How long (and who,how,when, and why)have you ridden Pro-Flex/K2?

[Parafly9]

I grew up in Manchester!

Used to ride the WH Reservoir, Case Mountain, etc, etc.

[onealpha]

In the early 90's I broke my leg and ankle in a goped accident.  It was one of those stupid things that I never lived down.  During rehab I decided that I would start riding my bike as part of my recovery.  Putting my foot down at 30mph did extensive damage to the tendons and ligaments in my ankle and the doctor told me I would never fully recover.  I started riding on a a Specialized Rockhopper and road that bike for a couple of months while I watched my friends bob along on their FS Gary Fishers and Treks.  Always wanting to be different I didn't want to have the same ride as all of my friends.  Also, I didnt like the idea of FS for CC riding but my back was taking a beating on the hardtail, not being as young as I wished.  That is when I saw the Proflex 856 on Bikepro.com's website.  I fell in love with it at first site and bought a champagne model from them on closeout for $1250.  It had the noleen NR1 upgrades and nice XT group.  I remember pulling it out of the shipping box and marveled at the glimmering forks, swingarm, and perfectly stacked welds.  Riding that bike made me realize that I had the best of both worlds and had made the perfect decision.  I still own this bike today and ride it whenever I am feeling nostalgic.  A few years ago I was reading on this forum about the carbon frame and how it was the best frame ever built and the last frame to ever buy. I decided to pick up one from Supergo on closeout but I was too late and opted for the K2 5000.  When I recieved the frame and carbon forks I was very disappointed in the quality of construction compared to the 856 wich I hoped to upgrade, so while it sat in my garage I continued to search for my carbon frame and discovered ediscountbike had them on sale for $369.  I ordered my OZm and built a new bike with the carbon crosslinks off the 5000.  I now have my OZm and 856 ahd each of them have a different riding experience.  I prefer the OZm for my regular rides but I frequently ride the 856 as it still an excellent XC bike. I still have the K2 5000 frame as I never got around to listing it on eBay, and have kept it around just in case.  I just ordered a set of Look Fournales for one of my lucky bikes, probably the OZm.  I will probably be purchasing risse front and rear for the 856 in the near future. I also recently put Magura HS33's on the OZm rather than mess with disc and am very happy with the switch. I have posted some new photo's of my bikes in the gallery http://idriders.com/cgi-bin/album_k2.pl?album=onealpha.   I have only recently joined this forum for posting, but have been reading posts from time to time since I discovered it years ago.  Thank you to all of you who have been a part of my addiction over the years.  

[Per]

I bought my first ProFlex in may/June 1995, a shiny blue 855.
In 1997 I got a red 857.
In 1999 I bought a K2 Razorback RS
In 2001 I bought a K2 Razorback Team frame

I raced the 855 for two years, then my father bought it - he still uses it!  In 1997 I brought this bike to Armenia and rode it to the top of mount Aragatz at 4050 m.  That same year I rode the 857 in the grueling Grand Raid Cristalp in Switzerland.
In 1999 I went to Vashon Island and visited the K2 factory and got a chance to buy my first Razorback.  In 2000 I used this bike on an expedition to Tibet.  The bike was fantastic, but was unfortunately bent during transport.  For the insurance money I built a new Razorback in 2001 using many of the components from the older Razorback.
All of my ProFlex and K2 bikes have been a joy and they are more than just products - they seem to have some kind of soul.  
My only grief now is that my rear shock is busted and it seems difficult to get a good replacement.  

[JustinD]

Started on a Yukota in 1993 when I moved to Atlanta and rode all over Sope Creek and the N. Georgia Mountains.  Then I bought a Trek a year later and then a Proflex two years after that for a whopping $1700, and it was a 656....I look back and laugh, what a huge expense.  I still have it, but I've been through many derailleurs.  Still love it, trying to get my buddy to seel me his 857, he has springs, I have elastomers still.

[Upfinder]

1992 - and I'm still on the same bike well frame at least, a 552. See Upfinder gallery. Great bike and now a lot lighterthan new at 25lb!

[Hammer]

Hi Guys,

I've been away for years... and just dropped by.

My story...

I saw a Cannondale v-something with carbon swingarm in a friends magazine and decided that suddenly Bikes were cool again.. this was circa 1993...  I had no money, so no bike.

