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Submitted by
tink fan
a Cross Country Rider
from Nor-Cal USA
Date Reviewed: October 14, 2008 | | Favorite Trail: | mine on back-side Oro Dam | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$3000.00 | | Purchased At: | new | | Bottom Line: | I bought this bike back in 1997. It was called the off the shelf racer and a cherry pickens because of it's high quality. I agree, mostly. It was great for racing, excellent hill climber, and downhill. I did have problems with the rear shock breaking and had it returned several times. I have a good one now. The first two deraileurs had to be returned because of weak springs. The third one was good until last year. I changed out the front fork/shock to a softer Rock Shox because of the stiffness. I think the Girvin fork/Noleen shock is better suited for the larger person, not for small people like myself. I'm still riding on everything else. I don't think this bike will ever need to be retired from riding but someday I'll just set it aside just for display, because I still think it's the most attractive looking bike I've ever seen. I gave the rating to the bike, Proflex, and Girvin, not K2. | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jinder
a Cross Country Rider
from London, Ontario Canada
Date Reviewed: July 24, 2005 | | Favorite Trail: | The Bruce | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | ebay | | Strengths: | Lightweight, excellent build quality, super hill climber, rare! | | Weaknesses: | Old Noleen shocks | | Similar Products Used: | Proflex 856, Proflex Beast | | Bike Setup: | XTR everything | | Bottom Line: | This is a excellent bike! Overall - one of the best X-country racers ever made, PERIOD! I believe it is the best bike in the Proflex line-up - even today modern bikes don't feel as good as this insane beast! The 957 is very lightweight, very soild and very fast! It climbs hills like a champion...feels like a motor is attached it the crank...its that GOOD uphill!
I recently bought 2 new shocks, Risse Astro-5 for the rear and the Genesis for the front...WOW what a differnce!! The Risse shocks are MUCH lighter than the old Noleens and MUCH MORE tune-a-able This solves the weakness with the old Shocks and totally makes this bike one of the BEST bikes ever made!
GET ONE...if you can...they are extremely rare - I waited 6 years to find mine.
| | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
el presidente
a Cross Country Rider
from Piedmont, North Carolina
Date Reviewed: June 2, 2004 | | Favorite Trail: | Country Park | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$1800.00 | | Purchased At: | Mud Sweat and Gears (http://www.bikeusa.com) | | Strengths: | Great front and rear suspension, noleens are excellent (when they aren't blown). Light (stock is 26, I've got it under 25 and it wasn't hard!), quick, stiff, climbs like nobody's business. Looks fantastic, works fantastic, low maintenance. I've got 8,000 miles on it!! the ride analyzer tells me so!, so I know it is TOUGH! One review said the paint chipped, but the 957 swingarm is carbon (beautiful carbon!) | | Weaknesses: | Shock blew out during the first ride, but replaced quickly and FREE. | | Similar Products Used: | Pro*Flex 855, Santa Cruz Super Light | | Bike Setup: | 517s, carbon: bar, seatpost, barends (and swingarm), mag-ti, xtr v-brakes, Altek levers (they rock!), XT everything else. | | Bottom Line: | This was a fantastic purchase! I bought this in 1997 and have over 8,000 miles on it (22 cents a mile?) and it is still going strong. Fantastic for roots, climbing... I keep telling myself that it is 7 years old and time to get a new bike, but why spend $3,000 on a bike that gets the same amount of travel (maybe a 1/2 inch more) and weighs MORE! This thing is UNDER 25 pounds! | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jason
a Weekend Warrior
from Dartmoor, England
Date Reviewed: March 22, 2002 | | Favorite Trail: | Dartmoor (all of it) | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$1000.00 | | Purchased At: | University | | Strengths: | Strong frame, Pace suspension (changed from Girvin), Very light for full-sus. Good posture - mean looking. I got a DH bar which is essential. Damn good ceramic coated mavic rims & conti tyres cool too. V-brakes good as normal too. Easton Alloy rocks! | | Weaknesses: | rear sus causes some gear trouble-but that could be wear & tear. frame looks tatty after too many crashes / scratches. paint chips easily off rear swingarm (and is hard to touch-up) | | Similar Products Used: | not really- last bike was a marin rocky ridge. ridden an 856 briefly | | Bike Setup: | max travel on pace forks & noleen rear shock- Everything to suit my 6' 1" size | | Bottom Line: | The bike looks good, rides good, and will last me forever. end of story. If anyone finds a good 2nd hand one like I did then there's no need to upgrade, because you've already got the best bike of the 1997 era | Value Rating: Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric
