PINK '95 Saracen Powertrax for my girlfriend: FINISHED

She wanted me to buy her a bike to use for work and for bike rides in the summer, so i picked up this for her... its nothing flashy or feminine even but a reliable ride, and i must say that saddle is rather comfy



after a service and some tidying

Re:

The bike is very nice.... to show in the Retrobike forum.

However, if you want your "other half" to actually enjoy and use the bike, I recommend you my "checklist to make a retrobike enjoyable for my wife", with proven results:
-change the stem to something higher (at least level with the saddle, higher is better) and shorter (80mm a good starting point). The aerodynamic and climbing-friendly position of retrobikes is usually not well received.
-get mudguards. If you want to take her on offroad trips, you might want the removable type. But get them, no matter how ugly the bike looks. She just won't cycle to work if she's going to get her full back wet. No discussion.
-ensure perfect mechanical order at all times. Super-braking, flawless gearing. Check regularly. They won't accept any less.

Good luck!

If your partner is anything like mine, as soon as she starts using the bike regularly she will fill it up with accessories, like bike-stand, bell, lights, rear rack, etc. so don't worry getting the lightest components, just reliable stuff.

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Thanks for the tips, and you're right she doesnt like the riding position! I thought it might fit her because We're both around 5'9" and i felt a little crampt on it, but she tried it and finds the reach a bit far and the bars could be higher (Don't know until you try i suppose)

Shes also told me she wants it to be pink :facepalm: but if thats what she wants then il take the frame and fork down to the powdercoaters tomorrow, and il probably improve some of the kit, get an adjustable stem and new graphics

Sean

Re: Retro MTB for the other half

Way to go Sean she'll love you getting the bike done in "pink" and an adjustable stem is the way to go although and she will probably want the stem not far off straight up to it's max height and it's got me thinking i should get one for my wife too even though she says the short already on hers is okay i'm not convinced :roll: .

Well Sean you say you and your mrs are about the same height but is her arm length the same as yours as people's proportions don't always work out the same as i'm 5'ft 11" and my youngest son is a little shorter than me but he drives my car and has to move the seat back an inch and if i drive his i move is seat forward an inch so you get the idea mate ..

Re: Retro Saracen for the girlfriend

Nice.
I always liked Saracens. never owned one though :-(

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I thought that would be the case, but i said to her to see how she gets on with it first and if it feels like too much of a stretch i'll change the stem.

So now I'm gonna keep an eye out for an adjustable stem, amongst some other bits... i cant go to the effort of having it powdercoated and then for example put those nasty cranks back on it, that would just be wrong

Theres also been a change of plan regarding the frame but i'll save that for the first update

Sean

Re: Retro Saracen for the girlfriend

Mm this is becoming rather interesting to say the least ..

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Muddy paw":3l9d2ebc said:

Mm this is becoming rather interesting to say the least ..

Click to expand...

Cheers. Its been a few years since i done an mtb project, so i reckon im going to enjoy this one and so far im quite enjoying sourcing the bits. Im starting to think im doing it as much for myself as i am for my girlfriend, but she's still gonna get a nice pink bike at the end of it though

Will try and post some pictures of my progress tomorrow

Sean

Re: Retro Saracen for the girlfriend

Some pics would be awesome but yes chasing around for parts is all part of the excitement of doing a project although it can be frustrating at times but makes it all the more rewarding when it's done and yep if nothing else the enjoyment of the building process is all for you ,,

Re: Retro Saracen for the girlfriend

Muddy paw":2mp53oiy said:

Some pics would be awesome but yes chasing around for parts is all part of the excitement of doing a project although it can be frustrating at times but makes it all the more rewarding when it's done and yep if nothing else the enjoyment of the building process is all for you ,,

Click to expand...

I know what you mean with how frustrating it can be searching for all those high end or NOS retro parts you want, but the good thing about a build like this is that nothing is too particular and parts are easy to come by. As long as its retro, cheap, reasonable quality and condition then its good enough. Between here and ebay i could probably buy and entire groupset for it in a couple hours, and for me i think thats the fun part
Saying this i went to the local bike project today, which i think can be like an aladin's den for retro bike parts and because they're charity based and the donor bikes are all donated, the parts cost next to nothing to buy. So i picked up several parts for this bike and a couple higher spec parts for my spares box

Along with the parts i bagged on here the other night, i now have enough to put the bike straight back together as soon as its painted. Not a great deal of the original parts from the top picture are gonna remain though, but i guess its easy to get carried away

Sean