'97 saracen hardtrax 'pics with manitou mars on now'

Raleighracer

Retro Guru
hi everybody, here is my saracen hardtrax.

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first of all this bike was bought new by my dad in '97 (receipt to prove ;))

stayed as completely standard until about 5ish years ago when he stopped doing off road and wanted to do it up for road to get fitter on. (well except the original seat had a tear in when he bought it so they gave him the san marco rolls item instead.

had koolstop pads put on, schwalbe city jets, mudguards, a less 'rangy' cassette - more like a touring bike, think its 30-11t, the deore lx rear mech and a crankset with larger rings, again for a bit more speed on the road. i cant remember if it was at this point it got its new wheels or after :/

then he got a bianchi c2c road bike so this was converted back to a mtb with the dmr motos and losing the full 'guards for some little mtb style ones, the rest stayed the same.

this is how i got it just under a year ago. my intensions were simple, make a bike that i could ride up to the gfs on and not worry about it being outside using parts i had lying around.

the front brake was the first to get the chop being swapped for a promax v brake, gooooood pads and a xtr lever, to make this work i had to buy a 7 speed shifter, 12 quid for a altus one, bargin. the the brake caught on the tyre, a few measuremnts later saw that the maxxis highroller 2.35 supertacky one in shed would fit, bonus! still a bit too close though but it clears.

the rear wheel i got from from work and was wider than the one that was on it more suited to the wider tyres. it was free of course. somebody had skrewed a freewheel on the cassettes threads, the manager couldnt remove it, i rescued it from the bin and then had a nice wheel and 7 speed freewheel ;)

the cranks i got in part of a deal with a work college but the outside 2 rings were toast so ive used to old biiiig ones, and made it fit using a spacer of another work college/friend whos on here and some instructions off him on how to put spacers onto hollowtech cranks (cheers matt!!!!!)

rear brake set up was another deal, have a matching front but dont have that 'nak' to set up cantis brilliantly yet to use it better than the v brake but ill learn!

rear tyre was free, has a few little marks in the sidewall, bloke was using it on his downhill bike, wanted a new so i had his old one.

treated it to the lizard skin because ive started to like it :oops:

pedals i swap and change all the time, although these are my best flats (colour aside!!!! but they were cheap ;)), have some dmr v8s with grip tape on to that i use, comuting pedals with reflectors and toeclips and ive just got some wellgo sealed items that ill fit with my NOS elite toe clips also have 105 sl's if i ever want to get clipped in and im sure i have spds lying around somewhere to!

used kona lock on grips replaced the funny feeling originals and the elite bottle cage goes with the red theme im trying to go for like the higher spec bikes in the cataloge i have ;)

anyway less words for a bit and more pics

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a few snaps of the catalogue (if anyone wants pics of specific bike sin the 97 range let me know)

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current plans are - in no particular order (depends what turns up)

use my scotts old 9 speed cassette and the deore shifter that matches the front when i buy a 9 speed chain.

get some front suspension if i find rigid less fun that i want it to be (sub 100mm, fancying indi/judys like the optional extras were on the higher spec bikes, but bombers or anything really would do, suspension and hydraulics are all a bit new to be! new stem and headset to fit those obviously. or maybe some kona project 2's if i want to keep rigid and find this lack on tyre clearence/wana keep the v brake thing a problem

front wheel thats wider for better tyre fit and allow more clearence with the brake.

maybe chuck the lizard skin grips off my kona onto this if this starts to see alot of use :D

hope ive not bored you all too much, i like rambling about bikes!!!! and working in bike shops to get free bits now and again ;)
 
Love it mate, can't wait to see it in action and muddy. I guess you introduced me to old school builds so thanks bud.
Matt
 
steel looks so pretty ;)

and your brother just couldn't understand why i wanted to build my fixie up and do 'such a thing' up ;)

make a bike work! i need a riding buddy that's guna get me quicker not give me chance to smoke while i wait for them!!!
 
Haha dont you worry, I'll teach you how to go speedy and crash in style, although I think you'll kick my ass up hill. Atleast for a few weeks ;) till I get my physique back :L haha
 
Well did a little very short and slow bit of very muddy single track was great, can weight either wheel very easily, the tryes gave great grip, rear brake needs improving (must read more carefully how to set up cantos better)

rigid wasn't too bad at all although it was slow and short, the bumpiness gives great feed back, handles well!!! Far easier to ride on that terrain than what the Scott would be.

The girlfriend wasnt too impressed about walking up the track to chat bikes with my mates and get her shoes dirty but a quick call into the pub solved all ;)

Got a few pics of it with muddy tyres to upload soon. Going to pines Monday or Tuesday evening/afternoon if anyone else is there who appreciates th classic things in life :p

Will confirm a date and time (roughly) in this thread closer to the time if anyone does want to join in, not to quick, red route to the dirt jumps, dinner, red route back. But plans can be changed of course ;)
 
Does anybody know if kona project 2 forks, using a v brake and a headset would give clearance for 2.5" tyres?

Would I notice a difference in comfort etc switching to the p2's?

I would like to lower the bars, I've seen quill stems with less rise so it's just a case of getting one when one turns up, may just stick the cantilever on the front, get my wider wheel then I'll be able to use all my tyres confidently :D

Maxxis - minion f & r 2.5 60a
- high roller 2.5 and 2.35 in 42a and 2.35 60a
- holy roller 2.2 and 2.4 60a
Halfords cheapo 1.5" slicks
Scott 2.3 off road folding thing
Speacilized enduro 2.3 folding

Just want to try them all out to find out what's good for what conditions, see what the difference is using the right tyres for the right conditions and the wrong ones see if it's worth bothering with or find a happy medium which i think is what I've got on there now
 
If you are getting a period Project 2, then you would definately struggle witha 2.3" tyre I reckon. 2.5" you have no chance.
 
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