1996 Pro-Flex 856

.mac · Sep 17, 2009

Here's the old girl:

I bought it new from MacClaines in W-ton. It's slightly unusual because it has a '97 blue frame and ODS dampers but the rest of it is '96 spec. I bought a couple of sets of elastomers when I heard the UK importers were going belly-up and then a boxful from CVI in 2003. I've rebuilt it three times (read: taken it to bits and lubed everything) and it is still going strong in a 90s throwback kind of way.

orange71 · Sep 17, 2009

Nice - as you say, I've never seen a grape 856 and I've seen a lot of 856's.

jimjim2012 · Sep 17, 2009

Should you ever run out of the MCU elastomers then try here.

http://www.rapiddescentscotland.co.uk/

WD Pro · Sep 18, 2009

I have just acquired an 856 to restore / build up

If your comments are right about yours having some later bits on it then I think they must have just used what they had at the time to build up the bikes

I have the ODS shocks but have the fork with its own top damper mount rather than it fixing to the stem !

Have you found the iriders / ProFlex forum ?

Cheers,

WD

Monty Zoomer · Sep 19, 2009

WD Pro":2b1fvspd said:
I have just acquired an 856 to restore / build up

If your comments are right about yours having some later bits on it then I think they must have just used what they had at the time to build up the bikes I have the ODS shocks but have the fork with its own top damper mount rather than it fixing to the stem !

Have you found the iriders / ProFlex forum ?

Cheers,

WD

Proflex did develop things with the x56 as they went along but your fork and stem would be correct for the year it was the Girvin AL fork, the ODS shocks are also correct for 96 with MCUs. For the 97 bikes with the same frame they used springs instead of MCUs' and a GDT shock on the rear. Proflex didn't recommend the use of springs with the rear ODS shock. The later frames also had a gusset on the underside of the down tube at the top where it joins the head tube as did the XP series frames, although they still had the canti brake access port in the seat tube that was missing from the XPs.

WD Pro · Sep 19, 2009

Cheers

so did they use both style of forks (stem wise) in 96 or has one of us had a swap ?

WD

Monty Zoomer · Sep 19, 2009

WD Pro":zpxe2e6r said:
Cheers so did they use both style of forks (stem wise) in 96 or has one of us had a swap ?

WD

yours is defo original, the blue one actually looks more like a re-badged 855 ? wouldn't surpise me if Proflex re-badged the end of line 95 bikes into 96 bikes and changed some of the spec round to match, should have a Girvin ( Sugino Impel ) crank as well from new.

1996 Pro-Flex 856

.mac

Retro Newbie

orange71

jimjim2012

WD Pro

Monty Zoomer

Dirt Disciple

WD Pro

Monty Zoomer

Dirt Disciple

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