Then a friend found a bike in the middle of the highway one night, it had fallen off a car, and was damaged, he took it to the police, nobody claimed it and a few months later he gave it to me, as it was size xxl and he was size xxsmall... rode that Cyclepro for a couple of years, then bought a Coyote (ugly) ultralite.. it was a toss up between the ultralite and a pro~flex 455... about the same price, but the 455 weighed about a ton and a half more, and to be honest, what I really wanted was a 855, but these were too expensive for me... and the temptation of a really light bike was too great. I upgraded that Coyote Ultralite as more and more parts broke.. eventually I had a rugged bike, but the name Ultralite was a bit of a misnomer.

Anyway.. about a  year later, and after a LOT of broken parts (I am heavy) I sold the Ultralite and bought a Pro~Flex XP-X frameset. There was a picture and description further up this thread.  I didn't want the forks or middle of the road components, so went frame only and moved the rugged bits over from my Utralite..

I even broke with the trend and used pre-compact chainrings...  24-36-46 I think... as I found these made the suspension more active than 22-32-44 whilst in the middle ring..... could have been purely sub-concious, but I felt it rode better... and my sort of trails weren't much big ringing trails anyway....

XP-X inspite of all it extra (27?) reinforcement gussets and welds... cracked Everywhere..... it got warrantied, after a LOT of hassle and grief and ultimately a lot of help from the Pro~Flex peeps in the USA who browsed these forums... Problem being that I bought it in the UK, I lived in Sweden and Sweden had no Pro~Flex dealer, the closest being in Norway....  eventually I went up to Norway and they had never seen an XP-X, so they gave me what they had laying around in my size.... a lovely 957.

The 957 cracked a couple of years later.... and I was ready for the warranty fight, remembering how it was last time.....  I went out with all guns blazing and had to fight just as hard to get it resolved all over again.... not made any easier by the fact that I was now living back in the UK and was trying to warranty a frame I had gotten on warranty, changed by a foriegn dealer, but from the place I originally purchased the forst broken one....

Anyway.... long long story, I ended up paying a small fortune and warranty upgrading to a carbon Oz.

Hated the name K2 5500c and Oz-M.. so I started referring to mine as a 959 and we had some decals made up.... incase any newbies wondered where the 959 name came from.

Meanwhile I had bought my wife (now ex wife) a 857, and then a Oz in the famous e-discount blowouts of the early 2000's....

The 857 got sold to a buddy, who now wants me to buy it back.... which I might...

The Other Oz... got stolen... It was for sale, a guy turned up, test rode it and didnt come back... that was 18months ago...  so if you see a "Carbon Pro~Flex 959 for sale with marzocchi forks and HammerHead disc brake adapter on the rear... shimano wheelset....  it could have been my extra one.

So.. the only Pro~Flex I have now is my trusty 959, I loaned it to a friend last spring and he is taking good care of it.... I ride mostly singlespeed hardtails now as that what my buddy rides, I have only ridden 50kms in the past 2 years on my 959..... so maybe it's time to get it back home and start enjoying it again.  
It will be like having a new bike.

Sorry for being so long winded....  thanks for listening..

Take it easy,

Hammer.

ps...   I think that the XP-X (856) was the best climbing Pro~Flex I ever rode...    and would like to buy one, if anyone sees any around.... without cracks, but even a cracked frame can be welded and heat treated.
Also looking for a cannondale v-500 700 or 900 frame, with the carbon swingarm.... those frames cracked like crazy too, but I would still like one...



Then

[orange]

I started mountain biking back in 1991 when I had a Diamondback Topanga with Campag Bulletshifters on it (early gripshift-type gear shifters!). My mate had a Proflex 752 around then (may have been a year or two later, not sure) and we used to ride all over the Lakeland mountains in Cumbria, UK every weekend.

Anyway, I did get a Flex-stem for mt Diamondback which was my introduction to Girvin/Proflex.

After riding an Orange X1 for nigh on 10 years (a superb full sus bike that I've never ever seen anybody else on! Very rare!), I personally got my first Proflex last October (2005), an XP-8 (see my gallery), off Ebay. Fell in love and have since bought an 857 (purple) and Beast (I think '96) again off Ebay (ain't it great?!). I'll get some pictures up soon.

I'm now 34 and am getting back into shape, after 2 kids in the past 5 years have given me sleep deprivation taking away any energy I had for biking (my wife 'had' the kids! I just lost sleep...). I get out about 5 hours a week now, a lot on-road commuting, but try and get a couple of hours at the weekend in the nearby Peak District. Any of you from around here would like to hook up for a ride? I live in Derby.

Anyway, that's my story...

