# 1995 Pro-Flex 853



## w98seeng (Jun 13, 2008)

I have the opportunity to buy ($150) a 1995 Pro Flex 853 in original condition. It has the original XT components and the Girvin Vector fork.

Does anyone have any info on this bike? The net doesn't have much on it and I was curious on how these bikes have held up over the years.

I don't really even need a full suspension bike, but this one is kinda cool and I love the fork design, again, it's kind of cool.

Ian


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## ameybrook (Sep 9, 2006)

853=1993


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## sandmangts (Feb 16, 2004)

Take it from me, a former owner. They are horrible.I was actually glad when it got stolen. It gave me an excuse to buy a nice Stumpjumper. If you are going to buy an older bike, get a hardtail. Older suspension designs are horribly in-efficient.


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## yo-Nate-y (Mar 5, 2009)

Agreed. That doesn't look like $150 well spent.


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## MendonCycleSmith (Feb 10, 2005)

The suspension should have elastomers. Looks like upgrades, (and I use that term loosely), were made to them after they began to suck. 

Looks like a decent mix of old LX level stuff, an eminently rideable machine if it's in good mechanical shape. 

Squish the suspension, if it moves easily and doesn't feel like it will completely collapse under your weight, and the bike rides shifts and brakes smoothly, offer him $125 and hit the trails.

Sorry, my fist FS was a 957, still have it as a frame on the wall, with a cracked head tube.

Loved that bike BITD....


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## theMeat (Jan 5, 2010)

There's a website called k2 proflex riders group http://idriders.com/proflex/ . Don't mean to offend you but IMO it doesn't ride well althou it looks cool in a vintage sorta way. IMO at best it feels like a rigid with loose spokes and low air. I have a 98' Proflex Animal that is not the prettiest bike but with a better shock from rise IMO is pretty decent to ride and one of the best "older" fs out there. The newer designs are so much better thou and if a fs is what you want keep looking. 
My .02


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## w98seeng (Jun 13, 2008)

Thanks everyone for the info.

Ian


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## storz (Jan 31, 2011)

Even if it doesn't ride well who cares! That thing is vintage awesome!


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## A-Ray (Oct 18, 2009)

I had a Beast and loved it, but that was a 96, or 97 (don't remember), and probably because it was my first "real" MTB and was a real looker for its day with that Girvin front and Magura Hydraulic brakes. It was stolen around 7 years ago, and if I had the chance of getting another one, just for the cool vintage factor I definitely would.
I would give $150.00 for that one you are looking at, but only if the suspension and drivetrain are in excellent shape. Not sure where the bike is located, but if you decide to pass on it, please PM me the info on it!


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## w98seeng (Jun 13, 2008)

I think I will get it. The only off roading I do is light trail riding. I have a touring bike for the road, so I will really only have this bike for the "cool" factor, which I think it is.



ameybrook said:


> 853=1993


Thanks for this.


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## uphiller (Jan 13, 2004)

What everybody else said.
Plus: the brake levers are compatible with cantilevers- and the front brake is a canti, the rear is a V. The front brake has been upgraded with an Odyssey Straddle Rods set, which improves the braking power, but the cable hanger stop is flimsy, negating the returns. You could get a rear canti, which is what those brake levers work with, but the Pro-Flex, like many FS bikes of the day, had a flexy and inefficient cable routing system to the rear brake, so you'd be spending money on a brake that would end up working poorly.
The best solution would be a set of V's (similar to the rear brake you already have) front and rear with new levers. 
That bike is a purchase which requires more purchasing to make it work right, and that's assuming the suspension and drivetrain components are still in good shape.
Unless you're planning on just cruising around the block on it and it fits you, I'd pass.


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## DIRTJUNKIE (Oct 18, 2000)

storz said:


> Even if it doesn't ride well who cares! That thing is vintage awesome!


Ditto! Too bad the elastromers are missing. Take it back to original and hang it on the wall in your man cave.


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## joeadnan (Oct 21, 2003)

Weren't these Pro-Flexes the first full suspension bikes to be raced in the World Cup circuit? By Bart Brentjens? I would suggest that they are significant for this reason, although suck they may.


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## VTSession (Aug 18, 2005)

It may not be the best performing full suspension bike out there, but I think its a cool retro mountain bike to have in a collection. 

There are a lot of classic Porches and Ferraris that look great but drive and run like ****. That doesn't make them useless.

I remember when I first got into mountain biking in the early 90s (I was 13 or so) I saw a Pro Flex bike a shop in VT and thought it was the coolest thing ever. 

In 20 years those old Pro Flexes are still going to be a unique piece of mountain bike history.


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## VTSession (Aug 18, 2005)

It may not be the best performing full suspension bike out there, but I think its a cool retro mountain bike to have in a collection. 

There are a lot of classic Porches and Ferraris that look great but drive and run like ****. That doesn't make them useless.

