Saracen BackTrax

[Hellobro]

Hi all

As the title suggests I’ve recently purchased a Saracen mountain bike. I didn’t think £30 was bad? I couldn’t believe how comfortable the bike was and it does look pretty nice! There’s something about these 90’s mountain bikes that look cool. I’ve only given the bike a quick spin around the block but everything seems to work as it should. I was told by the owner who has had it since new that they are original tyres so il be looking to change them for something newer and slightly less aggressive. If anyone has any information about this bike like the year it was made etc that would be great to know. I look forward to making a few little upgrades but I’m very happy with my purchase

 

[Hellobro]

So I’ve taken the bike out for a few short rides, although the bikes seems to be pretty comfortable I feel like quite a bit of my weight is on my wrists! Is this quite normal for the bikes of this era or would be some higher handlebars help to solve this?

 

[Tootyred]

Have you looked in the archive? Lots of saracen catalogues there...

 

[jonthefish]

Yes - 90s bikes tend to have relatively low bars. Riser bars, shorter stem or stem with a bit more rise would give you a more upright riding position.
As Tootyred says, you can probably find more info the archives here
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/saracen-catalogues-1987-1998.191473/

Looks like a great £30 worth : )

 

[Hellobro]

Yes - 90s bikes tend to have relatively low bars. Riser bars, shorter stem or stem with a bit more rise would give you a more upright riding position.
As Tootyred says, you can probably find more info the archives here
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/saracen-catalogues-1987-1998.191473/

Looks like a great £30 worth : )

Thanks il have a look through the archive now! Yeah I’m really pleased with the bike

 

[hawkhill97]

That's well nice!

Arse up head down riding position is all part of the retro package on the bikes

Correct me if I'm wrong but the bar ends look like they're upside down and the wrong way around left/right - if you're using these you may find them slightly more comfy mounted the "correct"/usual way around.

Enjoy

 

[Hellobro]

That's well nice!

Arse up head down riding position is all part of the retro package on the bikes

Correct me if I'm wrong but the bar ends look like they're upside down and the wrong way around left/right - if you're using these you may find them slightly more comfy mounted the "correct"/usual way around.

Enjoy

I guess riding styles have changed over the years which is not necessarily a negative thing but my plans are to use this bike for days out. Mostly gravel tracks like the Downs-Link and I’m also considering signing up for the London to Brighton. I will have to look into a few minor upgrades to help take the weight off my wrists, maybe some new handlebars/stem

Now that you’ve mentioned it I can definitely see the bar ends are in fact the wrong way round! Very good spot.

 

[CassidyAce]

If the photos show how the bike is set up as you ride it, then the stem has already been raised to put the handlebars level with, or perhaps a little higher than, the saddle. That's not usually considered a racy set-up. I'm not sure that it's the height of the handlebars that's the issue; it might be how horizontally stretched out you have to be to reach the handlebars that's the bigger issue. If that's the case, you might want to try an inline/zero-offset seatpost before getting new handlebars. That should reduce the stretch by a couple of centimetres. A shorter stem would also help but it will change the bike's handling too: the handling will feel quicker or a bit more twitchy. Small changes can make surprisingly large differences to how comfortable you feel on a bike, so just try one thing at a time until it feels right.

 

[Hellobro]

If the photos show how the bike is set up as you ride it, then the stem has already been raised to put the handlebars level with, or perhaps a little higher than, the saddle. That's not usually considered a racy set-up. I'm not sure that it's the height of the handlebars that's the issue; it might be how horizontally stretched out you have to be to reach the handlebars that's the bigger issue. If that's the case, you might want to try an inline/zero-offset seatpost before getting new handlebars. That should reduce the stretch by a couple of centimetres. A shorter stem would also help but it will change the bike's handling too: the handling will feel quicker or a bit more twitchy. Small changes can make surprisingly large differences to how comfortable you feel on a bike, so just try one thing at a time until it feels right.

After this photo was taken I raised the seat ever so slightly but I guess that wouldn’t affect my handle bar reach too much. I’ve had a search of these zero offset seat posts that you recommended and it makes complete sense as like you said this would enable me to reduce the stretch by a few cm while not affecting the bikes handling! I will experiment with the seat posts first and go from there. All of these various small changes you can make to improve the bike fit I wasn’t aware of so I appreciate all the advice.
Thanks

 

[hawkhill97]

Another thing you can try for free is to rotate the handlebars a little - most have a bit of "sweep" and you can choose the angle this is set at. It'll be somewhere between straight back and 45 degrees back/up, but even quite small changes can have a significant difference in feel.

Brake lever position, funnily enough, can also change how your hand naturally sits on the handlebars, which can affect comfort on the bike too.

Happy fettling!