Offroad Proflex 752 build

[jonnyboy666]

so years ago, well 1992 i bought a 552 frame/fork and stem, i sold it late 93, to be honest i never thought it was an amazing bike back then, i just wanted full suspension and i thought it was cool, i was the first person i knew who had a full suspension bike, initially i built it with parts from a previous bike, a mix of deore dx and a bit of xt, with mag 20 forks, i gradually rebuilt it with pretty much full xtr m900, all this on a paperboy wage!

anyway, about i don't know 10 years ago i bought a 752 frame, i think from here on retrobike, it has languished in my garage since then, un touched. until about 3 weeks ago when i finally got around to fitting the elastomer kit i got from suspension fork parts, i bought an older cannondale sm700 as a donor, some might consider using a cannondale as a donor sacrilege but i was never overly fussed about cannondale and this had most of the right parts to get the proflex going.

i still need a few bits but it's getting there, this is the only pic i have right now, i'll get a few more in the next day or so

 

[jonnyboy666]

so i got pretty much finished on this today while the shop is quiet.

only new parts are tyres/.tubes/cables/pads, the rest is all good used parts, it rides ok on the car park test!

 

[markoc]

Looks great. I had a 550 back in the day.

Still have nightmares about setting that rear brake rocker up. Ditched it for a Magura and then had to put up with "different brake lever" OCD as I kept a canti on the front.

 

[jonnyboy666]

@markoc to be fair this one set really nicely, i had xt rapid fire2 STI's first it felt good with those, but i found the shifter had died, luckily i had some Dx STI's i could use, doesn't feel quite as good but it does work fine. it locked up the wheel on the testride anyway!

 

[Bruce]

so i got pretty much finished on this today while the shop is quiet.

only new parts are tyres/.tubes/cables/pads, the rest is all good used parts, it rides ok on the car park test!

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so i got pretty much finished on this today while the shop is quiet.

only new parts are tyres/.tubes/cables/pads, the rest is all good used parts, it rides ok on the car park test!

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You have done a very nice restoration. I have acquired the same bike - but it is missing the hardware for the rear brakes. Looking at your photo of the rear brake, it appears that the brake cable housing has a barrel adjuster that is stopped by a lug on the swing arm (chain stay). Is this correct? My swing arm does not have any braze-on to terminate the brake housing. I am very confused at how this works. Thanks very much for any help you can provide. Bruce

 

[jonnyboy666]

@Bruce i was lucky when i got this frame that the small rocker assembly was with the frame, they are extremely hard to find if you haven't got one, i modified the one i have and fitted the cable adjuster as the guide for the brake cable outer was a little worn so i cut a thread and fitted the adjuster, i'll take some more pics for you so you can see it a little better. FYI though i think someone else on here made one for themselves, seem to remember they showed dimensions of it so you could make one your self.

 

[Bruce]

@Bruce i was lucky when i got this frame that the small rocker assembly was with the frame, they are extremely hard to find if you haven't got one, i modified the one i have and fitted the cable adjuster as the guide for the brake cable outer was a little worn so i cut a thread and fitted the adjuster, i'll take some more pics for you so you can see it a little better. FYI though i think someone else on here made one for themselves, seem to remember they showed dimensions of it so you could make one your self.

Thanks for this info - appreciate the close-up photos when you can find the time to send them. This rear brake configuration is quite unique. Does your rear brake work okay for 'easy braking'.

 

[jonnyboy666]

i just found this pic on an old thread, this is basically the same as what i have, although in thic pic the straddle cable is hooked up poorly

 

[Bruce]

i just found this pic on an old thread, this is basically the same as what i have, although in thic pic the straddle cable is hooked up poorly

This picture explains it - thanks! I had no idea why the brake mount had that bolt - it's to terminate the brake cable inner wire - so the housing can 'push' on the rocker cam. That's different!

 

[jonnyboy666]

had a bit more of a play with the Proflex, i wasn't happy with the DX STI units, clunky is how i'd describe them, i had a pair of thumbshifters and my buddy Dave karma'd me a set of brake levers, so as it was quiet today in the shop i decided to get this done, i should point out that it was only quiet because i forgot about the bank holiday making all my weekend deliveries a day late! so tomorrow is gonna be very busy!

i'm quite happy with this now, it's a little beat up in places but that's ok, literally everything on this bike is used so overall i think it's quite cool.