954 on ebay

[purple gerbil]

954 on ebay just thought i would say as i love these bikes but its 21" and im only 5ft 8" so can only get on a 16" so for all you lankys out there take a look!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PROFLEX-ALLOY-MENS-MOUNTAIN-BIKE-ROCK-SHOX-SUSPENSION_W0QQitemZ230192698696QQihZ013QQcategoryZ33503QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


just added this link!!!

[shovelon]

Mmmmm, shiney.

Would that be a 1994 model? Looks like an ODS shock.

Geez, I want it. Maybe someday.

[orange]

don't see many of them...

[purple gerbil]

yep its 1994 ok and i think it was only in production for about 6 months and they said it weighed 25 lbs and for its time was a lightweight also with 3" of travel. it also climbed like a mountain goat on speed!! cant quite remember if it had ods but sure looks like one. if only i wasnt a midget!!

[Colin]

I'd never ever seen one of these before, so was quite interested, so did a bit of research.

http://bike-alog.com/BikePedia/QuickBike/BikeSpecs.aspx?Year=1994&Brand=ProFlex&Model=954&Type=bike

IMHO, I don't think it's an ODS on the rear, doesn't quite look right compared to mine.

I think it was a bit early for an ODS, I'm pretty sure that they came out in '96, the 954 would originally have had MCU's on it and a vector fork, I think?

It looks lovely though doesn't it?

Col.

[shovelon]

I'd never ever seen one of these before, so was quite interested, so did a bit of research.

http://bike-alog.com/BikePedia/QuickBike/BikeSpecs.aspx?Year=1994&Brand=ProFlex&Model=954&Type=bike



It looks lovely though doesn't it?

Col.

It is really neat to see the evolution of the rear suspension.

Gosh, I love it!

[IanR]

I just bought one on ebay, building into a travel bike as its the same dimensions as my road frames.

Some info on the shock, as i've just dismantled everything to clean, internals are bog simple - the piston moves in a bath of grease, I think even more simple than the ODS - though same principle.

The elastomers were shot but an easy replacement with a spring.

ebay# 200179700053

its a pretty cool frame, though I question the lack of pivot on the top of the shock, itn't it asking the strut and shock itself to bend with each suspension flex? The angle doesn't change much but it is noticable...

cheers
--Ian

[purple gerbil]

hi there ian
your right about the lack of pivot but on early
pro-flex's there wasnt a great deal of travel however
954 should be about 3". not sure with yours cos i never got chance to strip 1 down but inside the seatstay of early bikes they had a bush with rubber
o-rings and as the seatstay travelled its path it was
these parts that flexed enough so that there was no need for a pivot. thats why they moved seatstay on
954.pivot closer 2 arc = more travel and a seatstay
that doesnt follow the arc (see shovelons new bike).

[IanR]

if there was any such seatstay bushing its disappeared in the last 13+ years... setup at the moment is direct from swingarm to shock yoke (with pivots identical to those on the 856), bolted firmly to the bottom of the shock (again like 856), and the shock is bolted to the frame with the 4 bolts which don't allow any flex.

The shock shaft itself might have some play which allows a kind of 'virtual' pivot within the shock itself... there isn't any extra wear that would suggest asymmetric loads on the shaft, but then the bike doesn't look like it has much wear so there might have been enough use yet for that.

I put a stiff 500lb spring in it so it doesn't move much (as I will use it mostly on road now), it has enough preload to eliminate sag, so I'm not too woried about it. It won't get enough deep flex cycles to cause much of a problem.

It would be interesting to see if anyone has a better 'original' picture of the setup, or a manual describing such, so I can see if anything is missing in the current setup that would correct the issue.... but I imagine with the rarity and age thats asking a bit much!

[purple gerbil]

yeah now know the setup u describe and it seems
you hit the nail on the head with some big words
(which of coarse i knew) the elastomer setup was
the original that you removed. post us some pics of
project when finished and 4 the love of god dont paint it!!

[kiwi]

it looks as though the "strut " is on almost perfectly on the arc the swingarm describes.here must be some movement withinn the shock because it wouldnt move at all.As mentioned earlier the mounting of the shock itself looks completely rigid