My Saracen Kili Comp - remodelled in a kinda Cruiser stylee

It certainly does - I almost prefer it to my cro-mega :cool:

PB120153.jpg


...and yes, the pivot bolts are alloy - but having nearly faceplanted on my first ride I don't have any worries about the strength of them!
 
chrisv40":3vv5ztlb said:
Superb :D

Does it ride as good as it looks?

One little thing that concerns me is the canti mounting bolts, are they aluminium?

sure are, I have exactly same ones on a couple of bikes here... I know the risks!
 
Yes, I've always like the out and out XC racer profile the most. I'm also lucky that even at my advanced age I still don't get a stiff neck or dodgy back.

The one concession to comfort I did make was to swap the Hyperlite bar I originally fitted for a 501 steel bar in the hope it would be a little more 'forgiving' than the stiff alloy one...

PB120146.jpg


...complete with tatty original decal ;)
 
The one problem I am having with the build as pictured is I simply cannot get the rear mech to index properly :?

I put that down to the fact it's an 8-speed cassette...

PB120149.jpg


...that even with the 'hidden' eigth position (which isn't actually a 'click' at all...) will not change cleanly and slips under pressure. I had to quickly flick the shifter to friction mode to get anywhere.

I think I'll get myself a new 'Sunrace' 7-speed cassette to replace it.

The mech itself I got a little carried away with :oops:

The jockeys were well worn (not the only problem I found with it...) so I took the opportunity to replace them with the 3DV alloy wheels in the photo' - 10T upper, 11T lower (I did have 11T in both but it put the chain too close to the big cogs!).

I also had an original Avid alloy Rollamajig in purple but I left it on my Kilauea that I rebuilt for my daughter - because I didn't envision needing anything purple in the foreseeable future! Luckily the purple Crud Cog Hog came up on eBay so I paid a stupid price to ensure I got it!!

The sharp-eyed out there will notice the dodgy bolt on the cable clamp; that arose when I went to tighten the allen nut and found out that the thread was stripped! The perils of trusting a sellers description on eBay I guess :cry:

I think I have a spare removed from an old mech so I shall have to have root around in my 'box-of-bits' and see if I can find it??

I had a similar problem with the XT canti's which were still a bargain despite being missing one of the post clamps - eBay again! :cry:

Luckily I had a non-matching spare that does the job more than adequately - and you can't really spot it under the mud... ;)
 
The front mech I could have used a top-pull, but then I would have had a redundant roller...

PB120098.jpg


...which would have been a shame after all the effort it took to free it up from under god-knows how many years' layers of rust!

Anyway, that's how it came from the factory so that's how I wanted it - n'owt wrong wi' a bit o' authenticity arter all :D
 
Love it. Just in the process of rebuilding my MaxTrax - much further down the feeding chain but same gorgeous purple. (Only reason I bought the bike originally (in 94?)). Best frame colour bar none (in my humble opinion :) )

You're spot on about the bit of tubing through the metal noodle, btw. Mine originally came with a short length of black plastic tubing inside the metal (still using it, actually). Interesting route on the bottom pull mech, btw (and I agree 100% about having the roller and not using it, had to get a hammer to allen bolt on my roller on mine this morning to get it out) - seem to remember always running mine down the other side of the roller - thus avoiding the cross over wire - guess it depends on the mech you're using though. :)

Really, really nice bike though. Top work. :)

p.s. Like the chill pill and the cog hog (my 3dv one split years ago). Proper 90's :cool:

p.p.s. Personally I find the bolt on the rear mech quite true to MTB as I remember it (although not pretty). I dread to think the amount of canti's I wrecked BITD by overtightening, striping the thread and then drilling through, chucking a nut underneath and a long bolt on top.
 
:LOL: Yes, I thought I'd get a comment or two on my choice of cable routing for the front mech!

The thing is, I tried it both ways and (comparing it to my under-BB routed frame) the cable seemed to fall more naturally to the right of the roller and 'looked' better for being parallel to the seat tube... :roll:

PB120130.jpg


...looks better from this angle ;)
 
Wheels are tried and tested Mavics I filched off SWMBO's Stumpy...

PB120131.jpg


...and I was glad to find out the 'WildSlippers'...

PB120134.jpg


...(complete with matching valve cap! :roll: ) didn't live down to their rather uncomplimentary pseudonym!
 
Ah, the obligatory spec sheet before I forget again! :oops:

Frame: ..............Saracen Tange Prestige Cro-Mo yada, yada, yada...

Fork: .................Unknown matching Reynolds 531 threaded 1 1/8 with a steerer extender

Headset: ...........Dia Comp Aheadset
Stem: ...............Saracen 130mm 5 degree (inverted)
Handlebar: .........Reynolds 501 cromo
Grips: ...............Ritchie TrueGrips
Barends: ...........XLite

Brakes: .............XT M735
Brake Pads:........rubber/black
Brake Cables:......Clarks XTR-style
Cantilever cable hangers:front-Marzocchi enhancer thingy/rear-built-in noodle
Brake Levers:......XT

Shifters:.............XT 7-speed thumbies
Front Derailleur:...XT M735
Rear Derailleur:....XT M735
Derailleur Cables:Clarks XTR-style
Cassette:...........soon to be replaced Shimano 8-speed HG??
Chain:................Clarks 7-speed (only black, well brown/navy blue, I could find!)
Cranks: ..............Ritchey Logic
Crank Bolts:........unbranded 3DV alloy self-extractors
Chainrings:.........Sugino
Chainring bolts:...unbranded 3DV alloy
Bottom Bracket:..UN73 115mm
Pedals:..............unbranded 3DV/alloy

Hub Skewers:......XT
Rims:.................Mavic X221
Hubs:................Deore rear/Parallax front
Nipples:.............yes
Spokes:............several
Tyres:...............Biscuit Michelin WildGrippers
Tubes:..............black & round

Saddle:.............Flite Ti
Seatpost:..........Kalloy
Seatpost Binder:OEM

Weight:...........to follow

To be honest the photo's flatter it - in the metal it looks like what it is, a near enough 20-year-old bike, but this was never going to be a Prima Donna show-bike with the battered frame I started out with. It is, though, an honest-to-goodness retro XC racer in the truest fashion :cool:
 
Back
Top