a Cross Country Rider
from Santa Cruz
Date Reviewed: June 25, 2001 | | Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years | | Price Paid: |
$250.00 | | Purchased At: | for the frame | | Strengths: | Light and string. I have had no problems aside from a blown rear shock that K2 rebuilt for 70.00 to 2000 specs. Climbs like a champ. | | Weaknesses: | noleen shock, needs sealed bearing pivots instead of the rubber bushing thing. | | Bike Setup: | XTR, Judy 100, Grip shift, other assorted parts, kind of a Franken-bike. | | Bottom Line: | I keep thinking of getting a Santa Cruz Superlight, and then I think......Why? | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Jeremy
a Weekend Warrior
from Orlando FL
Date Reviewed: September 5, 2000 | | Favorite Trail: | Moab and Park City Utah | | Duration Product Used: | 1 Year | | Price Paid: |
$1600.00 | | Strengths: | with a few upgrades I have my 957 down to 24 pounds
Cool color and finish. I have great faith in proflex bikes I have ridden and raced them since 1992 | | Weaknesses: | I would rather have a different front shock and I plan to upgrade soon. | | Similar Products Used: | proflex 657-656-952 and 550 | | Bottom Line: | Great bike I love it. too bad the Proflex name is gone. | | Value Rating:Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Bodzio Podolak, Jr.
a downhiller
from Warszawa, Polska
Date Reviewed: February 26, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
Testowa³em tê ramê w warunkach ekstremalnego zjazdu. Okaza³a siê bardzo trafnym wyborem. Uzuska³em na niej doskona³ rezultat w nieofcjalnych zawodach w Szklarskiej Porêbie. Doskona³a rama do p³askich zjazdów. Po kilku mocnych glebach na ramie pojawi³y siê wgiêcia, które jednak¿e mnie nie martwi¹. Tak wiêc z czystym sumieniem oceniam produkt Proflexa na pi¹tkê. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
John
a cross-country rider
from Minneapolis, Minnesota
Date Reviewed: January 29, 1999 | | Bottom Line: |
I just had my Cannondale F 900 stolen, and had to replace it. Found a great deal on the 957 and bought it. $600! Well, it was used, but not too much.This is a vastly superior bike to the F 900. It really performs well in the turns. Climbs fairly well for a full suspension. Complaints:
•both the front and rear shocks damping don't seem to work. I have yet to refer to the K2 site, or determine if they are blown.
•front shock is really noisy on big hits (wap! wap! wap!)
•rear suspension throws me out of the seat on big hits as the coil spring expands back to its resting size. (see damping above)Otherwise, this is fine bike. I would highly recommend it. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Tim Gilbert
a cross-country rider
from Lebanon NH
Date Reviewed: December 19, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I've been riding my 957 since this spring, all the while reading the reviews here at Mtbr and holding my breath that something major would break. After a lot of hard miles I'm getting ready to put it away for the winter and have not had any failures beyond a couple of spokes. I've had a great time riding this bike, everything has worked great-especialy the fork. I hesitated getting a full suspension bike because we climb a lot of hill up here in New England any I did not want to pay the weight penalty. As it turns out the design of the bike acually helps traction on climbs. I've been able to climb things I've never been able to climb before. And there is essentially no weight penalty for me as this bike weighs the same as my hardtail it replaced. I ride a size large and it weighed 26 lbs on the scale at the shop before anything was changed. I really havn't changed too much: Swiched to Time pedals first thing and love em, and got rid of those terrible green tires-the rear wasn't too bad but the front sucked big time. The only real problem I have had is with the finish-or I should say lack of finish! Corrosion apeared right away and continues to still happen no matter what I do. I know it is only cosmetic but you would think a 3000 dollar bike would come with some kind of finish. I've called K2 and posted on their web site but they have flat out ignored me-not the response you would expect if they were a class organisation-which I can only guess they are not.
