Newbie with some ID questions.......965

[caferacer51]

Hello all!

I'm a new Pro-flex owner from the UK. It was the bike I longed for as a teenager and when a frame was advertised in a house clearance the other day, I went for it...



I've been using google to do most of my homework and also 'bikepedia'. I'm getting close but not quite there yet...

Being a '956' I'm guessing the 9 meant a fairly decent spec and the 6 meant '96. The paint job is nice although getting scratched in places. But it does look original.

Below is the frame number.



This frame came with a steering tube, bottom linkage and rotten elastomer stack, but the steering tube was bent.

So shortly afterwards a pair of Girvin forks came up (relatively) cheap on eBay and without doing any homework, they got bought...




I'm guessing the forks might be older then the frame, but could anyone offer anything else...?

Cheers, Ian

[Spokes]

Hi there and welcome. Are you sure the paint is original, especially the 956 and World Cup design stickers on the top tube?
Because what you have is a 857 expert series. It's a small as well so how tall are you because it may be to small for you. Thaw colour was called Plum and is a Matt/satin finish in blue/purple.
The stickers you have on the top tube are from an earlier 956 model. The 9 series bikes were always polished aluminium frames and the World Cup design had the swing arm behind the seat tube where as the later expert series were in front of it.
You are right about the forks, they came of a '56 bike although they did fit them on the first year of production '57 bikes.
As you can see your frame no is H7e.... which is a '97 model ie a 857. So some one has changed the stickers for the 956.
If your over 5'5"or 5'6" you might well be too tall for that size.
Hope this helps.

Chris

[Spokes]

Just a thought but are the stickers under the clear laquer or on top of the paint? You can buy sticker kits on eBay so maybe some one has re-badged it during a refurb?

Chris

[petes97857]

Hi there

X2 on what Chris says 857 small frame early 56 forks with stem top suspension mount combined.

Nice frame for smaller rider about 5'6" but maybe it's fine with long seatpost some monster posts on some owners bikes on here.

Separate stem would allow for more stem options rise length

Normal style forks with 100mm travel max would be a cheap and easy swap.
I hope rear shock is in good nick they are an expencive piece.
 
Will make good light XC bike what's your plans?

Pete

[caferacer51]

(apologies if I reply to this thread twice, I tried to do it on my phone but don't know if it's worked...?)

OK, firstly thank you all for the warm welcome...

Secondly, thanks for throwing my plans into a whirl.... 

There is no lacquer over the paint or decals, but then I didn't think this was unusual for a satin painted frame anyway?

What your saying about the ID of the bike would make sense as to why I couldn't find its colour on bikepedia for its model year...
Does the colour look like a genuine Pro-flex colour?
Has someone gone through the effort of re-painting their frame in a genuine colour only to re-badge it as an older bike...?

My height...

A little dissapointed to find out its a small. I'm 6' 1" tall, but have quite stubby legs for my height. Question is, do I start throwing money at this bike to finish it if its going to be too small for me?

I'm a bit of a sucker for carbon fibre, which is why I bought this bike in the first place (and obviously its a Proflex!)

When I bought the forks, they came with another frame. I will take some photos and give you another ID challenge...

[Colin]

Quote: do I start throwing money at this bike to finish it if its going to be too small for me?

Bike model and Year ID's given below are correct

IMHO...............No don't throw money at it, because yes it's too small for you.

Search on eBay for completed 857's and you'll see that they don't sell for silly money and you're quite likley to find one in your size (Large, I'd suggest). Main issue with this frame other than the size is that I am almost certain that the shock is a unique (even for Pro~Flex's) size and may be very difficult to replace.

Col.

[Spokes]

Yes sorry to say but is too small for you. I'm 6'2" and just get away with riding a large. I have a medium as well but it never feels right compared to a large. A small would be like riding a circus bike!  I think the small equates to a 14 to 16" frame. Get a large definitely.

Chris

[caferacer51]

Thanks again for that. Now I have the challenge or re-listing a bike and trying to explain what it is, why it doesn't look like what it should be and then why I dont want it......

Like I said, I got another frame with the forks that I bought. I turned it upside down today to look at the frame stamp and got a bit of a shock...

The stamp seems to have been stamped over...  I hope it's not had a chequered history...?

It seems slightly larger then the first pictured bike. Its been repainted, it looks like it was originally red. Can any of you identify it without the frame stamp...?

The only thing I can say is that it has a hole in the downtube for (I assume...) cantilever brakes?

[Spokes]

That's a 856 or it could be a 855 which is basically the same bike only a bit older. The 856 had a stronger swing arm anyway. Rub the paint off carefully on the front of the top tube and it will say either 855 or 856.
Here's one on eBay you could swap with. His is large and he is only 5'6.Item #:   161112918117

Chris

Miss print corrected- damn smart phoned with there small key boards!!

[beeeerock]

That's a 857 or it could be a 855 which is basically the same bike only a bit older. The 856 had a stronger swing arm anyway. Rub the paint off carefully on the front of the top tube and it will say either 855 or 856.
Here's one on eBay you could swap with. His is large and he is only 5'6.Item #:   161112918117

Chris

Can it be an 857 if the swing arm is behind the crank?  Isn't this the 'World Cup' frame described in an earlier post?

[w2zero]

Imho it is an 855 or 856.  I lean more towards 855 because the swingarm pivot isn't relieved next to the front derailleur cage.  But...  That isn't necessarily true because I have a couple of 56's without the clearance.  Also the upper bridge on the rear strut isn't the later one made to fit the cone on the shock shaft.   

[kiwi]

i reckon thats a  855. or 755 wc.,yes the hole in the frame is for brakes cables

[purple gerbil]

IMHO i think you should break out the sander and just take a look,obviously the transfers are still under there. I agree with w2zero,the down tube is red with a show of transfers,me thinks 856 

[purple gerbil]

I might be interested in the potentially small 857 for my daughter if the price is right 

[Colin]

855 IMHO and it's a Large

and funnily enough I have seen a "World Cup Design" logo on another small 956, as I think the 956 was genuinly used to compete for the World Cup in '96 by Henrik Djernis???

Col.