JT354

Stop showing off that MTB! You're making me jealous

Who makes it?

khuon

It's a K2 Oz-M. It's all thermoplastic CF made by K2 and Easton. The main triangle is produced by K2 and is a 3-piece monocoque structure with two halves bonded to an internal reinforcement spine all made out of CF. This construction is similar to what Cannondale used for their CF bike except that Cannondale used an aluminum and then later magnesium internal spine. The K2's main triangle was produced in Vashon, WA but I'm not sure where the swingarm and fork legs, which were produced by Easton, were made. The bike was made for only two years. It was offered in two main trim levels and a superlight version. In 1998, it retained the Pro-Flex name and was called the Pro-Flex 4500C and the Pro-Flex 5500C. In 1999, there were some minor improvements, a slightly different subdued finish and the names were changed to the Oz-X and Oz-M respectively. An Oz-M Superlight was also added which had all the fasteners and coils replaced with titanium equivalents. My bike is a modified Oz-M. The stock rear shock on the Oz-M is a Noleen NR-2. I replaced it with the NR-5 to match the front shock in the CrossLink-CS fork and changed the spring to titanium to give it a smoother feel.

Not many companies produced thermoplastic CF bikes. Most CF bikes (road and mountain) are made using thermosets. Mantis and GT worked on a joint project to create the earliest thermoplastic bike I believe with the Mantis Screaming V. This is the bike I really wanted but very few were ever produced before Mantis closed up shop and they were/are quite rare and expensive. GT itself took the technology to produce a limited number of CF-based STS/LTSes back in 1995 which was a CF version of their XCR. They later followed up with a second generation thermoplastic bike called the XCR 2000.

K2/Pro-Flex started sticking CF swingarms and forks on their aluminum Evo frames around 1996 and then produced a full CF frame based on the Evo geometry for 1998. While they performed well, the cost and labour involved to produce these things were so high that they discontinued them after only a two year run.

While many people in the roadbike community were surprised to see Cannondale come out with a full-CF road frame, it should be noted that Cannondale had been using CF in some of their MTBs for a while and they introduced the thermoplastic Raven back around the same time as K2 introduced the Pro-Flex 4500C/5500C in the 1998 model year I believe. Cannondale actually stuck with the Raven longer. I think they terminated production of that frame in 2001 or 2002. Neither the GT nor Cannondale bikes were full thermoplastic CF though. They all used aluminum rear triangles and swingarms. To my knowledge, only Mantis and K2 ever made full thermoplastic CF bikes. You can find out more about the K2/Pro-Flex CF bikes on the K2/Pro-Flex Riders Group webpage.

Metro

Reently mounted FSA carbon cranks on my Yellow road bike. Beautiful combo!


Black is beautiful. Right on! Power to the people (who use carbon components, that is).

MattinNY

I have the 2005 Felt 70 and I think the black and yellow make a nice combination.

I'm thinking of rewrapping the black handlebar tape with yellow

Also gonna upgrade my late 80's silver look pedels with black ones

khuon

Go for the alternating striped caution-tape/bumble-bee look!



FWIW, I've always thought that black and yellow made an awesome combination. I mean... who could argue with this...

Sigurdd50

Yes, black is too cool and Stealthy... so much so that if those riders forget to disable their cloaking devices, they tend to be completley invisible to other riders on the road... I have heard the sound of unfortunate cloaked riders crashing on the roadside on many ocassions... and then it makes me wonder... does a cloaked rider make noise when it falls on the road when no one is around?

Black looks okay as long as it is on a yellow frame

by the by, MattinNY I love dat Felt
that's basically the spittin image of my '04 F65 (think late year in between release)Yellow frame, CF fork/stays... ultegra... yours has a Granny gear and mine doesn't. I make sure accesssories are black (bottle cages, bags, computers, my shorts, mud from the road, even the black oil that leaks from my eyes when the aliens hover over head.

OneTinSloth

mmm....nuke proof hubs.

zacster

I was going to put an FSA crank on it, but had to draw the line on the additional cost. And since I'm not unhappy with the Chorus crank I'll probably never do it now.

recursive

Personally, I am a cyclist, not an art critic. I don't give a crap.

nnewton123

mine's mostly black.. I think it looks much better with black components than it would with silver... probably just personal preference for the most part.

Darth Vader

Those are the new Zipp CF cranks.

I'm starting to like the black componentry after looking at all these pictures.

catatonic

ok imagine this bike:

https://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...ntnoir_big.jpg

with black 105 brifters and brakes, and these wheels (except mine have black 105 hubs in them...i just wanted to show off the nice rims ):

https://www.performancebike.com/shop/...egory_ID=5321#

and this saddle:

https://www.serfas.com/racing_saddles/TRCM.html

and nice blackwall tires, black bottle cage, black seatpost bag, and of course, a clear water bottle, with black rubber grips

iluvfreebeer

My components are black like me.

Urban Shooter

Naturally occurring carbon is red.

wsexson

My road bike has black seatpost, stem, bars, and wheels. Drivetrain and brakes are all silver. That seems to be the right combo for that bike.

I want to use all silver and flat aluminum components to build up the commuter bike I keep daydreaming about.

So my vote in the poll is: It depends!

skinnyone

I have the black 105 groupo on my F70, save for the FD which is steel... I think its frikkin A...

jrennie

glossy black look cheap but matte black looks cool. On a similar topic why are the most expensive felt's and scott's matte black(no clear cheap to paint) and the cheaper models are all glamed up?

hiracer

Black bicycle components are, at best, unimaginative--no personality, one size fits all.

At worst, they have that cheap plastic look.

axxalink

...or i'm a bike rider giving you every oppertunity to avoid hitting me because you're not focused on me, because you're busy yelling at you kids on your cell phone...

axxalink

I used to think that stealth was cool...until that bus hit me in broad daylight two years ago. I lost my custom bike and almost lost my life. I now ride with a "winky-blinky" light and a rearview mirror. I understand that they are not a guarantee against an accident, but they are essential to my riding confidence...especially in traffic.

Enthalpic

Which allotrope are you refering too again? Natural Carbon hmm.. diamond is about the only compound all carbon, even then of course not entirely.

Blackberry

Blackberry agrees. Black is the new black.

youm0nt

doesnt matter to me.

shimanopower

omg I'm going to be yawning for hours after reading this. I nearly dropped my laptop when I began drifting off to sleep. yawwwwwwwwwwwwwn

Urban Shooter

I took the silver front and rear ultegra brakes to my brother-in-law and had them powder coated red, which will go well with the frame which is being painted yellow. Some black on a bike is cool but in my opinion I do not like all black or mostly black.