly shifting across the full range. A rotating shifter and two cables control the hub.  Set up is a bit tricky so follow the instructions if you decide to try it yourself. I used an Origin 8 single speed crank with 38-tooth chain ring and 18-tooth sprocket with a SRAM single speed chain. The Ocho use an eccentric bottom bracket to tension the chain, which works very well. To help the bike stop I used Avid 3 brakes with 160mm rotors and Avid brake levers. I also used the stock aluminum Brodie Ocho fork with Formula headset, Uno stem and swept back handlebars. A Brodie seat is mounted to an Uno seat post for rider comfort. Other accessories are Sigma illux light set and Alloy rear rack.

The bike has been completed for a couple of weeks now and rides very well. The aluminum frame has a very positive response to pedal input and the NuVinci hub works wonderful going smoothly from low to high ranges with out any feel of a direct change of gears. Being as this is my first bike with disc brakes they stop better than all my other bikes. I’m looking forward to riding this bike through the season and seeing how I like the build up as a commuter.”

Arlyn of Bert & Macs