Sooo..great bike, no paint, poor cust. serv. 4 stars. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
scott
a racer
from Texas
Date Reviewed: September 22, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
My first question is, has anyone actually weighed their bikes? I bought my 957 in June 1997, (my second Proflex), as a frame and fork only. I outfitted it with full XTR components, Crossland then later Crossmax wheelset, WTB seat, Scott carbon handlebars, Ritchey stem, Ultimate ti seatpost, and Corratec ti pedals. It is a large size frame and just barely breaks the the 25 lb mark. Oh well, except for the two blown rear shocks, and one in the front, I have loved the over 2800 miles I have put on the bike. I race Vet Sport and ride just for fun alot too, and the bike is comfortable and capable. I am confused why Proflex, now K2, keeps changing their designs so often (including those hideous carbon monsters) but I hope mine lasts a few more years.Kudos to the company for replacing the shocks in a timely fashion but shame on them for letting it happen in the first place.Happy trails! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
carlos
a cross-country rider
from queretaro, mexico
Date Reviewed: September 2, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I´ve been riding mtb for years now, in all kind of bikes, but my 957 it´s the best I´ve ever ridden, I only change tho whole drivetrain with XTR, and I was about to marry the bike, until the rear shock started leaking, now I´m really mad, becuuse before I purchased the bike, I never read an article in any magazine regarding the poor qualty of it! It only worked fine the first couple of rides. Now I stuck with a very expensive piece of junk (no P.F. dealers around here)Result: great frame + great drivetrain + terrible shock = terrible bike! | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
stewart mccracken
a cross-country rider
from Scotland (Edinburgh - Pentland Hills mostly!)
Date Reviewed: August 7, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
What a bike!, looks f***in great, work of art for the swingarm is right. I've got a pair of Pace RC 36 (coil/oil)forks which match perfectly with the NR-4 in terms of performance. The forks have carbon fibre legs which looks pretty amazing in combo with the swingarm.
Wait a minute though, the best thing about this bike is the ride!, my first full sus bike and I doubt if I'll have another hard tail. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Scott Reynolds
a cross-country rider
from Sterling, MA USA
Date Reviewed: July 22, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I have had my 957 for about 3 months now and I ride pretty much every day. I did not buy the whole bike I just bought the frame and built the bike myself. This frame is outstanding once you get it dialed in. I had to buy a 350lb spring for the rear shock but now it is outstanding. I would reccomend this frame to anyone. At first I thought that I would have a problem with the carbon fiber rear swing arms but they are bullet-proof. The only problem that I did have was that I bent the rear strut but that was PURELY my fault as I endoed and it landed solidly on a sharp rock. I replaced it and even got a yellow one which looks cool. I have beat the crap out of this thing and I cannot say enough about how it just takes the beating and is ready for more. It definitely my new best friend, although my wife doesn't like my baby because it takes up too much of my time. Finally BUY ONE!!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Rob Quarrato
a cross-country rider
from San Jose, CA
Date Reviewed: June 24, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
I was extremely skeptical about purchasing my ProFlex but after I did I knew I had done the right thing. It's awesome on the down hills and because it's only 23.5lbs it's easy to manuever on the technical stuff. However, I was disappointed with the the fact that I sheared the bolts on the inner chain ring for my climbing gears. The carbon fiber forks and swing arm suspensions provide plenty of travel for that killer down hill run. I must say it took a while to get used to the full suspension but after you get used to it you'll say I'll never ride a hard tail ever again!! Over all, it's an awesome full sespension bike!!! | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
BOB
a cross-country rider
from Clarksville, TN
Date Reviewed: May 30, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Switched out the pedals (not enough float for my bad knees), tires (I'm a Smoke/Dart fan)and the seat (I've had a flite since 90' that fits my butt well). All components are working great on the wet and muddy trails we have around here now. The bike is ridden in very rough and technical terrain. The bike's lightweight (23.5 lbs) is very apparent, especially on climbs. The closeout prices makes this rig very competitive. K2 has a great website to help with the technical set-up. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Timmy OTool
a cross-country rider
from Worcerter, Mass (WPI)
Date Reviewed: April 27, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
Ok, My first FS bike, same as a lot of the other reviews. I've have the bike for 3 months, and put about 350 miles on it. I do a lot of tough city riding, but I'm also out in the NH state parks every chance I get.
