Proflex vs. Santa Cruz

[will]

The temptress at my LBS has talked me into a test ride on a Santa Cruz Blur. Normally I would never invest in a new bike that will be as obsolete as my computer in 3 years, but...

The non-stop accumulation of expenses to upgrade the 856 is killing me. Just adding SPV shocks fore n' aft will cost $1,000! Holy Moley... for another $800 I can buy a brand new Klein Palomino V Disk.

Both the Santa Cruz and the Klein have the VP rear suspension which seems very smooth.

Besides the money issue, I have other questions.
1. With 200 pounds and a bit of recklessness, would I destroy one of these fancy new bikes?
2. How much maintenance do multi-pivot bikes need?
3. Is the VP just another fad like that #$% Schwinn Sweet Spot? (What a waste of time and money that was for me!)

What do you guys think? Should I just maintain multiple bikes and send my kids to State U? Help!
Will

[Carbon_Angus]

i would get a new bike rather than dump $1K into a bike that was 8 years old..anyday....BUT if you are restoring a bike...then the sky is the limit and you have my blessings.

you may want to look at SC Heckler or a Trek Liquid if you think you will beat it up, but the 856 is an XC bike and if you haven't busted it, yet, I really doubt you will have an issue with the Blur

your maintenance issues are nothing to worry about compared to Pro~Flex and spare parts are easier to get. the SweetSpot has decent reviews on MTBR, what was your issue(s)?

[smiley=beer.gif]

[will]

Angus,

IMHO:  MTBR Reviews are generally written by folks who just dumped thousands of $ into whatever they are writing about. Not too many people are eager to trash their most recent buying decisions. I think they tend to be bloated with self-gratification.

The Sweet Spot was extraordinarily well built. The pivot was nuke-proof and the welding was pure art. The spec was a little weak, but you get what you pay for.

What made the sweet spot silly was that it essentially locked out the rear end when you stood up in the pedals and got very active when seated. So... if you were climbing you either stood up or you bobbed like crazy. On the other hand, when downhilling, you had to sit down in the worst of the rock gardens. If you stood up, it was almost like a hardtail. Personally, I like to get on my toes a little on fast, technical stretches.

Basically, the Sweet Spot worked backwards from what you might actually want in rear suspension.

Ah well, live and learn. Buy for thousands and sell for hundreds.

Will

[Matno]

My buddy who manages a bike shop told me last year that the Blur was an amazing ride. (He still talked my bro-in-law, a former employee of his, into buying a Jekyll though). This year, when I asked him about the Blur again, he said the ride is still good, but they all squeal like heck after a few months. Of course, with a lot of maintenance, I'm sure the pivots would be fine. The Jekyll still rides like a dream.

Now he's recommending the Prophet. I'm inclined to agree - it's lighter and stiffer than the Jekyll but still has a reliable single pivot design with an SPV shock (and the best fork made - the Lefty). Incidentally, the pivot location looks pretty identical to that of the Proflex frames...

[will]

You are right about the Prophet. It's a sweet bike and engineered to take a beating.

I'm still scared of the Lefty fork though...

Today's ride was really great because I blew past two brand new Prophets on my rolling Proflex musem!

At least their bikes weren't squeaking like mine [smiley=worry.gif]

Love that 856...

[Matno]

You won't find a better fork than the Lefty. It's pretty much bombproof. I've never heard of a failure. The best part about it (besides the stiffness to weight ratio and the ultimate TPC+ damping) is that if you have it rebuilt, it's literally like having a new fork. With other forks, you can rebuild, but there's still some wear. With the Lefty, both bearing surfaces are completely replaced and tolerances are perfectly tight. Granted, you have to send it to C'dale for service, but it's still cheaper than buying new...