Video: Eddie Masters & Matt Walker Send The Brodie 8-Ball Down The Pinkbike Hot Lap

Sep 11, 2019
by Pinkbike Originals  


The formula doesn't get any simpler: one racer, one track, and a stopwatch. In our case, the racer is a mountain biker, our track is a rooty and rocky descent, and the clock is a Freelap timing system that doesn't lie. Last year saw Sam Hill and Miranda Miller, along with a bunch of other really fast people, throw down Pinkbike Hot Lap times, and we're back for the second season with a new track and new racers for 2019.

Last week Eddie Masters & Matt Walker took on the Pinkbike Hot Lap. They both laid down fast times, but that was on their normal bikes with modern geometry and top of the line component spec. How well will they do on a Brodie 8-Ball from 2002? Watch to find out.


The Track

The second season of Hot Laps sees us move to Cakewalk, a classic Squamish descent that has a good mix of roots and rocks, as well as plenty of different lines to choose from. And just to keep everyone honest, there are even a few brief climbs to make sure the mountain stays in mountain biking.






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Regions in Article
Diamond Head

Trails in Article
Cakewalk

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119 Comments
  • 73 3
 The craziest part about this is that after 18 years of technology development, Eddie's time on his modern bike was less than 16% faster.
  • 33 5
 Surely that's not crazy because in the end the improvement will be along an asymptotic curve?
  • 90 2
 Except his modern bike goes back up too?
  • 36 3
 and his modern bike is a trail bike and not DH bike.
  • 8 1
 If the bikes service intervals, weight, and reliability are the same as their contemporary race bikes then that 16% truly is crazy.
  • 3 0
 And which one was the second of the two runs?
  • 3 5
 Why is there no option for quality? Feel like I was watching it in 480p.
  • 21 3
 @reverend27: ehh. first time on youtube?
  • 3 1
 @owlie: huh? Yes I can watch it on YouTube and change the quality I know.
But if I just watch it from the pinkbike site there is only option for captions.

I am on mobile maybe that's the reason?
  • 14 0
 BRING THE SHIVERS BACK!!!!
  • 9 0
 @brianpark Whenever I find myself tempted to buy a new bike for performance gains I just watch the following clip of Kyle Strait backflipping a large step up jump sometime around 2004? with a 50lb demo9 dh race bike (before they started even making the demo8 ) and it reminds me of what is capable on ANY bike. Skip forward to 52 seconds for the goods Razz
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvsK7qdaph8
  • 12 0
 That is true, but 40 seconds is an eternity from a race perspective.
  • 9 2
 @tobiusmaximum: that’s a very good point. If we included liaisons I’m sure they would have set the 8-ball on fire.
  • 9 1
 @twhart20: it’s not. The 8-ball broke literally every second ride when I had one back in 2003.
  • 5 0
 @dhx42: yeah for sure 40 seconds is massive in a race, I just expected it to be even more.
  • 12 0
 @brianpark: I did as well but Eddie and Matt are incredible riders. How would Levy fair on his own bike? I think the gap for us more "normal" riders may be much bigger than a pro.
  • 3 0
 40 seconds on a 4 minute track is massive if you care about time. That could easily be the difference between first and last in your category on an enduro stage or DH race. Heck, 40 seconds on a 4 minute course might even be the difference between pro podium and back-of-the-pack amateur.
  • 9 0
 26 for life bro
  • 2 1
 I was most concerned (even though I realize this was in the past & both were healthly leaving the challenge) that one of the other would DIE!!!

For me, the best part was the old school metal playing as they had to run it up the bank on foot. That's what old school DH race runs were like for the most part. Big Grin
  • 1 0
 @unclesomebody: Acid Toads. diminishing returns
  • 2 3
 16% is an eternity in race time. I was blown away at how much slower they were on that old bike. My gut was 15-20 seconds - not 40!!

Technology is amazing.
  • 3 0
 @brianpark I don't think it's really a statement about tech improvement and development. It's not showing bikes have only improved 16%. I think it's more a statement about how insanely good elite, pro riders are! They can take any bike and ride scary fast. Cheers.
  • 2 0
 @tomoostv: that was a demo 8 and probably low 40 lbs
  • 1 0
 @dhx42: agreed. The percentage time difference would be much bigger for me than for the pros I think.
  • 4 0
 @meathooker: yep 16% is massive in race time, but I honestly thought it would be even higher. The fact that they hit that rock drop with what feels like a 90° HTA on that bike is absolutely psychotic.
  • 2 1
 @fartymarty: This trail would not be better on a modern DH bike. Way more suited to a current enduro steed.
  • 5 0
 My main take away was how much @mikelevy be blaming his tools!
  • 1 0
 @tomoostv: oooohhh the music is soooo gooood!!
Also, how could anyone not get more broken bones withh that narrow bar?
  • 1 0
 @reverend27: Got to keep it period correct.
  • 1 0
 @tomoostv: man thanks for posting that, such an unreal vid!
  • 1 0
 @unclesomebody: I would say logarithmic ...
  • 1 0
 @mammal: fair point with the little uphill section that they had to push. It would be interesting to compare on a DH track.
  • 1 0
 @brianpark: Any chance we get to see Levy rebate this on his normal bike?
  • 1 0
 @fartymarty: Yeah, I've ridden it a decent amount of times. The corners on that trail are super tight, as are some of the trees. A nimble bike is far better there, which makes their 8-ball performance even more impressive.

