1993 Saracen Sahara Elite
- Thread starter JohnH
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Hi everybody. This is my first post -- hope you don't mind me just bursting in here and flashing my photos around! 
Back in 1993, my 21st b'day present was a Saracen Sahara Elite. During the summers of my early twenties, I was never off the thing; I would take it up to my local range of hills (the South Downs) at every opportunity. Then in my mid- to late-twenties, I stopped riding so much and started going to the gym instead. Seven years ago, I moved to the north-east of England (Teesside) and during which, my poor old Saracen was put into a big polythene bag and kept in the attic.
It was only when I moved back to Sussex at the end of last year, that I pulled my old hill-climbing companion out of its polythene bag and took a good look at it...
I think the word I'm looking for here is "neglect".
Once the shock had subsided, I resolved to restore my trusty Sahara back to the best condition I could. First thing to do, strip the bike of everything that my tools would permit me to remove/replace:
Looking much better after a bucket of soapy warm water and some 'Brasso' -- especially around the crankcase and the top of the forks...
Since these were taken, I've cleaned up the wheels and tyres, the 7-speed cassette and the chainset. The freehub has been blitzed with some WD-40 and when rotated, now 'ticks' like it did on the day it was bought.
I'll have to take some more pictures of the cleaned up components and post them here.
The remaining "to-do" list for this bike isn't too long. I do have to decide whether to replace the wires within the gear and brake cables and whether to clean up the existing chain or replace it. Even if I do replace the chain and the inner-cables, the only other thing that won't be original is the longer seat-post that I bought within a few days of being given the bike (quite a necessity with a 16.5" frame).
Anyway, I hope that Saracen fans are pleased to know that a '93 Sahara Elite will shortly be back on the trails...
Back in 1993, my 21st b'day present was a Saracen Sahara Elite. During the summers of my early twenties, I was never off the thing; I would take it up to my local range of hills (the South Downs) at every opportunity. Then in my mid- to late-twenties, I stopped riding so much and started going to the gym instead. Seven years ago, I moved to the north-east of England (Teesside) and during which, my poor old Saracen was put into a big polythene bag and kept in the attic.
It was only when I moved back to Sussex at the end of last year, that I pulled my old hill-climbing companion out of its polythene bag and took a good look at it...
I think the word I'm looking for here is "neglect".
Once the shock had subsided, I resolved to restore my trusty Sahara back to the best condition I could. First thing to do, strip the bike of everything that my tools would permit me to remove/replace:
Looking much better after a bucket of soapy warm water and some 'Brasso' -- especially around the crankcase and the top of the forks...
Since these were taken, I've cleaned up the wheels and tyres, the 7-speed cassette and the chainset. The freehub has been blitzed with some WD-40 and when rotated, now 'ticks' like it did on the day it was bought.
I'll have to take some more pictures of the cleaned up components and post them here.
The remaining "to-do" list for this bike isn't too long. I do have to decide whether to replace the wires within the gear and brake cables and whether to clean up the existing chain or replace it. Even if I do replace the chain and the inner-cables, the only other thing that won't be original is the longer seat-post that I bought within a few days of being given the bike (quite a necessity with a 16.5" frame).
Anyway, I hope that Saracen fans are pleased to know that a '93 Sahara Elite will shortly be back on the trails...
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a nice tale for a friday- good work and starting to look very nice- looking forward to the after piccies. Do the front forks still work?
Thank you, Clockworkgazz!clockworkgazz":1b3b7pfl said:
I changed the elastomers in the front forks sometime in the late nineties. As things stand, when I use my hands to 'squash' the forks they seem to work fine... although compressing the forks with my hands isn't the same as riding on them, so I'll have to test them properly once the bike is complete and back on the road. If the news is bad, I'm not sure how easy it will be to find replacement elastomers.
Plan 'B' is to fit some Marzocchi Bombers that were given to me by a friend.
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as a plan b the bombers sound cool- prob a bit more bounce and a shade lighter?
Probably a bit more bounce, but I'm not so sure about being any lighter -- the Bombers look considerably more chunky than the factory-fit Saracen forks...clockworkgazz":y1h1ygkk said:
Also, the crown-to-axle distance is a little longer on the Marzocchi's, so I'm not sure how much I'd feel that when riding. Still, it's not going to cost me much to do some experimenting!
Sweet story John! Get her back out on the Downs!
If you want to sell the Marzocchi's let me know
BTW the freehub will need re-greasing after the flushing with WD40, or at least re-lube it with a heavier oil (even engine oil works). I got the tools to do this and am local so don't mind lending a hand
If you want to sell the Marzocchi's let me know
BTW the freehub will need re-greasing after the flushing with WD40, or at least re-lube it with a heavier oil (even engine oil works). I got the tools to do this and am local so don't mind lending a hand
