Finished this afternoon. This is an almost identical replica of the Tufftrax i had BITD. The only difference is the colour- the original was a non Comp model in blue.
I bought my Tufftrax back in the summer of 1990 from JE James cycles in Sheffield and did thousands of miles on the Moors of Yorkshire and beyond. As the miles mounted and parts wore out I began a programe of improvements. First to go was the saddle, the original lasted about a week before I tore the top off it near Hardraw force in the Dales. Next up were the forks after falling in love with a pair of Switchblades in my LBS. Over the next two year the groupset was changed to full XT. The yellow cables were swapped over from my brothers Ridgeback, he hated the yellow and I didn't mind them so to stop his moaning we did a trade- so I have recreated them on this one too.
Many happy memories on this bike. It had paniers and a Blackburn rack on it back then, which I have dug out and will be refitting for the summer and I will be back on those Moors retracing some of the epic routes that my friends and i enjoyed all those years ago.
The only thing missing from the original spec is a black Rock Ring- does anyone have one?
I hope you saracen lovers like it!
Its now sat along side my replica Cannondale SM600- another of my bikes from BITD that I have built up. Back then I had the two bikes but I always wanted a RC100 to go with them. I now have my dream team from the early 90's complete- 18 years late but I've got there at last I'll get some pics of them all together when the sun comes out.
SPEC
Frame: 1991 saracen Tufftrax Competition, Tange MTB Tubing
Fork: Tange Switchblade Mk1
Headset: Shimano 105
Stem: Girvin Flexstem
Handlebar: Kolo Titanium
Grips: Yeti (Grab ons to be fitted)
Barends: None
Brakes: Shimano Deore XT M732
Brake Pads: Shimano Deore XT
Brake Cables: Clarkes
Cantilever cable hangers: Shimano Deore XT
Brake Levers: Shimano Deore LX
Shifters: Shimano Deore XT M732
Front Derailleur: Shimano Deore XT M733
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Deore XT M 733
Derailleur Cables: Clarkes
Cassette: Shimano Hyperglide
Chain: Shimano
Cranks: Shimano Deore XT M732
Crank Bolts: Generic
Chainrings: Shimano Deore XT Hyperglide, Biopace inner
Chainring bolts: Shimano
Bottom Bracket: Royce Titanium
Pedals: Shimano Deore XT M732
Hub Skewers: Ringle Ti
Rims: Wolber for Saracen
Hubs: Shimano Deore
Nipples: Alloy
Spokes: Stainless Double Butted
Tyres: Ritchey Z-max 2.1
Tubes: Specialized
Saddle: San Marco Rolls
Seatpost: Kalloy for Saracen
Seatpost Binder: Generic
Weight: 27.4 lbs
Cheers
Si
I bought my Tufftrax back in the summer of 1990 from JE James cycles in Sheffield and did thousands of miles on the Moors of Yorkshire and beyond. As the miles mounted and parts wore out I began a programe of improvements. First to go was the saddle, the original lasted about a week before I tore the top off it near Hardraw force in the Dales. Next up were the forks after falling in love with a pair of Switchblades in my LBS. Over the next two year the groupset was changed to full XT. The yellow cables were swapped over from my brothers Ridgeback, he hated the yellow and I didn't mind them so to stop his moaning we did a trade- so I have recreated them on this one too.
Many happy memories on this bike. It had paniers and a Blackburn rack on it back then, which I have dug out and will be refitting for the summer and I will be back on those Moors retracing some of the epic routes that my friends and i enjoyed all those years ago.
The only thing missing from the original spec is a black Rock Ring- does anyone have one?
I hope you saracen lovers like it!
Its now sat along side my replica Cannondale SM600- another of my bikes from BITD that I have built up. Back then I had the two bikes but I always wanted a RC100 to go with them. I now have my dream team from the early 90's complete- 18 years late but I've got there at last I'll get some pics of them all together when the sun comes out.
SPEC
Frame: 1991 saracen Tufftrax Competition, Tange MTB Tubing
Fork: Tange Switchblade Mk1
Headset: Shimano 105
Stem: Girvin Flexstem
Handlebar: Kolo Titanium
Grips: Yeti (Grab ons to be fitted)
Barends: None
Brakes: Shimano Deore XT M732
Brake Pads: Shimano Deore XT
Brake Cables: Clarkes
Cantilever cable hangers: Shimano Deore XT
Brake Levers: Shimano Deore LX
Shifters: Shimano Deore XT M732
Front Derailleur: Shimano Deore XT M733
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Deore XT M 733
Derailleur Cables: Clarkes
Cassette: Shimano Hyperglide
Chain: Shimano
Cranks: Shimano Deore XT M732
Crank Bolts: Generic
Chainrings: Shimano Deore XT Hyperglide, Biopace inner
Chainring bolts: Shimano
Bottom Bracket: Royce Titanium
Pedals: Shimano Deore XT M732
Hub Skewers: Ringle Ti
Rims: Wolber for Saracen
Hubs: Shimano Deore
Nipples: Alloy
Spokes: Stainless Double Butted
Tyres: Ritchey Z-max 2.1
Tubes: Specialized
Saddle: San Marco Rolls
Seatpost: Kalloy for Saracen
Seatpost Binder: Generic
Weight: 27.4 lbs
Cheers
Si