I agree about the DH track comparison. For a good laugh, look up the video of Rob Warner doing a back2back runs on a Giant Glory and then Giant ATX (that he used to race on). Good times.
  • 1 0
 @brianpark: I can agree with you Brian. Your 8-ball was down quite a lot
  • 1 0
 @brianpark: the more amazing great was you found an 8-Ball that was still running!
  • 66 13
 Still cooler than an ebike.
  • 41 2
 Pinkbike you May have just exposed a couple of mtb marketing misconceptions from the last 17 years!!
  • 3 1
 Ya think lol
  • 7 0
 Yep, but everybody bitches and then buys it anyway.
  • 29 4
 News Flash: 26" is fun.
  • 22 1
 So is 27.5 and 29
  • 1 3
 @mmfood: Don't forget fat
  • 23 0
 Damn Eddie, keep your shirt on bro. Save some girls for the rest of us.
  • 8 22
flag DhDWills (Sep 11, 2019 at 10:20) (Below Threshold)
 He has to counteract the baldness.
  • 9 0
 Bald is beautiful bro. Also, it’s a solar panel for the sex machine. @DhDWills:
  • 14 0
 The Brodie was not even close to the best DH bike of that era. Would like to see a M1 or V10 or even a Giant DH Comp from back then instead of a Brodie
  • 22 0
 It was actually pretty close to the worst, which was probably the KHS Dominatrix.
  • 10 0
 We were going to do a fun vintage dh race locally here a few years ago. The rules were must be 20 years old or more and no M1s allowed lol.
  • 3 0
 @Tmackstab: i know a guy at my local hill that still rides an M1 and loves it
  • 5 1
 2002 Kona Stab and Stinky were good too
  • 5 0
 i was thinking the same thing. the 2003 giant team DH was pretty dang good back in the day. and the 2004 turner dhr
  • 3 0
 This is actually the best 8 ball for sure.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4linbuenh8
  • 2 0
 @preach: was that David Puddy?
  • 2 0
 @Tmackstab: got a question? Ask the 8 ball...
  • 2 0
 @preach: hahaha YES!
  • 12 0
 Question. Could Mike beat that 8-Ball time on his dream 2019 bike?
Also, looks like they just jumped on the 8-ball, even the brake didn't properly work. Imagine what the time would be with a working brake and few days on the 8-ball. Smile
  • 7 5
 imagine if they did an 8-ball before riding the 8-ball. im sure an 8-ball before the 8-ball would put them under 3min flat if ya know what i mean.
  • 14 0
 Someone thinks @mikelevy should put a serious run in without the excuses and I agree. Get It done lad.
  • 3 0
 And, dare I say it, some form of working chain retention device?
  • 14 0
 GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WA- oh, cool.
  • 8 0
 You can still rebuild the Shivers although they never mentioned any issues. Can modern forks go years without a rebuild? The brakes could have been bled. No one test rides bikes with out first making certain the bike is dialed in. Hello chainguides were very popular back then for good reason.
A crappy set up bike over ten years old can do a 4 minute run down that trail.
I wonder what a properly set up specialized DH rig from same era would clock in?
  • 9 0
 I was thinking the same, my old 2002 bike had a full mrp chainguide, the chain never dropped ever (sounded like a shopping trolley full of empty beer cans), also ran dh casing and dh inner tubes, 29mm internal wide rims and never got punctures with decent tyre pressure. The old hayes brakes tended to cook themselves on mega steep stuff but still would be fine on that trail. A very biased comparison of new to old bikes really, the gap would be a whole lot smaller with a decent vintage specimen
  • 9 2
 Pretty sure that with a proper trail bike from 2002 they would be within 25s or less than the 2019 bike time. The brodie is an anchor. There was better bikes.
  • 7 2
 That bike gives anchors a bad name. Do it gonna Balfa BB7 and watch them go sub 3:30
  • 1 0
 Agreed, I had my first nice bike this year, a Giant AC. Surely a bit obsolete, but frankly, it still would be capable, and I still see a few on the trails! Good bike from the era, with some time to have the suspensions tuned, and I bet you could reduce that gap even farther
  • 1 0
 @stab0905: Giant AC in 2002 myself
  • 8 0
 There is always a guy at UK uplifts on a bike of this era who is faster than 3/4 of the riders there that day.
  • 3 0
 same here! this past season at my local uplift resort i've seen a few early 2000s bikes, like Kona Stinky and even a Brodie 8ball and a Specialized demo 9, Cove Peeler and a classic Norco Shore. all these bikes had a rider that was easily in their late 30s or early 40s and they just shred the trails
  • 7 0
 @lehott: ah, good old interior BC. Where DH bikes go to retire.

