1997 proflex 957 finally compleated

[chillibiker]

I got this proflex from a buddy of mine back in April... and it was ruff. it had spent probably the last 5 years out side. The frame was white from corrosion, everything steel was rusted, and nothing was original. The only thing salvageable was the frame and the hubs, since the old xt parallax hubs never seem to die. first i stripped all the crappy low end parts off and wet sanded the whole frame working from a 500 grit to a 2000. After the sanding took all the corrosion off it i spent hours getting a flawless shine with some aluminum polish. The rear swing arm had been replaced some where down the line with an aluminum one and painted black with what looked like a paint brush. I decided that finding the original carbon swing arm was going to be extremely difficult and expensive so i stripped it down to bare metal and repainted it. after the frame was all shiny and ready to go with new bolts and greased bushings it was on to the kit. luckily i had some parts laying around and some good friends with some mountain bike hording issues. I figured if i couldn't have the bike all original I could at least have it period correct (or at least parts that were available in 1997) so the parts hunt began.
the final build is as follows

hubs- shimano xt parallax
rims- sun cr18
tires- newer continental vapor
fork- 1996 Manitou mach 5 sx with spring up grade
handle bar- go fast club roost
grips- wtb trail grips
shifters- 1996 shimano xt triggers
brakes- magura race line (i had some nice xts with matching levers but one of the springs broke)
stem- syncros
cranks- specialized s works
chain rings- newer black spire with girvin rock ring
bottom bracket- shimano xt (new old stock)
seat post- kolly
seat- tt tri shock
rear der- shimano xt
front der- shimano deor
pedals- shimano xt replicas
chain and cassette- newer shimano deore lx quality
bar ends- onza
and finished off with some purple water bottle cages

once done I took the bike out for a rip and i gotta say it rides just as good as some brand new cross country machines out there. extremely happy i could save this one from a slow death out in the bc rain
let me know what you guys think
a big thanks out to every one that helped me out with parts on this one

 

[Grockel]

Very Nice

 

[Jussa]

That is stunning you've done very well.

 

[chillibiker]

Thanks guys! any suggestions to make anything better? Or is it perfect the way it is? I'm open to ideas

 

[Jussa]

Thanks guys! any suggestions to make anything better? Or is it perfect the way it is? I'm open to ideas

If I'm honest I don't like to see riser bars and bar ends together, flat bars and bar ends yes, riser bars and bar ends no, other than that looks the business

 

[chillibiker]

I have some black titec flat bars from the ninties I could throw on there and see how it looks

 

[Jussa]

I have some black titec flat bars from the ninties I could throw on there and see how it looks

Good call would also balance out the black Seatpost look forward to seeing the results, however please if it suits your riding style then leave as it is, it's all down to personal preference at the end of the day and what might suit one persons likes/dislikes doesn't always suit another's.