your next bike

[StoereVent]

Every once in a while, I start thinking about my next bike. I know al lot of you are real K2/proflex fans (as I am), but does that mean your next bike will automatically be a K2 again?

I have to be honoust, here in Europa K2 seems to be less popular than in America. So in mountainbike reviews K2 never comes up as a possibility. A lot of bikes are tested time after time, but it's always Trek, GT, Cannondale, Giant, Rockey Mountain, Scott etc.

Are we (K2/proflex-fans) just too fanatic to see that K2 is not the bike to buy, or is Europe wrong?



It's a big question for me: the 5500C I own at the moment is by far the most beautiful bike there is, but it's lifetime is not everlasting.



Jeroen.

[kiwi]

one of the reasons i bought my 756 was that it was just a little bit different.Its most direct copetitor was a giant(cant remeber the model now)The shiny intricate machine flavour girvin fork won out.....and nobody i knew had one and half of them didnt even know they existed......I like something that is not so popular..........and will accept idiosycrancies to pay for it .If i bought another bike now it would almost certainly be a razorback with discs.....

[Matno]

Right now, K2 doesn't make a bike that I would really want to ride. However, I figure that my current ride has enough life left in it to last me a few more years at least. (And if it wears out sooner, I can always borrow my wife's nearly identical bike!) I'm hoping that by the time I have to buy another bike ("have to" makes it sound like I don't want to...) the technology will be improved to the point that I can actually get what I want: a sub-26lb bike with 5 inches of travel, front and rear. Actually, that probably already exists, but I usually prefer durability over light weight, if I can't have both.

If I were to pick from today's crop of FS rigs, I'd probably go with the newest C'dale Jekyll, which has 5" of travel. But then, I'm as much of a C'dale fan as I am a K2 fan. I just don't spend as much time on the internet discussing C'dale stuff, cause I haven't found a website for them that's this cool!

[Old Proflexer]

not to just pass over matno's comments but certainly 100% 'ditto' kiwi's thoughts.

i prefer to not have a run of the mill type bike but still enjoy a good ride - i guess i like being the only one in the crowd that's not like the crowd - trek, cannondale, fisher, giant etc. - give me something a little different - even if it's putting a 5th element on a 4500 just to be different from these guys.

in that i work on my own bike from spoke nipples to hand polishing each ball bearing, maintainence is not an issue.  people buy bikes cause the local shops sell and work on them - now a crosslink type of thing totally befuddles even the best of the shaved head, tattoed, body pierced, jr. high graduated teflon greased lbs bike mechanic.

plus proflex had the brand name, racing heritage and is aesthetically pleasing to the eye.  i remember seeing my first 856 on top of mt. palomar in california - i had to have one and bought one within a month after i found a dealer that could order one.

one side comment on another bike tho' - i've always been fascinated with the look of a bright red intense uzzi slx - not the basic sl xc model - the slx freeride machine.  i could see me riding one of those and have been actually looking for one in a frame to build.




OP's secret fantasy

[Dennis]

hmmmm, red Intense Uzzi SLX. sounds nice.

my dream is a white or blue Foes Fly with a Shiver DC fork.

anyway, OP, how about a red Uzzi DH?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3620093243&category=22679

no one has bid on it yet!!!
just a thought
[smiley=groucho.gif]

[Carbon_Angus]

lots to drool over and  , but i would grab a Heckler to replace ( ) my Oz.  the Intense rides are nice, too.  much has changed with bikes, hopefully i'm not missing much by staying with my Oz.  i do know i should swap the shock and fork out, but she still delivers.

[Dennis]

I wouldn't replace my Oz, but I would love a Fly or even an Iron Horse loooong travel bike as a second bike to use a couple times a year as a ski area bike.
as long as we are dreaming!!!
[smiley=groucho.gif]

[dmc]

I love my EVO but like most other owners I won't be replacing it with another K2, My next bike will most likely be a Keewee, the come with a 5th element and not the Fox as stated. http://www.keewee.co.nz/index.asp?PageID=2145820396, http://www.keewee.co.nz/index.asp?PageID=2145822365

[sammydog]

I went through this problem recently, I love my 955 but it was getting too expensive too keep on the trails. When I weighed up the options it was time for a new bike.

I looked around at a lot of bikes (I haven't seen a K2 in australia so it wasn't an option) and finally bought a Specialized Epic Disk. i think I have finally set it up properly but this bike is great.

I have kept the 955 and 855 and am slowly rebuilding them back to a reliable bike but I am in no hurry.

[pedro]

10 years ago, more or less, when  I lived in Mexico, my LBS offered me an oz at a great price. I accepted, but after a couple of weeks I got tired of waiting and ordered a McMahon Boom Shaka frame.
The boom shaka is an FSR type suspension with more or less 3" of rear travel. I used it mostly for racing and after a couple of years its 3 inches, delivered from a fox float, was not enough for having fun. (good enough for racing though). When I decided to look for a different type of suspension design, I thought a single pivot design should ride nice. Supergo had the evos at a superb price,and reviews everywhere indicated the evo was a reliable comfortable bike.  So, 10 years later I rode the bike which was supposed to be my first full suspension ride.  With proper maintenance, the evo should last a lifetime, and it is a good representation of a single pivot design. New developments in shock technology should help actualize and improve the evo's suspension performance. So why change a frame with great strength to weight ratio, unless it breaks.
I would love to add a long Travel FSR to my collection of bikes, but I plan to keep my evo around.

[Irby]

I'm with Pedro. I hope K2 regains their focus on a monopivot "light" bike. I would certainly look at one of those.  Hope you guys are having a nice summer. Dan.

[Simon]

Came close to replacing my 4500 with an 03 Orange Sub3 had agood look at one at our annual bike show very impressed,also like the look of the Rocky Mountain ETSX-70, and the Whyte bike,but in the end I kept my K2, wherever I go it aways draws a crowd even amongst all the much newer models around despite its age, you see you just don't see many around it rides great and I think they still look stunning the same goes for my old 856 when I got my 4500 I couldn't get rid of it so my wife commutes to work on it, so I still get to ride that one when I like,my only regret is getting rid of my first Proflex an 853 dated I know but started my love of the brand, that doesn't mean I wouldn't change brands just theres nothing out there at present I would change mine for.Simon  

[RED5]

Already got mine....... 03' Specialized Big Hit Expert. Sweetest d@mned XC/FR/DH bike I've ever had the pleasure to ride. This should keep me happy for at least 2-3 years.......hopefully.

[zulu]

  I have also picked up a new Spec. Stumpjumper FSR Comp. added disc's and it is a great XC bike. I still ride the 856 once in a while and it is great for the friend that doesnt have a bike. It is hard to compare 2-3 in of travel to 4-5 in. The Fox shocks are like riding on butter very plush and responsive. The 856 is still a awsome climbing rig.
Stay cool!   [smiley=beer.gif]