I remember when I first got into mountain biking in the early 90s (I was 13 or so) I saw a Pro Flex bike a shop in VT and thought it was the coolest thing ever. 

In 20 years those old Pro Flexes are still going to be a unique piece of mountain bike history.


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## topmounter (Jul 30, 2003)

The frame and fork will be an interesting museum piece... and you can always use it to remind the kids how good they have it nowadays


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## shovelon (Mar 16, 2006)

I've owned several Proflexes.

Henrik Djernis rode a Proflex in the world championships. http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=6642690#poststop

The vector forks are awesome performers. The have eliptical pivots that can change the rake and progression. Mine had carbon legs. I like them better than the Crosslinks.

www.suspensionforkparts.net carries the elastomers for the front and rear. Those coil springs just don't work as the sliders are just friction dampers.

Rear swingarm and vector pivot rebuild kits are listed on Ebay right now for some $15 per kit.

For more info that I cannot recall visit IdRiders and join in. http://idriders.com/proflex/smf/

The first rear suspension proflex like you have was made by Ben Serotta for Bob Girvin and Co.

You have an awesome Proflex for $150.


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## gearwallah (Sep 19, 2015)

*1993 ProFlex 853*

I own a Pro Flex 853 here in Kathmandu and I've upgraded the front shock to a Girvin ODS Oil Damper (don't know what year but must be early 90's as well) and it still is ok. The rear elastomers melted some years ago and I retro filted inner tube doenuts and built it up to function around town but have never put it to the test, afraid for my heallth at 71!

I loaded the bike down with panniers and went on an epic one month trip from Kathmandu-Gorakpur(india) then caught a lift with my buddy up to Shimla and rode Shimla-Kinnaur-Spiti-Keylong (stoped at Keylong and bused the rest of the way to Leh. Stayed in Tabo too long to stay on schedule to pick up my group in Leh for the comercial road trip from LEH-Manali with my company Himalayan Mountain Bikes. Biking with a sag wagon is the way to go instead of turning my ferarri mtn bike into a himvee! The bike held up great but I did trade it in for my 80's Specialized Stumpjumper because of the geome
try, hell it was a lot of downhill!


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

gearwallah said:


> I own a Pro Flex 853 here in Kathmandu and I've upgraded the front shock to a Girvin ODS Oil Damper (don't know what year but must be early 90's as well) and it still is ok. The rear elastomers melted some years ago and I retro filted inner tube doenuts and built it up to function around town but have never put it to the test, afraid for my heallth at 71!
> 
> I loaded the bike down with panniers and went on an epic one month trip from Kathmandu-Gorakpur(india) then caught a lift with my buddy up to Shimla and rode Shimla-Kinnaur-Spiti-Keylong (stoped at Keylong and bused the rest of the way to Leh. Stayed in Tabo too long to stay on schedule to pick up my group in Leh for the comercial road trip from LEH-Manali with my company Himalayan Mountain Bikes. Biking with a sag wagon is the way to go instead of turning my ferarri mtn bike into a himvee! The bike held up great but I did trade it in for my 80's Specialized Stumpjumper because of the geome
> try, hell it was a lot of downhill!


Well done. I really enjoyed your story. Thanks for sharing.


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## gearwallah (Sep 19, 2015)

Oh yea I forgot to say it was a trans-himalayan crossing from the southern slopes of the Indian himalayas (Shimla) to the northern Tibetan plateau which was part of Western Tibet thoughout history until the Chinese invasion in 1959. It was awesome!


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## TheHolc (May 17, 2016)

I would pay $150 for it. I mean, there is a small niche of people who would appreciate and understand the awesomeness of an old Proflex like that so don't expect many bites. I would pick it up and either fix it up and ride or try and sell it on Ebay. Hell the Girvin fork is the most appealing thing for me considering how damn hard they are to find these days. My $.02 coming from a 855 owner


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## singletrackmack (Oct 18, 2012)

gearwallah said:


> I own a Pro Flex 853 here in Kathmandu and I've upgraded the front shock to a Girvin ODS Oil Damper (don't know what year but must be early 90's as well) and it still is ok. The rear elastomers melted some years ago and I retro filted inner tube doenuts and built it up to function around town but have never put it to the test, afraid for my heallth at 71!........


Sounds like you had a lot of fun with that bike on your trip. Thanks for sharing! I see these bikes all the time around town and on the trails. It's fun to see the different ways in which people get the suspension working again.

I just bought this 854 yesterday for $20. I will need to replace the elastomers, but at least the front one is holding weight. These bikes had some cool features.









On the older vector forks like this one you could change the axle path and increase the sensitivity with a more curved axle path. Or you can change it to a more vertical axle path to stiffen it up and be less effected by pedaling kind of like a low speed compression. To do that you just rotate the top front pivot axle around using the little hole.









Also, proflex bikes with the chromoly swing arms had a tricky little pivot for the rear brakes that I always thought was pretty cool. It was called a bell crank pivot.


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