Never trust a dude wearing jeans on a 15 year old bike with no chain and mismatched brakes.
  • 8 0
 I think I need to call you out on those bars. They are at least ten inches too wide for 2002.
  • 4 2
 It would be awesome to see PB go shit-bike style for these one season (if you don't know the Bike Mag shit bike go here: www.bikemag.com/shtbike-challenge). Let the pros change one thing about the bike before they ride but it has to be era appropriate. Love to see the monster that would come out at the end of the year.
  • 6 0
 That Shiver is suh-weet.
  • 4 0
 Not gonna lie, probably one of the best forks I've ever owned.
  • 1 0
 @jomacba: agreed. miss mine
  • 2 2
 @SnowshoeRider4Life: Sold mine and bought a Dorado instead. That fork feels even better.
  • 2 0
 @blackforest: Booooooooooo!!!!
  • 1 0
 @jomacba: yeah, the Dorado was a pretty rad fork, I'd put it slightly ahead of the Shiver (although I loved the Shiver too)... my Sherman Firefly wasn't too far behind those two though! All amazing forks for the era (2004ish for me)
  • 1 0
 @Garethccc: Ha!! I had a Sherman slider. Terribly under sprung. I think I was around 160lbs at the time, and bottomed it pretty easily. Damper felt super smooth.
  • 1 0
 Every time I see an old Brodie 8Ball or 9Ball I say to myself “oh, look, it’s a prehistoric Knolly”. It’s that 2 stage shock linkage setup with the pushrod. Gets me every time. Nice to hear Eddie and Matt say how much fun they had on the Brodie. Thats what it’s all about.
  • 2 0
 Put a proper chain guide on the bike! Great challenge and I expect with a lap or two of practice to get familiar with the bike, their times would be a lot closer to their current bike lap times on Cakewalk.
  • 2 0
 Love seeing this! Having owned an ‘04 Brodie Diablo I looked at the speeds on this video and was clenching my arse, just waiting for someone to piledrive themselves into oblivion, as I did so often!
  • 3 1
 Every one of the so called old vs new shootouts I have seen they always use some sub par old bike. Never a really fair test. Some of the bikes 2002 -2005 were pretty damn good & would still rail.
  • 1 0
 I've got some old XT 4 pot brakes you guys need on that bike! PM me & I'll send em up. Gots to level the playing field, no fair using those janky brakes on the old bike, & Get a chain guide for the sake of fair competition!
  • 3 0
 Can we get some Jrs on the this bike? Lets get some kids who were not born when that bike came out on it.
  • 2 0
 I just keep thinking.... if your underwear is comfortable at your waist why aren't the shorts comfortable there too? You young guys love to look at each others underwear.
  • 4 0
 That was awesome!
  • 3 0
 YEAH!!! Finally a Pro 8 Ball run!
  • 3 0
 Need a separate time chart for the 8-ball challenge...
  • 2 1
 "Last week Eddie Masters & Matt Walker took on the Pinkbike Hot Lap."

Weird, I though Eds wrist had been broken for a couple of weeks now...
  • 2 0
 That music was sooo necessary
  • 1 0
 I had an 8 Ball and a Demon. Savage bikes back then! Taught me a lot! Good times.
  • 1 0
 should of kept the kit with the bars that were used in 02. them shits were narrow af.
  • 2 0
 Do love the retro DH
  • 1 0
 The captioning couldn't decipher them two!
  • 2 0
 shiver me timbers.
  • 1 0
 8ball the perfect bike for this! Such a staple
  • 1 0
 More hot laps on old school rigs!
  • 1 0
 LOL I like the front brake upgrade
  • 1 0
 "Does that mean I get an 8 ball?" LoL
  • 4 3
 26er the sh***Smile
  • 1 1
 so are you guys going to give them an 8-ball?
  • 1 0
 Now that's entertainment
  • 1 1
 16% is not a lot? Try and get to within 16% of a pros time.
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