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

[R.E.M.]

Yes, yes! Finally got one!

Have been dreaming about having a Proflex for a long time and last week I finally bought an 855 in a sorry state. Offcourse the rubbers are completely shot, but other than that, there's nothing that can't be fixed. It even has a Nukeproof fronthub. Was that an original part on a 855? I doubt it.
At this moment I am experimenting with a material we call "Prex" as a substitute for the original elastomers. It's a material we use for making outersoles for orthopedic shoes. It's a bit like EVA as found on runningshoe's, only much tougher.

It all started with a friend buying this insanely expensive Proflex 9-somewhat, somewhere at the beginning of the 90's. It costed 13.000 guilders (our former Dutch coin) which is around 6000 euro's nowadays! That was a shitload of money, back then.
It had everything; White Industries titanium bracket-axle, Cook Bro's cranks, Crafton brakes, Ringlé hubs, you name it. I believe it was the most expensive version of the first rmodelrange equiped with a Vector I frontfork. And than tuned even further.
Later on, two riding buddies, raced the life out off two 854's before swapping them for Specialized FSR's, They where quite satisfied with the 854 but the FSR was a big step foreward. I never thought about buying Proflex myself. But now I have one to keep my On-One 456 Inbred company.

When it's finished, I'll drop a picture.

[Lysander]

Excellent- be interested in yer results with the the elastomer replacements.

[R.E.M.]

Thanks!

I'll keep you posted.

The results look promising so far. The "prex" material feels pretty stiff and a bit comparable with what I an remember of the original elastomers.

But that's also the problem. I don't have a good reference because the last time (and only time) I have ridden a Proflex, was almost 20 years ago.....
Fortunately, I have owned and wrenched on a lot of full-sussers, so maybe the knowledge I have gained on those suspension systems, comes in handy.

Let's hope they hold when I can ride it properly. In case it turns out it is still too soft or not tough enough, I already have found a replacement material. So that will keep me busy for a while.

Greets.


(p.s. Yeah, I know. My English is crap.)

[R.E.M.]

Eeeeerrrr. Yeah well.....That "prex" solution of mine doesn't work.

The compression is okay, but the "reboundtime" is about 10 minutes. That's a little on the slow side.

In the meantime I stripped the bike down and rebuild it almost completely. It was in a better shape than I expected. Except for the suspension offcourse.

So, up to the next brilliant solution.......

[tosa]

Cool! So many original ProFlexes. Just finished building mine up this evening. Had to get a long shifter cable from the LBS today for routing through the swingarm. Can't wait to take it to the trails. Hope it rides as good as it looks! I'll get a pic posted too.

Oops, this was supposed to be posted in the pics thread, but now that I'm here...bought my 955 frame back and Girvin Vector II in '95. Sold off the fork a while back. All the 8-speed components and flat bar are gone too. Built up my bike this week and it's ready to roll!

[Lovatt12]

New to this forum but a good thread  ...

Became a rider fan since a teen but gained my first ever Proflex in 1996 it was 856, fantastic bike, rode on and off since then and only recently brought another, great sale on Ebay, just starting to rebuild it now...should be a eventful task!

[tom853]

I bought a Diamond Back when I moved to Cody, Wyoming from Denver in 1990. I soon decided I’d either get a suspended bike or give up the sport. A local shop had a Giant, but the rear pivot point was located near the crank and it bounced like a pogo stick. Meanwhile, friends were getting front shocks, but the maintenance issues bothered me. Looking for another bike shop led me to Jackson, a 3-plus-hour drive, where Teton Cyclery had a couple Pro-Flex 853s for rent. I could see right off that the rear pivot was correctly located and loved the Vector fork. A great afternoon ride up some bumpy gravel road convinced me this was the bike—I guess the worry-free elastomer shocks cinched it (even though I could hardly believe the little yellow things did much good). Full retail was $1400 but I paid $1200—either I bought a demo or the bike was a closeout—and rationalized it as a belated 40th birthday present to myself. They had a Large and an XL—I’m not sure which I got, but my seat tube measures 19.75 inches.

It has provided years of utterly faithful service—though after the first 5 years I probably didn’t ride it all that much—tires seemed to dry rot faster than wear out. One night I drove into the (brick) garage with the bike on the Yakima roof rack, Vector bolted to the fork holder and the rack’s front crossbar. By the time I figured out the racket I had sheared the left front tower, ripped the passenger side chrome rain gutter trim free from the car and rotated the entire rack and bike clockwise around the left rear rack tower. Other than some grease squirted out from the head set I couldn’t find any damage, though it seemed to creak a fair bit more afterward.

In about 2004, shortly before moving to SLC, (and thereby losing the free services of Wally, our local college welding instructor) I finally fixed the long stem which had bugged me since day one. I scored a 45 degree line with my Stanley carpenter’s square and cut it with a hacksaw. We put the lower half in a vise, rotated the other half 180 degrees to a new (raised and shortened) position, and I held it by hand while Wally TIG welded it. So much better!

