I gave up trying to get the bb out. Gave it to a friend to try and he broke the vise at the local coop with it. DOh! So now we need another 5" bench vise for our bike charity.
I'll get pictures saturday.
I'll get pictures saturday.
THE RICKPAULOS COLLECTION
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I like the saddle on the John Deere
Had a Trek similar to that once and after heat, torches, and impacts it came out to reveal the frame was cross-threaded from the factory. The shop I went to said they had seen other Treks like that too.
Hopefully you post the John Deere pics when you are done.
Hopefully you post the John Deere pics when you are done.
I've seen several chinese made bikes where they obviously used air power tools to put the bbs in. So much power it tore the right cups apart as the threads keep going in but the flange is stopped at the frame. But we could thread them out. When you first see them, they look cross threaded. But they aren't.
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In my experience that type of bb can’t be removed. Throw it out and save the aggravation. If the threaded parts are not set into the bb then you can weld a bar on them, put on a giant pipe and hope for the best. This might require thread chasing if you get it out. I have tried penetrating oil and ultrasonic vibration with mixed results.
Overall in vg condition. Missing seat post, mismatch qr skewers. elastomers rotted and prettified but not melted all over. That's a bonus as melted elastomers are royal pita to clean up. It had a insight/schwinn trailer hitch so it probably never saw dirt. Just daddy duty towing a child. Front RockShox fork (no model name) seems okay. The sticker on the frame says 14.5 inches but it measures 18.5 bb t top of seat tube. so too small for me. Replacement elastomers are $55 + s&h so Its worth fixing. I have box of those cheap frame spring/shocks from bsos. I wonder if one of those springs might fit. Probably need some sort of bushing to keep the spring centered.
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Score!!
MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
Cool bike! I'm a fan of the STX group on there, but I would think about the Gripe shifters, I loathe those! Those mismatched skewers are a sign of the era, not much cooler back then, and nobody cares if they went with the paint or not. If they're branded, might be worth a few bucks. Even the straddle on the rear cantis looks like it's perfect, but there's always the anodized rabbit hole..
How is the RockShox functioning? Chances are that it is stuffed with similar elastomers, unless that's the Quadra which had air springs and oil damper. If you have that one, I would hesitate to take it apart, seals are nearly impossible to get. I know that there are generic products that can be found to replace elastomers, but I don't know if they exist in the size needed for the rear.
How is the RockShox functioning? Chances are that it is stuffed with similar elastomers, unless that's the Quadra which had air springs and oil damper. If you have that one, I would hesitate to take it apart, seals are nearly impossible to get. I know that there are generic products that can be found to replace elastomers, but I don't know if they exist in the size needed for the rear.
MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
Chances are, this is more than you want to spend, but who knows?
https://www.risseracing.com/proflex.shtmlThese guys aren't really clear on what they're selling, but it appears to be replacement springs
https://nulifecycles.com/proflex-kits/
eBay options as well
https://www.ebay.ca/i/201393794183
https://www.risseracing.com/proflex.shtmlThese guys aren't really clear on what they're selling, but it appears to be replacement springs
https://nulifecycles.com/proflex-kits/
eBay options as well
https://www.ebay.ca/i/201393794183
I have this other Proflex that I bought a few years ago and never did anything with it. I got it out of storage so I could tackle the repair on both bikes. Might save some shipping costs on parts.
1995 model year model 555. Similar elastomer rear suspension. Also missing the seat post. This one has a Girvin ATF fork. All aluminum, bolt together. Elastomer according to the catalog.
I set both bikes out for more photos. Sunny day, temps near 90F and within minutes the elastomers on both bikes started melting like ice cream. The 555 was in a storage unit for a couple years and the temps hit 100F here in the summer. but no prior melting. go figure. I scrambled to relocate the bikes to the shade and got them apart before they left a mess all over the bikes. A 5mm allen wrench and they come apart pretty easy. All the other bushings look good.
So looking on the web and at those provided links above, most solutions run $55 or more. urethane or silicon pads or custom springs.
Another factoid, Profex would change specs mid season so accurate measurements must be made.
rotted pads on the 555.
Girvin ATF fork on the 555
Rock Shox fork on the Attack, model unknown. model stickers pealed off? Seems to work fine.
The 1996 Proflex catalog says Quadra 5 fork.
Wiki says Quadra 5 is elastomer.
The patent number on the fork is for coil spring with valved oil dampening.
