K2 / Proflex Riders Group
General => Tech Forum => Topic started by: rapiddescent on July 31, 2008, 10:14:50 am
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I'm sure a lot of folks here ride K2/proflex still - but to be fair, the bikes are getting really old.
So what's your main ride now?
I always loved proflex and k2 bike - and wished that they were making good quality single pivot bikes. I still ride my k2 razorback as a singlespeed, and my 97 beast as a ride to work bike (skinny tyres) but my 856 is in pieces in the workshop for the latest spring work I'm doing.
I ride an Orange 5 now 2 or 3 times a week offroad. It has 5 inches of travel all round and is single pivot with a fox rp23 shock. fantastic bike, it is what proflex should have become and it copies many of the old proflex design features like:
+ square tapering on tubes and swingarm
+ down tube pivot point from the x57 and carbon bikes
+ internal cable runs like the 856/857 swingarms
callum
rds
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Restored 1980 CR125 :D :D
Back riding my project 856 to and from work to get fit again following a broken collar bone :o
Dangerous those mx bikes ::)
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Ha! Back in 95-97, I always wanted a proflex but there was no way in hell that I could afford one as a lowly teenager.
Fast forward a decade or so and here we are now; I finally found a x57 series (its a proflex 2000) that was in decent condition and the right size. It was basically new and unridden.
So to me, my proflex is a new ride.... (mated a CF swingarm and have vector 2 fork legs about 3000 miles away sitting under my bed in my parents house that "should" fit).
back in the day I rode a Ironhorse mt100... It was great but also heavier than hell. I mated an uncommon duotrack with it, while the fork was amazingly light, it had amazingly no travel. I then put on a nashbar closeout flexstem it.
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I'm riding all my bikes, see below for details ;D
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Well, I am riding all of them at some point, but am really spending a good deal of time on my my latest project which is a Serotta titanium softail. Happened onto it by accident, and has been quite an effort to get the rear Hayes 22mm brake operating, as well as adjusting the fit as it is an xtra large frame. All on a budget mind you.(No proflex was harmed in this endevor ;D). I will reveal it here someday as it does have a megair on it.
My next project is an elevated chainstay single speed, which Will(Willem) got me into. While working on the Serotta, I was testing components in single speed, and he thought I need his spare bike.
My 957 and Oz remain my gold stardard for all other bikes, and have yet to discover anything better.
Terry
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Well, I'm riding my 4000se at least twice a week off road and my XP-X is set up for road work and gets used pretty regulalry (The Marin gets used on Beer/Pub trips!) But I am really feeling the limitations of the NR-4 Rear and NR-5 Crosslink set up and fancy a change............
That brings me onto building the Oz's..........
OzX is for the missus:- 190/50 Swinger Air rear shock, Maverick SC32 fork and cable disk brakes (probably BB7's) +XT/XTR groupset.
OzM is for me:- 200/57 Swinger Air rear shock and a Maverick DUC32 front fork, plus Hydraulic Disk brakes (Carbon Juicy 7's) +XT/XTR groupset.
My hope is that I'll then have something that is on par with anything I could buy for sub £2500.
But............when I was at the Marin Rough Ride, I was sorely tempted by the Whyte 46 or E120 (mmmmm......Carbon.... ;D), so if I don't get those Oz's built up and used soon, I might just buy one of those..........
(http://www.whytebikes.com/2008/images/e120xtr_s.jpg)
Col.
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I'm like Ed and Terry. I ride them all but tend to ride the last one built(856) the most. I actually ride all types of bikes so none of them get excessive wear. That combined with regular maintenance, means they should all last a long time. Just got back from a week long tour on my road bike. 450 miles across Ohio from Maysville Ky. to Sandusky Oh.
(slight highjack here) Terry, I just had a friend sell his Serotta softtail. You didn't get it off Ebay from Mi. did you? I just sold off a Schwinn Moab that had the 22mm rear mount. It was a PITA to get adjusted. I had to file the base of the caliper to get it to line up. It was great when I finally got it aligned though.
Most miles Bianchi Axis cross bike
Most frequent 856
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Hi,
Possibly sacrilege to admit but I went back to a hardtail. I ride a Focus Raven most of the time but have been taking the 857 out more now I've upgraded the brakes and the fork!
Stu.
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(slight highjack here) Terry, I just had a friend sell his Serotta softtail. You didn't get it off Ebay from Mi. did you? I just sold off a Schwinn Moab that had the 22mm rear mount. It was a PITA to get adjusted. I had to file the base of the caliper to get it to line up. It was great when I finally got it aligned though.
Holy Smokes, that's the one if it had the pivoted brake stay strut. Yes, the caliper mount is tweeked inboard. My Hayes guy lined it up as well as could be, and the pads whined and chattered until broken in a bit, then I treated the pads with WD40, and now is smooth, but less powerful. I will be trying the organic pads instead of semi metalic soon, and some shims if need be.
I got from an Oregan ebayer.
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Sorry to be so boring but I'm still riding my 4000, 3 or 4 times a week 15 to 20 miles a go ;D
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road bike more,but still have the ol 756,albeit upgraded slightly.
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took delivery of a Scott Aspect fx15 a couple of months ago but am still riding my 856 more, recently done the London to Brighton and then the London to Southend bike rides both on the 856 plus riding to and from work a few times a week always a joy to ride and never gives me any hassle :)
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I just came back from 130 miles on the K2 4000 I bought recently. I really love the bike. Aside from that I either ride my 856 or my other 856 ;-) When my daughter is coming with us, though, I ride my '92 Cannondale framed rigid MTB complete with backseat for the child.