Since then, other than a couple trips to Moab and a bit of street riding, the bike hasn’t seen much use, and storage under a covered porch has been unkind. As my stepsons grew up, their admiration for the Pro-Flex turned to scorn. Nevertheless, last week I did a quick lube with TriFlow, put the Pro-Flex back on the rack, and we all headed down to Zion Park. The boys rented cushy $3000 Treks, my wife rode the like-new Santa Cruz Heckler her father willed her a couple years ago, and I…I discovered that I now owned a No-Flex with rock solid elastomers. Still a serviceable ride, though I stood up nearly the entire 5 miles back (downhill) to the car. The bike drew a mix of admiration and puzzled looks from other riders we met.

Back home, a quick search led me to this website. For a few years I’ve debated a newer bike (maybe even a Pro-Flex) off Craigslist or eBay, and it is nice to learn there are other Pro-Flex fans out there. But right now I’m debating whether to try the various rubber fixes (inner tubes, pipe plugs), or valve springs, or just shell out $100 for replacement elastomers from Suspension Fork Parts. The bike is still bone stock, 28 pounds. I’ll try to post a photo over on the “Pride and Joy” thread.

[gert]

I'm mountainbiking from 1987, i have several bikes, done some competition racing from 1990 til 1998
Ik have ride with a K2 comp 71 from 1991 till 1992
then a few other bike's
in 1995 I had a proflex 955 custom build , broke 4 frame's in 5 month , then I got my money back, they didn't want to give me a new proflex frame, I bought a Manitou frame  Smiley
The 955 frame broke alway's at the same point, the bold where you connect the rear shock on to the stay's broke off and if you have some speed the whole frame is getting out of line--> new frame
sorry about my english (I'm from Belgium and normaly I speak/write Dutch)

Now I'm looking arroud for to buy a oldskool K2 from arround 1990

[shovelon]

Welcome Gert!

Terry

[Spokes]

Hi Gert. Keep a look out on www.retrobike.co.uk as you might find a K2 comp on there.

Chris

[ace]

My first full suspension bike was a 856.When the 957 came out I bought the frame and fork and spent the rest of the year building it up.I still have it still and love riding it now just as much as when i first bought it.These bikes were worth every penny,cause if you looked after it it will ride forever.Glad to find a site where I can see fellow riders still enjoying this great bike!!!!

[shovelon]

Welcome Ace.

I ride a 957 and love it.

Terry

[gert]

Hi Gert. Keep a look out on www.retrobike.co.uk as you might find a K2 comp on there.

Chris

I find today a K2 Comp 88 from 1991 full deore DX
condition is good for such an old bike
one of these day's I will post some photo's

[Crossup]

Well, my history with ProFlex, and later K2 started in 1991.  I took a position at a little known company, OSI (Ocean State International) in Woonsocket, RI. OSI was the original company run by Bob Girvin, just before the bike biz became big.  Technically, before OSI, it was called KG Engineering which was named after Bob's daughter (Kelly Girvin). KG became OSI, which then became Girvin Inc, and was finally sold to K2. I was hired as the technical trainer and within 4 months of starting, I was promoted to National Sales Manager and worked there through 2003 (13 years).  I was aboard for almost the entire venture, and it was the best company that I have ever worked for... by a long shot. 

OSI was a waning motorcycle parts manufacturer, with full prototyping, testing, and production capabilities.  The flexstem was two years in production at that point and was on fire selling.  The flexstem was the first aftermarket suspension item. Sales worldwide were enormous.  OSI's first bikes were a series of hardtails in 12" and 14" frame sizes.  The brand name on the downtube was OffRoad.  In 1989, the main MTB manufacturers were not making frames under 16-17", so Girvin had a first niche advantage in the market.  After two years, that advantage was gone, but the development of full-suspension was underway. At that time, there was one FS frame design (RF-1) that was being made by Serrota. It was a Reynolds steel frame and had a tiny urethane elastomer. I came on at about the time the OffRoad RF1 went to market.  Sales were light, but there were a lot of early adopters.

I traveled to Washington state with a plan to attend the 1991 Seattle Bike Expo, then see all of the OffRoad dealers from WA to San Diego and conduct a series of training clinics and test rides.  The trip took 3 weeks, and it was an adventure from the start.  I rented a van in WA full of OffRoad FS bikes and made my way to clinic the 25+/- dealers.  In the meantime, I was seeing other accounts on the way.  When I got on the plane in San Diego, I had logged 15 clinics, 150 offroad miles, and I had orders for 21 new accounts.  I would say that the trip was very successful, and I had a great time.

Everything was moving fast.  We knew that we were catching the front of the wave (the full suspension revolution) and we wanted to stay there.  Development, marketing and personnel, were ramping up.  The structure of the company was noticeably changing.


It is getting late here, so I am going to turn in.  I can fill in more if there is interest.

I can tell you that ProFlex was a perfect confluence of marketing, product development, and sales.  I owe a lot to Bob Girvin and Ralph Hines. In appreciation I asked to have Bob inducted in the International Mountain Bike Hall of Fame in 2008.  http://mtnbikehalloffame.com/page.cfm?pageid=6&year=2008  We still get together for reunions in the Summer.  Oh, and I ride a 1997 ProFlex 957.

[w2zero]

Crossup, Oh hell yes, continue!