[Cheers!]

Found out a fellow car racer was into Mountain bike a decade ago. He sent me some pics. He said it's about 11 years old. I don't recognize anything on the bike other than the words shimano on the front and rear derailer. Compared to my brand new 05 specialized stumpjumper disc it looks like a motorcycle.

 

[Rumpfy]

Ask him if he wants to sell me that wheelset!

It's circa 95-96. Not quite 'vintage', but very hip in it's day.

 

[velocipus]

Dude that's Bobke's bike!

Found out a fellow car racer was into Mountain bike a decade ago. He sent me some pics. He said it's about 11 years old. I don't recognize anything on the bike other than the words shimano on the front and rear derailer. Compared to my brand new 05 specialized stumpjumper disc it looks like a motorcycle.

Bob Roll raced one just like that back in the early-mid 90's... complete with Hed wheels. He and a couple other names that I can't remember.

 

[holden]

yeah, i'm with rumpfy ... cool wheelset.

 

[salimoneus]

thats some fugly welding there. cool bike tho =)

 

[hamachi]

ah, the duel-pogo -- best bounce for the ounce!

 

[Arran]

Ask him if he wants to sell me that wheelset!

It's circa 95-96. Not quite 'vintage', but very hip in it's day.

Those Hed DH wheels were terrible. Went out of true easily and were a ***** to true. You had to remove the tyre, tube and rim tape and use a 6mm hex driver as a spoke key. The rim was a single wall, soft piece of crap... and they weighed a ton!

 

[mello211]

we sold them at the shop i worked at years ago - if i remember correctly, that was either called beast or animal. weighed a ton! we always had a pile of broken frames and swingarms.....proflex/offroad was a local RI company that had great ideas but they seemed to let the consumers do the strength part of R&D for them in the field.

 

[Baulz]

I read somewhere that the OEM Hed wheels were fiberglass that had been dyed black.

Have no idea if that's true or not, but it would explain the bike being a reasonable price at the time. IIRC it was only a couple hundred bucks more than the 855, which had normal wheels and canti brakes.

 

[azjeff]

This is an Animal, you can kinda read it on the top tube. Couple of guys I rode with had these, the right combination of downhill pitch and rock or rut would throw them off hard. Seemed to have a really steep seat tube angle that put the C/G too forward and the front axle motion coming up and back were a bad deal. The rear sus. action would tug the chain and they ghost shifted bad. Well named.

 

[Rumpfy]

Those Hed DH wheels were terrible. Went out of true easily and were a ***** to true. You had to remove the tyre, tube and rim tape and use a 6mm hex driver as a spoke key. The rim was a single wall, soft piece of crap... and they weighed a ton!

Dude....I ride Tioga Tension Disks.:crazy:

 

[hollister]

Dude....I ride Tioga Tension Disks.:crazy:

exactly what i was thinking when i read your post.

 

[Rumpfy]

exactly what i was thinking when i read your post.

They look cool and they sound cool. Is there really any thing more important? Color maybe.

 

[robinmiller]

Well, however antiquated the suspension design, that was a pretty drool-worthy bike in its day.

 

[Eric Hoefer]

Didn't K2 end up buying Proflex and use their frame design for a few yrs?

 

[filegiant]

Well, however antiquated the suspension design, that was a pretty drool-worthy bike in its day.

Not if you worked in a shop that sold/serviced them. Every mechanic minus the owner of the shop I worked at in the mid to late '90s hated ProFlex/K2. Those forks were super-high maintenance and performed poorly--even for the time. And remember this is when the Judy forks were out. Thank God Marzocchi introduced the Bomber. Ahh...oil bath

 

[robinmiller]

Not if you worked in a shop that sold/serviced them. Every mechanic minus the owner of the shop I worked at in the mid to late '90s hated ProFlex/K2. Those forks were super-high maintenance and performed poorly--even for the time. And remember this is when the Judy forks were out. Thank God Marzocchi introduced the Bomber. Ahh...oil bath

I guess so.. But back then i was in high school, and used to go drool over those and the candy painted DeKerfs at the Bike Cellar in North Vancouver.

At least i get 1 out of 2 in the taste department!

 

[filegiant]

I guess so.. But back then i was in high school, and used to go drool over those and the candy painted DeKerfs at the Bike Cellar in North Vancouver.

At least i get 1 out of 2 in the taste department!

DeKerfs are nice. I'll secong the 1 out of 2

 

[mello211]

Correct - K2 bought Proflex. Proflex was originally called Offroad - Woonsocket, Rhode Island. My buddy raced on one of the first full suspension Proflex rigs and it was actually made by Serotta.