I bought the bike for $1800, new, which I considered a great deal. The shop I bought is form was really cool. I asked about the shock issue. I was told that Noleen (the origial maker of the shocks) dropped the ball on machining tolerances and refused to fix the problem. They just kept selling Pro-Flex (K2), the bad shocks. So K2 bought out the company.
Anyways, I got the new shocks with the bike and have had NO problems.
About the bike. Now of course I am suposed to say nothing but great things about the bike, but that's for the most part true.
I've owned 5 bikes before this one, a KONA Fire Mountain, A Fuji Road rig, a KONA Kiluae, a TREK 950 MTB, and an ancient steel road bike I use for cyclo-cross-type stuff.
FS takes getting used to. It is deffinately less responsive than the old HTs, but my acking back is much less angry with me after day long treks. I've had to changet the way I ride technical single-tracks, more power, less coasting, and picking a point further away, has helped me. Instead of hopping about every time I came to tough stuff, with the HTs, I can keep the 957 under power, and usually blast thru.
Open fire roads are a blast and the hight I get is unreal sometimes.
Now cornering is new, especially at the higher speeds, but the bike stays active.
My greatest challange has been taking into account all of the variables that a FS bike brings, but so far, I'm happy with the big money I dumped into it.
That's my 2-cents | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Nod
a cross-country rider
from sedona az
Date Reviewed: January 4, 1998 | | Bottom Line: |
the 957 proflex has one major flaw, the noleen shocks. I'm over 50 yrs old so i don't jump off of things. the bottom line is that i've blown out 10 shocks front and rear in only 8 months. I haven't even had a chance to determine if the frame can holdup. I'm not alone with this, other riders have shared horror stories with me. Perhaps its time that we were not treated as guinea pigs, but rather had tested durable products to ride... | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Cris Beveridge
a cross-country rider
from Springfield, VA
Date Reviewed: November 25, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I have found this bike to be an excellent full suspension, cross country bike. It is light weight (24.5 lbs.) due to the Easton Program frame, the carbon fiber fork and swingarm, Mavic wheelsets, and trick components. The frame, fork and swingarm also contribute to a feel of rock- solid stiffness. The Noleen coil over oil shocks are plush and infinitely tuneable. My dealer was very helpful in setting up the suspension on the bike with the right springs, preload settings, and suggestions on damping adjustments. The Pro-Flex tech support through the web page is useful, especially in regards to variables of the suspension set-up. I have changed a couple things on the bike based on my personal preference. The stock carbon fiber bar-ends were too short and skinny for my taste. I replaced them with a pair of LP Braids which are longer and much more ergonomic. I also did not like the stock Selle Royal saddle and replaced it with a WTB SST Ti/K saddle.My only complaints are the annoying rattle from the Shimano V Brakes (Shimano tune-up kit now available to fix this problem) and the aluminum inner chainring bolts which all sheared off during one of my first tough granny gear climbs (OUCH!!). | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
R Johnson
a cross-country rider
from CA
Date Reviewed: November 25, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I like this bike. It is my first FS, so I am no expert but at the clearance prices they have right now, it rates as quite a bargin. First the Girvin forks. These are nearly perfect. They are almost friction free, have stiff and precise steering, and the carbon fibers really look cool. They are in essence a double clamp without the weight. The Norleen shocks perform excellently, though they have been known fail.The rear suspension looks a little unusual but it works and has some subtle features. The design is actually very similar to a Santa Cruz or a Cannondale in that it is a single swing arm with a shock and not a complex linkage. The shock has just been made really long. There appear to be two reasons for this. First, it makes the suspension slightly rising instead of falling like most swing arm designs. Second it removes nearly all vertical stress from the swing arm. I was initially concerned about pedal feedback due to the high pivot location, (relative to the chain line) but I do not find this to be noticable under most conditions and find that I can stand an climb as well as on my hardtail. The carbon swing arm is a thing of beauty as is the quality of the frame. The welds approach artwork, absolutely even in width, spacing and finish.The SRAM ESP 9.0 gripshifts and rear derrailluer are near perfection. The XT front and Kooka crank do not seem to play as well together though they are certainly servicable. The crank is eye