I seriously can't understand how someone could pay $3K or more for some of the bikes available these days. I picked up my 4000 for $400, upgraded it to slightly used XTR (M950 series) for another $250 and now have a better bike than most in the $2000 range, IMO.
- Doug :-)
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I seriously can't understand how someone could pay $3K or more for some of the bikes available these days. I picked up my 4000 for $400, upgraded it to slightly used XTR (M950 series) for another $250 and now have a better bike than most in the $2000 range, IMO.
- Doug :-)
My thoughts exactly. With old ways come wisdom, with new ways come uncerainty.
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I have the same approach with cars. I spend £800 on a 'new' (to me) car approx every 2-3 years, spend about £500 on maintenance annually and then throw the car away when it hits around 200,000 miles. Still costs way less than a new car when you take into account initial purchase, interest on loan, depreciation etc etc.
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I have the same approach with cars. I spend £800 on a 'new' (to me) car approx every 2-3 years, spend about £500 on maintenance annually and then throw the car away when it hits around 200,000 miles. Still costs way less than a new car when you take into account initial purchase, interest on loan, depreciation etc etc.
Ed, you are my hero for not buying a new car. The price of every new car represents the amount of energy that went into building it! By recycling old vehicles for an extended life, you are saving the planet!
I like to think we are doing the same with old K2/Proflexes. ;D
Terry
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doing my bit, but not as well as you!
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if im not riding my oz i ride either a saracen recoil mtb or a carrera virago roadie, ed my current `new` car cost me £325 with a full tank of petrol and 9 months tax, i dont believe in buying new cars as theyre either sat outside of work during the day or sat outside the house when im asleep so whats the point of a shiny car ;) i dont think ive washed this one either and ive had it 13 months now ;D
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like-minded chap ;D Mine gets washed annually, and then only because the kids find it a novelty!!
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mine gets washed by nature all too frequently :D its strange as i wash my bikes after every ride and never bother with the car.
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Well, I ride my OZ almost exclusively as it seems to the THE perfect fit. I have a Jamis Diablo, a Whyte PRST-1, a K2 Beast, and A perfect Proflex 756. I trot them all out from time to time but I really love the carbon. The OZ now has nearly 11k on it and only a couple of pops and creaks. I tore it down for inspection and found the creaks were the xtr outside bearing bb. The pop was the shock valving. Its good to go. I can't see paying the kind of coin that people are laying down for these bikes of today. The marketers can hype all they want, but I have sometimes painfully found that it is the motor not the machine.
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My 4000 has been my only bike since I bought it new in '98, but I recently picked up an 'as new' 857 which ive been using a little. Problem is its so pretty I dont want to get it dirty ;D. When the next batch of springs arrive at RDS ill hopefully have my 856 finished, so that will get a try. Then Ill get the OZx frame repared and built.To me proflex/K2 just look and feel right. As for cars ive had my VW camper since '94 so the ozone layer is safe over my house :)
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Still have an 856 hanging in the shop. Have been getting a hankering to get a decent wheelset and a set of Mega Air forks to build a sub-25# XC bike. Really love that design...
Now I do some urban single speeding on a cobbled together "freakbike" but really enjoy trailriding on a Giant Trance 2. I've upgraded the Trance a bit and can't get over the smooth ride of a VPP bike. Last year when my back was hurt, that's all I could ride and I kinda got used to it.
The Proflex 856 has settled into that category of "I'll never sell it."
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My first mountain bike was a used 754. Then I upgraded to an Attack and most recently I've been riding my 3000. I still have the 754, but the elastomers are toast. Otherwise I still think its the best of the bunch that I have...
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Still riding the K2 5000 as my main ride. Currently with Swinger 3-way on the rear and Manitou Minute 1 on the front. Seems to work pretty well. Can't complain much about the ride of this bike. I would only change one thing and that is to eliminate the flex from the rear swingarm (let's be honest, those carbon swingarms flex a LOT in the wrong direction).
Also started using the single speed a bit more this year. It's a Jamis Dakota AL frame I built up with a decent (albeit rather low-end) setup. Weighs in at about 23 lbs, which is a nice change on occasion. However, I do admit that I hated riding it until I got a set of big tires (Specialized Enduros that I swear are bigger than the stated 2.2"). Now it takes the big hits just as well as my K2, and climbs quite a bit easier most of the time. However, it doesn't like the rough stutter bumps much and occasionally jolts my tailbone more than I like...
When I'm on the road, I'm on a Cannondale CAAD4 which is still going strong after several years.
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;D ;D ;D Hello friends,
I have been riding Giant's 2005 Reign, 2005 Trance, and 2007 Anthem (XC Competition)
Lately just the Reign, got tired of the competing pressure.
I let a Friend ride my Evo for a couple of months. It is sitting at home now, waiting for me to try it with the manitou swinger 3 that came with my giant. I am running the Reign with the Vanilla R I used to ride on the Evo.
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Erm... my 856 is my newest bike, although it's currently wearing sids, front disc & '07 XT. Really should get a modern rear shock on there, but the frame's doing fine!
& cars? The newest I've ever had is my current daily driver - 1988. 59mpg on the last tank & negative depreciation do the job for me. :)
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Hahaha, nice! My daily driver car was a 1973 VW Fastback until some woman ran a stopsign and t-boned me 2 years ago. I'd get to the car if I could just stop spending so much time on the bike. I'm getting ready to start a run of the ball bearing spindles for my 4000 (and possibly a few extra).
- Doug