New guy, old bike - just sayin' hi.

[Frankd3000]

Hey all!



Well, it's a complete fluke that I even found this forum - and to my surprise it's actually active. Cool!



The pre-requisite's are in order I guess....



'98 K2/ProFlex 3000 with a CrossLink ELT up front. With the exception of the skewers, seat post and pedals it's completely stock. I bought it new at the end of '98 and it's been ridden about 100 km (yup, i'm Canadian) since then. I've been out of biking all this time with back problems and i'm getting back into it again. It's been too long and now i'm loosing my sanity. Okay, too late for that. LOL!



So, that's my ride and my story. I'm looking forward to being an active person around here. I have many questions and ideas i'd like to run by you guys. That'll come soon enough. I promise to live up to my username. You'll see as time goes.



Andrew

[Swissnic]

Hi Andrew,

Welcome!  I'm new here too, and the guys have been great helping my out!

I'm looking forward to finding out what you mean't a-boot ( [smiley=laughing.gif]) your username...

Have fun!

Nic.

[Frankd3000]

Thanks Nic.

Well, so much for the post notification. LOL!

Well, as I stated, i've had this bike since end of '98. I had a back injury that forced me out of riding. Since then i've grown out of shape (yeah, smoking too) and with recent discoveries i've found that I can ride with confidence again. I won't bore you guys with that stuff.

About the bike.... well, both front and rear shocks are pooched. They have both lost their charge and are simply bouncing off the spring. I didn't mind these shocks at first but always had the intention of swapping in something better. At the time the Alps (remember that?) was a big shock that everyone had to have. Also, disc brakes were "coming into fashion", if such a thing exists (it did back then). Now, it seems you can't buy a bike without them. I've missed a lot in the past few years and i'm playing catch-up with everything. I'm getting surprised with everything, really. It's nearly overwhelming.

As of my posting I hadn't done very much snooping here yet, but then I spent an hour in the gallery and too my surprise (yet again - LOL!) there are A LOT of like-minded people here! I never even thought of using an adapter for the rear shock, and it's a rediculously simple design, so I might give that a try. The discs.... not this year. Money is too tight and I really don't have the need for them. I'm always in the dry stuff.

What I originally intended with the rear was to remove the shock and create another link at the top of the seat-stay, where the shock would normally mount. This would attach to the seat-tube and the shock bolted from the frame in it's normal fashion. A few particular measurements and a good design and i'd be able to run nearly any shock with an i2i between 6-8". Me working in a machine shop leaves me with only my imagination to be my hinderance and that hour I spent gave me many new ideas. Right now i've got a vision and have taken some measurements. I'm going to have to take my frame apart and check a few more things before I start.

The front shock - the only way to get something in there will be to make two new links for the CrossLink. They will both be the same size and length (or maybe not, need to measure) but will have the shock mounts relocated, again to be able to run a gammut of shocks.

I don't like being limited from options, yet, having too many is usually my hinderance. I guess i'll never learn. But hey, this will keep me out of trouble, give me new life in my ride and help to broaden my horizons. My intention is really to be able to buy virtually an shock (within the i2i specs) and play around with what suits ME best. There's TONS of shocks to be had out there from classifieds and such and I want to be able to try a few, pick a pair and use what I feel is best.

Okay, SORRY for such a long post - sometimes I just don't know when to shut up. LOL!

[Frankd3000]

Hey cool! I've got a gallery now!

[Dennis]

Frank,

welcome to our little site.

for your crosslink, I just happen to have a new, never-used risse genesis air shock that was made just for a crosslink shock. I don't have the correct bushings, but since you work in a machine shop that shouldn't be a problem for you.

I swapped to a fox fork before I got a chance to mount this shock up.

It has been sitting on my desk for quite a while. $100.00 and its yours. for info on this shock visit

http://www.risseracing.com

again, welcome to our site, you will find a lot of great info, ideas, and many good people here.

[smiley=groucho.gif]

[Frankd3000]

Dennis,

You're right, great site, great info, very inspirational! It's astounding and making an excellent resource for all I need to know.

I'll shoot you a P.M. (um, I didn't even notice if we have those here ) and we'll talk.

Thanks.

[ChilliConCarnage]

I just wanted to welcome you!

This forum is frequented by some of the nicest, friendliest, cleverest people in the biking world.  I lurked on the forums for over a year before my first post, and have gotten so many great ideas and inspiration here.  

Oh, and be prepared to convert pounds to "stone" - there are some K2ers from the wrong side of the pond  !

[Simon]

 

Oh, and be prepared to convert pounds to "stone" - there are some K2ers from the wrong side of the pond  !

No,no,no here in the UK we only use stone (14lbs to a stone)as weight a for measuring our own body weight thats all,for bikes/components etc we use (and I beleive we invented it,along with feet and inches) pounds and ounces,
unfortunatly our unelected lords and masters in europe have decided we have to use Kg/g,fortunatly IMHO most don't take a blind bit of notice those wasters,sorry for rant but my dislike of what europe now stands for knows no bounds.
Simon.

[Frankd3000]

You guys pay for your bikes with stones?? No wonder you all have 4 or 5 bikes.

[smiley=laughing.gif] Yeah, goofball, like I said.

So, let's see if I get this right. 14 pounds to a stone. I weight 150 pounds (yeah, i'm a toothpick), so that means i'm about 10 3/4 stone.

Cool. And the cops can't even prove it.

[smiley=disbelief.gif] Sorry, I couldn't resist. At least I know the conversion now.

[ChilliConCarnage]

I remember back in the late 70s / early 80s when I was in Elementary school that they were teaching us the pounds/ounces standards, but kept saying that in the near future everything would change to the kilograms/grams/kilometers/etc. standard.

30 years later, and most Americans couldn't convert a mile to a kilometer.

And hey!  Where are all of those flying cars and interplanetary travel we were supposed to have by now!

And CDs were supposed to be so much cheaper than tapes!!!

I feel so cheated!