catching and well made, but I suspect that the ramp system could use some refinement ala an Impel 700 or something.The Grivin pedal are light and problem free Ti plates and spindle, Mag body SPD cleat system. The Altek levers are solid and comfortable and a nice custom touch. The XT brakes rattle and although I am getting used to it, I would like the bike to be less obtrusive. After hearing all the hype about V brakes, I will say that I agree with Bontrager that a well adjusted cantilever is as good, but these are a lot easier to set up. The wheel are by Wheel Smith and are problem free so far. The Real hub looks really trick, (clear plastic tube between hub flanges) but develops a squeak between the end caps and the axel when cold. I have not figured it out yet, but it does not appear to be a performance problem. Just more noise.In summary, the bike is a great XC mount. The suspension does what I think it should do. Lets me ride the way I want but makes it comfortable. The bike feels lighter and more responsive than my hardtail under most conditions (oh yeah it is lighter). The componentry is generally first rate trick, although I could see changing some of it later. Killer bike. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Eric Cartman
a cross-country rider
from south park
Date Reviewed: September 29, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I don't own this bike but both of my bosses (I work at a bike shop) do and I take those two bike out every chance I get! with a few upgrades, they both weigh sub-25 pounds. best full suspension ride i've ever been on. | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Wild Bill
a cross-country rider
from Maryland, Virginia...everywhere
Date Reviewed: September 24, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
I am an old beat-up Navy Diver that loves to ride but the body needed a break. So I bought the 957 sight unseen and no test ride and got the ride of a lifetime. What a blast! The overall feel of full spring is all that and a bag of chips . For the non-believers, you must ride full suspension to fully grasp the benefits of the barcalounger ride. More specifically; as a single tracker this bike does the job very well. A three hour odyssey on the Plantation Trail in Canaan Valley WV. normally leaves me feeling like a bag of crushed assholes. After rippin it on the Proflex I was ready for more! All the typical descriptions of a quick-handling, East Coast, trail bike plus stability at speed. The biggest difference is that you sit...constantly. The bike still likes to be flicked around because it's very light but mostly you sit, point and hammer. With 3.5 inches of front and rear travel(real world) the 957 seems to float over everything but the monster stuff, and again, because it's so light it's easy to bunnyhop the big ones. Handling and suspension, no worries.
Now for the not-so-great stuff. Aside from changing out the personal preference stuff i.e. I went with a set of Profile RS bars, shorter ControlTech stem, WTB SST XC saddle, Time carbon pedals and tires(I,m still messing with tires), everything else works pretty good. Except the seatpost. Control Tech blew it with this ultra-light piece-o-sh_t! Light weight is great if it works but otherwise don't waste the consumers' time and money. The single bolt clamp on this post will NOT hold. Both front and rear shocks(Noleen NR-2 & NR-4 re) blew their guts immediately. It took all of 3 days to have replacements in-hand and I had not sent the bad units out yet! Kudos to Girvin. The new units have been trouble free. The wheels are sweet Mavic 220's laced onto an XT rear and a Hershey Naked front hub. The rear rim went away on a scrap with a DC cab, but the front is holding straight and true. I feel like the front wheel is a little squirrelly on fast rocky descents, due to the small diameter of the naked hub. But it's light(there's that word again). The crank creaks. Kooka stuff looks great but is also a little suspect. LIGHT! but... The small chainring torqued off the spider on my second ride. Real rings replacement took care of that.(Very beefy)
All in all this is the sweetest bike I have owned, I have owned a couple.
Go full suspension, and test ride a New Proflex. (757, 857,957, Beast or Animal)
They all ride great. The hype is legit.
The bike design gets 5 stars but some of the cheese on the cracker is baaaddd! 4 stars overall. HOO-YAH!! Wild | | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Dan Kervick
a weekend warrior
from Burlingame, CA
Date Reviewed: August 10, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
Climbs excellent due to its light weight and suspension. Good on the down
hill fire roads and better on single track. The advised spring rates are on the light side. I went 1 stiffer on the spring rates than spec'd and have better use of dampner adjustment and travel. This bike feels funny on-road but comes alive off-road. Components work better than XT! | | Overall Rating: |
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