Interesting, many thanks. Pm'ing....
Andy's Proflex 856
- Thread starter andym999
- Start date
Further update - bolts received and proper XT Vs installed. Will probably need a bit more fettling once the bike is fully working but they'll do for now. Was just about to start cabling the gears before I realised the cables already in the Xrays were mega short and they didn't pop out to change as easily as I hoped. Further investigation reveals replacing the cables is going to be a bit of a mission - I should really have done that before I put them on the bike with the grips...
Anyway - close to being fully there now. A more suitable WTB saddle and silver seatpost are on their way (chap on ebay wanted £90 for a red Flite Ti which would have been lovely, but not at that price). Also taken delivery of some Autosol to polish up the forks and swingarm ready for final decals.
Can't wait to get it out on the trails.
Anyway - close to being fully there now. A more suitable WTB saddle and silver seatpost are on their way (chap on ebay wanted £90 for a red Flite Ti which would have been lovely, but not at that price). Also taken delivery of some Autosol to polish up the forks and swingarm ready for final decals.
Can't wait to get it out on the trails.
Penultimate (?) update - couple of sessions needed for cabling - pretty fiddly but actually went fairly smoothly and now completed. 3rd party cable ferrules worked perfectly. Getting the bike pointing to the sky made coming through the swingarm easy enough, but i did have to undo the top pivot to connect the cable to the front der - luckily all went back together without any issues.
Using Vs has made the second portion of cable outer for the back brake not the smoothest as i couldn't go through the hole in the seat tube, have instead cable tied it to the bolt on the non-drive side of the front der which is ugly
Silver Kalloy seat post turned out not to be a 27.2, so that's gone back, and have instead found a nice Ritchey example of the right length, topped with a used and worn but very serviceable Flite. Keeping the slightly more cushioned WTB on hand in case it's required by my derrière...
Next step is to get the chain on and adjust the gears but I ran out of time in my lunchbreak today. If that goes smoothly I have a bike-ride sized window in my plans this weekend, stay tuned for pics.....
Using Vs has made the second portion of cable outer for the back brake not the smoothest as i couldn't go through the hole in the seat tube, have instead cable tied it to the bolt on the non-drive side of the front der which is ugly
Silver Kalloy seat post turned out not to be a 27.2, so that's gone back, and have instead found a nice Ritchey example of the right length, topped with a used and worn but very serviceable Flite. Keeping the slightly more cushioned WTB on hand in case it's required by my derrière...
Next step is to get the chain on and adjust the gears but I ran out of time in my lunchbreak today. If that goes smoothly I have a bike-ride sized window in my plans this weekend, stay tuned for pics.....
Finished – well, not quite, but finished enough to take it out for a ride (pics below…)
Rear derailleur still needs a bit of tuning to reach full range of movement, but the limit screws are in a bad way and need sorting out or replacing. Managed enough to get movement over everything except the biggest and smallest cog at the back – as I was on a clock I decided that was good enough. Front der working very well though and suspension exceptionally smooth. Nice Ritchey post and Flite also added since last pics.
Finishing touches – still undecided on bar ends, but I think I’ll leave them for now until I can find some Girvin ones.
A flexible V brake cable guide is on its way to me, which I’m hoping will allow the cable to run through the frame as intended, which will look neater.
A nicer handlebar could be good…?
And I need to sort out wheels (nudge @raidan73), and possibly tyres, but these will do for now.
Overall very pleased at this, came together nicely and I have a decent amount of original kit on there (X-rays, Proflex stem, Impel chainset) that it feels original enough (wheels excepted). And it works really well. Just a bit more time to get all the gears going, shoes also coming so I can used the SPDs I have, but it rode really nicely around Wendover woods (where the pics below are from). Hope to take it a bit further next time on some more technical trails at Rushmere Country Park.
For now happy to call it a wrap. More pics and spec list in next post…
Rear derailleur still needs a bit of tuning to reach full range of movement, but the limit screws are in a bad way and need sorting out or replacing. Managed enough to get movement over everything except the biggest and smallest cog at the back – as I was on a clock I decided that was good enough. Front der working very well though and suspension exceptionally smooth. Nice Ritchey post and Flite also added since last pics.
Finishing touches – still undecided on bar ends, but I think I’ll leave them for now until I can find some Girvin ones.
A flexible V brake cable guide is on its way to me, which I’m hoping will allow the cable to run through the frame as intended, which will look neater.
A nicer handlebar could be good…?
And I need to sort out wheels (nudge @raidan73), and possibly tyres, but these will do for now.
Overall very pleased at this, came together nicely and I have a decent amount of original kit on there (X-rays, Proflex stem, Impel chainset) that it feels original enough (wheels excepted). And it works really well. Just a bit more time to get all the gears going, shoes also coming so I can used the SPDs I have, but it rode really nicely around Wendover woods (where the pics below are from). Hope to take it a bit further next time on some more technical trails at Rushmere Country Park.
For now happy to call it a wrap. More pics and spec list in next post…
Frame: Proflex 856 (w rear spring)
Fork: Girvin Vector AL (w Fox Float shock)
Headset:
Stem: Proflex
Handlebar: ITM
Grips: Gripshift
Barends: none
Brakes: XT M739 V-brakes
Brake Pads: Shimano cartridge
Brake Cables: Clarks
Cantilever cable hangers: N/A
Brake Levers: Diacompe PC3n
Shifters: Gripshift SRT 800 X-ray
Front Derailleur: Shimano LX M556
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT M739
Derailleur Cables: Clarks
Cassette: Shimano HG 8 speed
Chain: Shimano HG 8 speed
Cranks: Sugino Impel 500
Crank Bolts: Sugino Impel 500
Chainrings: Sugino Impel 500
Chainring bolts: Sugino Impel 500
Bottom Bracket: Shimano UN71 cartridge
Pedals: Basic platforms
Hub Skewers: Shimano XT
Rims: DT Swiss
Hubs: Shimano XT (disc compat)
Tyres: F-Specialized Ground Control 2.3 R-Continental Gravity 2.0
Tubes: Butyl
Saddle: Selle Italia Flite Titanium
Seatpost: Ritchey 27.2
Seatpost Binder: Modern
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No drama - whenever you can
Great work! Nice choices throughout, silver swingarm/fork with the red and yellow really go well together.
How's the fork perform?
How's the fork perform?
Suprachrgd82
GT Fan
The bike looks great! How was the ride? It looks immaculate, and the black wheels give a sinister appearance. (My recently rebuilt ProFlex is my first experience on a FS mtb, so I'm quite curious to hear your thoughts.)
Regarding the brakes - I believe that the frame was designed for cantilever brakes rather than the V's, so it's not necessary to run the cable thru the seatube. High end models came with Magura which used identical routing to what you have done with your V's. And you're right, there is no clean way to route the cable.
Regarding the brakes - I believe that the frame was designed for cantilever brakes rather than the V's, so it's not necessary to run the cable thru the seatube. High end models came with Magura which used identical routing to what you have done with your V's. And you're right, there is no clean way to route the cable.
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