ProFlex 857 Gear Ratios

[beeeerock]

Just read the reply Colin made on the K2 chain rub issue and followed his link.  Great site at the other end of that link... I found my bike there: http://www.bikepedia.com/quickbike/BikeSpecs.aspx?year=1997&brand=ProFlex&model=857

What I learned was interesting.

Number 1 - it was even more expensive when new than I thought...

But more relevant to me today is the technical details of the gears.  22/32/42 on the front and 11-30 on the back.  After complaining loudly and bitterly about how tough it was to grind up hills on this bike, I counted the cogs at my best climbing combination... 26 front, 28 back.  Evidently not stock.  And would seem to confirm that I'm not simply a wuss.  Or maybe it's a combination of all those things... ;-)

But it makes me wonder... changing out the biggest of the gears in the back to something even bigger is going to cause a jump.  So does this mean I'll have to re-jig the entire cassette?  I recall in my university days that a friend who raced road bikes used to build up the cassette to suit the topography of the race circuit... so maybe I'm opening a can of worms and would be better off tweaking the front set instead and accept getting only half way back to stock?

Something else I noticed on that linked page... 'fuzzy grape' was an available colour?!?  Fuzzy Grape???  LOL, not even sure what colour 'fuzzy' actually is...!

[Colin]

Yep, bikepedia is great, although not always 100% correct, but then again the manufacturers often changed spec in-flight.

Yep, K2's were very expensive in their day! I could never afford/justify a brand new one!

For gearing, I run long cage SGS rear derailleurs with the widest range cassette I can get, that the derailleurs will cope with. ("Tooth difference/wrap capacity")...... and then add a bit on for luck as I don't use Big/Big or Small/Small gear combinations......
See Sheldon: http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/derailers-rear.html

on my 4000se that's 22/34/44 with 11-34 on the rear and on the missus's OzX she has  XTR 24/34/46 with 11-34 cassette.
My XP-X in road mode with 700c wheels runs 22/34/44 with a tighter range 11-30 cassette and I find the single tooth gear difference between the top gears is so minimal load/cadence change that I wouldn't really want them spaced so close together.
So yes, in an ideal world you'd build a personalised cassette, but in reality most reasonably priced cassettes have at least the biggest 5 bonded together and the rest come as "standard". I just buy off the shelf XT or SRAM 8/9 cassettes and live with them!

"fuzzy grape" was Blue, i.e. think of a nice Blue Concord grape with wild yeast on the skin..........., very poetic! How come my bikes are just "Red"??  I want them called "Heartsblood" or "Vermillion"............<GRIN>

Col.

[Carbon_Angus]

Be sure to have enough loop in the cable housing or you'll be ghost shifting.

Fuzzy grape....very, very rare but like many vintage bikes, there is a cult who loves them and most who see them as very old bikes.

Always wanted a fuzzy grape way big.

[Spokes]

All my bikes run standard gearing and I have no problem climbing at all. And I'm no Olympic athlete !
The fuzzy part of the grape referred to the matte/satin finish where as the red was a high gloss finish. BITD every one wanted red as they were the team colours. And yes they were expensive. I bought my 4000 new in 1998 and had to part ex a Marin, fit out an entire shop with display units, give a wad of cash and sell my soul!
It was so worth it!

Chris

[beeeerock]

I guess I'll have to watch for a complete cassette that is closer to stock.  The trails we favour around here tend to be steep.  Steep enough that you have to be way forward and tucked to have ANY hope of keeping the front wheel down and providing at least SOME steering control.  Hills I can climb with the ratios on the Giant are no-hopers with my ProFlex (apparently 'custom'!) ratios.  I hate powering out and having to attempt a hop-off and not tear something doing the splits reaching for the lower ground beside and behind. It hurts and the people I'm riding with laugh... :-)

When I hear 'fuzzy grape', I see a bike covered in purple velvet fabric... or maybe like a purple version of the furry wall in Get Him to the Greek... ;-)

[kiwi]

and make the rear cable housing full length from rear deraiiler to the cable stop on the frame   delete the stops on the swingarm

[Spokes]

I always use the the ferrules and have not had a problem. I think as long as you leave enough slack at the pivot you're fine.
You also mentioned your bike was originally set up for down hill racing so I guess that would explain the lack of up hill gearing. Those guys get off and push as soon as it gets slightly off horizontal.

Chris

[Colin]

Hi Kiwi,
x57 frames don't have removeable swingarm cable ferrules, I think you're thinking of the x56 frames?

X57's have in-built internal cable routing on the swingarm, similar to the two-tube and Oz swingarms, not the fiddly "poke and hope" x56 style.

On my XP-X (x56) the chimps at my LBS threw away the beautiful brass ferrules and used continuous cable routing which worked ok, but not, IMHO, any better than correctly measured separate sections using the ferrules, which it then took me months to re-source!

Brock,
SRAM PG970 9spd  11-34 Cassettes seem reasonable value at the mo' at under £20 here in the UK.

Col.

[kiwi]

of course i am thinking x56!I had ghost sgifting problems which never re  occured with the ful llength rar cable

[whisperdancer]

Hi Kiwi,
x57 frames don't have removeable swingarm cable ferrules, I think you're thinking of the x56 frames?

X57's have in-built internal cable routing on the swingarm, similar to the two-tube and Oz swingarms, not the fiddly "poke and hope" x56 style.

Only the X57 bikes with carbon swingarm have internal routing.
On the aluminum swingarm bikes (757, beast and animal) the cable goes exposed over the top of the swingarm.

[beeeerock]

Brock,
SRAM PG970 9spd  11-34 Cassettes seem reasonable value at the mo' at under £20 here in the UK.

Col.

Thanks Colin, I'll have a look around for those and watch for a deal over the winter.  Not a huge priority at the moment as it's getting closer to winter and I'm turning my mind towards finding a deal on studded tires.  I'd really like a fat bike for winter, but I know that's not going to happen...

In the meantime, I'm still trying to find a way to glue the purple velvet to my frame... you don't think the fuzziness will cost me more in the wind friction department, do you? ;-)

[Spokes]

I fear you have developed an unhealthy obsession with things fuzzy and purple!!

Chris