# Name that Proflex??? what is this thing?



## con-r-man (Sep 30, 2004)

Anyone know what model this proflex is?
I think I have it narrowed down to a 1995 model (could be a 1996 or 97 possibly).
serial # 038712.
Bought it for $80.00 yesterday for my dad (Hey, he is riding a simular vintage rock-hopper with a seized 1"shock right now....This is a huge upgrade for him). Everything works reasonably well.
Full LX of the day....Needs some v-brakes (even cheapos will be a huge improvement for dad cruising thru the RV park).

Is it a 555 or a 656?
doesn't have the interupted tube of the 755.....but the components are a near perfect match to the 755??? What is it?
I can't find a picture of this bike online after hours of searching. 
Guess it didn't really matter until I started looking and couldn't get any answers.
The little rack that clamps on the seatpost is sweet!!! (Great for beer runs!)


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## SLIMBOY (Oct 16, 2005)

wrong swingarm for a 555


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## SLIMBOY (Oct 16, 2005)

looks like a 756, but with the elastomer stack removed and a spring thrown in


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

I think Laffeaux is our resident Proflex expert. Maybe he'll chime in.


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

Rumpfy said:


> I think Laffeaux is our resident Proflex expert. Maybe he'll chime in.


Hardly, but these guys are:

http://idriders.com/cgi-bin/YaBB_K2/YaBB.pl?board=news


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

laffeaux said:


> Hardly, but these guys are:


Check out this nut job collector!

http://www.eandsweb.com/cgi-bin/bikes.cgi?bike=OffroadPro-Flex


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

Rumpfy said:


> Check out this nut job collector!


It's old school.


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## Tracerboy (Oct 13, 2002)

Nice collection for a nut job collector.


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## con-r-man (Sep 30, 2004)

*slimboy is on the right track*

just checked the shocks.....I does look like someone slapped springs in place of the elastamers.
anyone know what the claimed travel was on on these things. There seems to be a fair amount of stiction in the shock and fork. I'm gonna tear it all down and clean it up, see what makes it tick.
So, we think its a 756?
What did the model #'s stand for?


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

con-r-man said:


> j
> So, we think its a 756?
> What did the model #'s stand for?


The numbers stood for how many days of proper suspension you'd get out of the bike before it fell to sh!t.


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## con-r-man (Sep 30, 2004)

*site with good spec info*

Found a site that has specs on most bicycles, don't know how accurate it is.
Looks like this bike is probably a 756 with 755 spec components on it. 755 has an interupted seat post in most pics I have seen. The 756 shock stays mounted to the upper triangle like a traditional hardtail. Must not have been the deal in the mid 90's, because it looks like they went back to interupted seatpost for the 757.
Wierd. 
Here is that sitehttp://www.airfreetires.com/Specs/Step2.asp?Brand=ProFlex


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## con-r-man (Sep 30, 2004)

*seems optimistic*

After riding the thing and really looking it over....That seems very optimistic

They did have some really overthought (overbuilt) parts on these things. 
Lots of machined and welded bits, with cables running into and through fancy welded passages.

Too bad the sum of the neat stuff didn't amount to a higher quality ride.

O.K. who am I to ***** about $80 bones.......


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## con-r-man (Sep 30, 2004)

*Last number in the model # appears to be the year it was hatched!!!!*

Havn't figured out the other digits yet.....
Maybe that "IS" the number of hours before the elastamers crapped out.

Hey my mantis profloater wasn't that much better really. Lighter and held together well.....but VERY flexy.....made it seem very fast, scary even!!!!


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## Rick_Seebeck (Jul 26, 2006)

*Not a 756*

I have a 756 and it does not look like your bike. My 756 has an interrupted seat tube. Go to the review section on MTBR.com and search for 756 Proflex. There is a picture there.


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## ameybrook (Sep 9, 2006)

An 856


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## con-r-man (Sep 30, 2004)

*weird proflex models*

I have seen pictures of the 755 and the 756 with interupted and non-interupted seat tubes???
Can anyone out there remember why they offered these models this way? Was there a cross-country (non-interupted) and freeride (interupted seat tube design)? I have also noticed that they tended to flipflop between models and years where they placed the swingarm pivot forward, above and behind the crank???
What was the travel on the girvin forks (let me guess, different models). Did the shock alone set the travel?
the 800 series had more travel, yes?
What about rear travel (interupted, non-interupted, diff shocks)...
I still have not pulled this bike apart....
Maybe when it warms up a little.....


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## ameybrook (Sep 9, 2006)

FYI, I believe the numerage on Proflex as follows:

7-model
5-? samein all years
6-year

So, the 856 would be the top of the line model in 1996.

These guys will know: http://idriders.com/proflex/


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## OregonMTB (Sep 1, 2004)

*Pro-flex explained*

ameybrook is pretty darn close--I ask that same question of "what do the numbers mean?" When I bought a used Proflex 754 in 1995 for $1,000 (I road the heck out of it for 2 years and then sold it for $400).

Anyway, the numbers are as follows:

First number is the component spec--the higher the number the better the spec. My 754 had mostly DX with a little XT. An 85* should have XT/XTR. A 35* might have alivo.

The second number was always a 5

The third number is the model year. My 754 was from 1994. An 856 would be from 1996.

BTW--I replaced my 754 with a first generation SC Heckler and I can tell you it climbed about 100 times better!!!


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