rear elastomers proflex 550

[Ade]

Got my Proflex 550 out of shed and wiped away the cobwebs. It is all runnig fine apart from it is now a hardtail. Is there a fix or anywhere that can supply the elastomer bumpers?

[SLIM]

i can get some , not the original but better

let me know

[Ade]

Be very interested in details Slim. I read somewhere to soak in hot water but now they're way too soft instead of rock hard!

[SLIM]

PM me and we can sort it out , are you in UK or US

[rapiddescent]

I'd be interested as well.  I have been measuring up MCU's on old proflexes and have now got a supplier who can make them.  I'll need testers and I'm making the asumption that the 856 densities are the same as previous.

got lots of NM/mm charts here and trying to figure out travel of the older bikes...

callum
rds

[shovelon]

I'd be interested as well.  I have been measuring up MCU's on old proflexes and have now got a supplier who can make them.  I'll need testers and I'm making the asumption that the 856 densities are the same as previous.

got lots of NM/mm charts here and trying to figure out travel of the older bikes...

 callum
rds

Hey Callum,
This is a really stupid question I suppose. But can coil springs be replaced with elastomers?

I like my coil shocks, but hate the weight penalty.

Terry

[SLIM]

 as far as i can remember ( not looking at the catalogue )
they come in three densities / shore hardness
70 green
80 yellow
90 red

so the green should match up to mid density old elastomers 60/70 if i remember correctly

they are UV resistant and also resistant to chemicals , oils , petrol , acids ( mild ) not that you should come into contact with most of these but ......

they are meant for industrial use , for heavy press forming and blanking forms out of sheet metal
but come in sheet , tube ( relevant ) , square , triangular , hollow and solid form
someone tried them in a manitou 3 fork and they worked brilliantly

the tube section dimensions are pretty close to the original , off the top of my head 16.5mm internal hollow ( .5 clearance ) on the 555 centre shaft
and external width of 40 or 50 mm ( whichever ) can do both
and are supplied in 500mm lengths

for £40.00 posted ( £8.00 from germany )

spoken to them on the phone and they are just waiting for my order . they are based in england and the MCU is sent from germany

pretty cheap i would say

slim

[callum away from rds]

Ah yes, I was going to try 70 shore A and a 90 shore A elastomer set combo for the rear, or a 70 and an 80.  and 70/70 for the front. It sounds like we are talking about the same supplier (based in sevenoaks) - I have an account at the UK distributor of this german company to supply the elastomers used on the COR spring kit.  

They don't do anything in the right sizes for the 550/855 shocks so I was going to get them to do a special production run with the right sizes - starting with the 855 shock.

I get trade pricing on these - and should bring it in an awful lot cheaper than quoted above.

callum

[callum still away from rd]

also, just had a thought, you should have NO clearance on the spindle.  It uses friction damping so it must fit snugly.

callum

[rapiddescent]

back at the home/office.

Ah yes.  I was ordering stuff from my elastomer guy today* and explained what I needed.  He's sending me a whole lot of elastomer and i hope to be able to supply new elastomers for all old proflex shortly.  I'm building a special cutter machine so that the MCU will fit each bike exactly and will mix & match densities to provide a good progressive suspension curve the way Bob designed it for us.

I'm working pretty much from scratch so if anyone has any old shocks (and in the UK) I'd like to hear from you for measurements etc .

I'll be putting up a request for testewrs soon - every rds new product has to pass 500 miles of testing before it sells...

elastomer is very difficult to cut - but my machine (complete with a spare fridge) will do the trick!!!!

Proflex:
+ 756, 855, 955
+ the lower XP-series bike (XP6?)
+ 854, 954
+ 550, 555

cheers,
callum
rds


* we use elastomers in the 856 spring kit.

[orange]

Do testers get free MCU's  

If so I have an XP-8 and '96 Beast both ODS I'd be happy to test on - however don't know how soon I could rack up 500 miles given I tend to mix and match bikes spreading the mileage!!

[Ade]

Callum

Slim is sorting out some elastomer but I am happy to bung yours in back of 550 and test if it helps keep these bikes going for others.

When I was looking at the catalogue Slim sent me I wondered about replacing the sleeve and getting a thrust washer to support it rather than the frame.

My aluminium sleeve has taken a lot of wear and the hole in the frame it slides through is now oval. Can sort photos and dimensions if you're interested. Maybe you could retail a whole kit, mine can't be the only one like it.

cheers
Ade

[SLIM]

CALLUM
when you say they should have no clearance , there is only .5mm differance total
so you are only going to have .25 of a mm , of clearance
surely as soon as you sit on the bike , the sag will make the difference irrelevant

ade what size is the sleeve , i have a bit of wear on mine and am getting a new one made up

going to use aluminium so should be better than the steel , less stiction , once polished up