Other photos on the www show the same fork as mine. Grey Rock Shox with no model label.
The stanchions measure 25.4mm (1 inch).
The patent number is for a coil spring with oil bath & valve dampening design but no mention of model name.
https://www.freepatentsonline.com/4971344.pdf
Proflex Proflex
I'm melting you wicked girl
Rats, cracked one of the spacers just wiping it clean
1995 555 spacing is just under 3"
1996 Attack spacing is just under 3"
1995 model year model 555. Similar elastomer rear suspension. Also missing the seat post. This one has a Girvin ATF fork. All aluminum, bolt together. Elastomer according to the catalog.
I set both bikes out for more photos. Sunny day, temps near 90F and within minutes the elastomers on both bikes started melting like ice cream. The 555 was in a storage unit for a couple years and the temps hit 100F here in the summer. but no prior melting. go figure. I scrambled to relocate the bikes to the shade and got them apart before they left a mess all over the bikes. A 5mm allen wrench and they come apart pretty easy. All the other bushings look good.
So looking on the web and at those provided links above, most solutions run $55 or more. urethane or silicon pads or custom springs.
Another factoid, Profex would change specs mid season so accurate measurements must be made.
rotted pads on the 555.
Girvin ATF fork on the 555
Rock Shox fork on the Attack, model unknown. model stickers pealed off? Seems to work fine.
The 1996 Proflex catalog says Quadra 5 fork.
Wiki says Quadra 5 is elastomer.
The patent number on the fork is for coil spring with valved oil dampening.
Other photos on the www show the same fork as mine. Grey Rock Shox with no model label.
The stanchions measure 25.4mm (1 inch).
The patent number is for a coil spring with oil bath & valve dampening design but no mention of model name.
https://www.freepatentsonline.com/4971344.pdf
Proflex Proflex
I'm melting you wicked girl
Rats, cracked one of the spacers just wiping it clean
1995 555 spacing is just under 3"
1996 Attack spacing is just under 3"
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MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
Check out old shovel on YouTube he does a restoration of one of these Pro flexes and he picked up elastomers from somewhere also there is a company on eBay that sells a spring kit for theseOverall in vg condition. Missing seat post, mismatch qr skewers. elastomers rotted and prettified but not melted all over. That's a bonus as melted elastomers are royal pita to clean up. It had a insight/schwinn trailer hitch so it probably never saw dirt. Just daddy duty towing a child. Front RockShox fork (no model name) seems okay. The sticker on the frame says 14.5 inches but it measures 18.5 bb t top of seat tube. so too small for me. Replacement elastomers are $55 + s&h so Its worth fixing. I have box of those cheap frame spring/shocks from bsos. I wonder if one of those springs might fit. Probably need some sort of bushing to keep the spring centered.
Pretty wild machine. I pumped up the tires and took it for a short ride. With the seat fully up, I could feel my hips trying to pop out of the sockets. So no chance of me riding it anymore. A separate lever on the bars releases the main valve that frees the shock to be set any height. 20 inch front wheel. 16 inch rear. 7 speed gearing. The Seat has "hidden" storage but it takes a good sized screw driver to pop it open.
That's cool and can see potential to stretch the frame and swing arm to fit a bigger wheel and the adjustable suspension could give it a lay low slam stance then lifted for riding, the shock looks like a modified office chair gas lifter, looks kinda cool as is but uneven wheel size is throwing me off a bit
Weird.
I realize now that raising/lowering the shock doesn't change the distance from the seat to the crank any significant amount. You don't get to adjust for a longer legged rider, just raise the rider higher up overall. No wonder my hips still hurt after the test ride. The seat is bolted to the frame, there is no seat post.
yeah, longer chain stays would allow for a bigger back wheel but it still won't fit an adult. Better to start from scratch with some bso mtbs for frame parts.
yeah, longer chain stays would allow for a bigger back wheel but it still won't fit an adult. Better to start from scratch with some bso mtbs for frame parts.
A fresh donation at our local bike coop. Looks like it got dragged for a few miles. Checked in by other volunteers so I didn't get the back story.
front tire, brake levers, seat, rear skewer, left pedal all ground away. Left rear dropout bent a bit. Odd that the grip shifts weren't touched.
front tire, brake levers, seat, rear skewer, left pedal all ground away. Left rear dropout bent a bit. Odd that the grip shifts weren't touched.
neat cutaway views.