[redbanks2]

I bought my 756 new but with a great discount in '97. It only took one ride and I knew it was my first dual suspension bike! For the next few years I put a lot of miles on it as my wife and I  patrolled some National and Ca. State Parks with the Mountain Bike Unit. Biking vacations and many general fun rides have all added quite a few miles to it. Just a few minor upgrades to make it perform better and it has served me well. I did swap out the front fork for a Manitou. I think the look is much better, and it is yellow and blue like the bike! My next upgrade after fixing or replacing my leaking rear GDT shock is disc brakes. I still think that I made a good decision back in '97

[ad Scudder]

I am looking for new elastomers and parts for a 853 proflex.
Does any body have any ideas? I really like the bike. Brad

[martin1501]

Hi, the list so far-

In 1993 purchased a X race Team 1990 full XT £250 (the one with the steel Flexi Stem and small rear elastomer) This still lives on my Garage wall.

In 1998 purchased a second hand Beast for £850.

In 1998 purchased a second hand 957 frame with a new nr4 rear and Vectra 2s with Smart Shock £500(purchased after going to cost up a nr2 for the Beast)

I then purchased a week old K2 Animal with Hope discs for £900 from a friend in a pub who had just lost his Job, This was going to replace the 957 but after using for a couple of weeks i decided to sell the Animal for a £50 quid profit.

I still have the 957 hung up on the garage wall  but it has now been replaced with a hardtail (sorry).

                            Cheers Martin.

ps they are still my babys and i will never sell.

[dell]

hi i have only just started getting into the world of pro-flex after my son rescued a sorry looking 856 from our local dump he thought it looked a bit special even in the state it was in at the time so he asked if he could have it and saved it from being crushed, he arrived home with it saying he had never seen a bike like it and was well excited i am now in the process of bringing it back to life, the frame is in the bike shop at the moment having a bit of welding done and various other components are on order should be ready for him in a few weeks   if all goes well take care all seeyah........

[oldschoolstu]

Great stories indeed!!!!!
Well, the year was 1993 and until then I had strictly been a raod biker....but my bro had just purchased a 453 (all he could afford) and immediately began upgrading components....I saw how much fun he was having, I just had to grab a 753 for myself. 4 years later my bro could finally afford that gleaming 957 with carbon swingarm---what a day that was!!!! Anyway, we are still riding these bikes today!!!! Other than the occassional elastomer freezing on the '53's, they are still a blast to ride.
My 753 underwent a major overhaul upgrade in 2004.

[Ade]

Had a Raleigh some sort of heavy as a tank mountain bike that a car ran into, so put insurance and savings into Offroad 550. That must be 1990 (it cost more than my car!), bumpers rear and flexistem front. Used on mostly mud and treeroots for 10 years, lived in the Fens in Uk, it's flat as a pancake there. Only changes were barends, saddle, pedals and rear tyre. Everything else original, even though I kept expecting stuff to wear out. Even still got original softshell helmet.



Got it out of the shed and blew the cobwebs off the other week, other than elastomers being rocks and front tyre perishing all works perfectly. Back in the saddle - don't know why I got out.

[Tel]

I bought my wife a Raleigh outland for her birthday in 1994, it weighed about the same as the titanic but slightly less durable. But before it managed to fall apart I went and bought another one so I could join her on rides. In 1996 I wanted a new fishing pole which was very expencive, so we made a deal I got the pole, and Ali (my wife) got a new bike.
We went to loads of bike shops looking at Specialized , Trek, Cannondale,and Giant, What she really wanted was a Marin B17. While we were in one shop she tried out another uninspiring full sus and was moaning, all it felt like was another nodding dog, when the guy at the shop said he had a bike nobody was interested in and wheeled out the XPX Proflex.    
I`d never seen such an aggresive looking bike in my life, when I looked at Ali I knew we had found it.
We got rid of our other bikes and just shared the Proflex, until she got a road bike for some strange reason (Coppi campionisimo) and I finally got the Proflex.
Now shes swindling me into getting another mountain bike but only a Proflex will do obviously.
Tel.
P.S. now I`ve been fully swindled and shes got an 857 in grape. thanks to everyone here, I did`nt think there was much interest in an odd looking bike that they did`nt make anymore, this site is a godsend. Thanks everyone! Tel         

[LooseNut]

I bought my first real mtn bike in 1997, a blue 756.  I upgraded some components and pretty much rode it as is until now.  I actually used it to get to class in college from off campus for 3 years!  Everyday, sun, rain or snow, I just jumped on the proflex, even when the chain was too rusted to shift.  Now that I'm out of school I've decided to bring it back to life and slap on a bunch of new components, including a Fox rear air shock (shhh, pics soon).  

-Antony