Newbie's - Saracen Tuff Trax 1987ish - first retro bike

mattrixdesign2

Retro Guru
I have been lurking on these forums for a few months, fascinated by the retro bikes that I used to long for BITD... My first proper MTB was a Raleigh Apex, a size too big, and not the lightest bike, but it had a flex stem :cool: (well it seemed it at the time!)... zoom ahead a many years and now back into biking with a modern road bike and MTB. Recently felt the need for something retrotasitc and to use for local errands, bad weather, fun and dragging the youngest's trailer bike!

So I bought this from Ebay for £28 (didn't want to spend much on my first effort)

Some replies on this thread about the bike...

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=197466

...have narrowed it down to a Saracen Tuff Trax circa 1987.

First lot of pics are as the bike was the day after I got it...
 

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Just wrestling getting photos up at the mo :cry:

EDIT getting there!
EDIT Done it!
 

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MORE
 

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Nice, I have one of these in the shed waiting to be built up.

Yes '87, and you can easily adapt V-brake blocks to fit your U-brake (Kool-Stop, of course ;) )

Good luck with it, Matt.
 
I have a soft spot for the Tuff Trax. It was the first decent mountain bike I ever slung a leg over. It would have been a year or two newer than yours, a sort of cyan blue.

Yours ticks another box in as much as it has a U brake.

Did I say welcome to the forum?
 
Its a bit of an odd find, mechanically is sound, everything works how it should, no wobbles, clunks etc.

However the paint is knackered, faded and lots of "rust" spots, I presume its rust, the paint is raised all over.

All the parts look really good.

Most parts are shimano, inc SIS rear mech, thumbies, canits, u-brake, even the brake pads are shimano, and are perhaps even the original ones, cable outers seem OK, some of the inners need replacing, but shifting/indexing well.

The crank and stem are Sakae(sp), its got those wierd Bio-Pace oval rings, my Apex had them - weird stuff.

I have given the parts are good degrease, there is some serious stubborn dirt places but it will eventually budge.

Any ideas what I can do on the frame, I don't expect the paint work to look like new, but would a T-Cut and Polish be a good idea, just wiping it with WD40 gave it a new shine?

The front wheel is also buckled, is it worth keeping the wheels? I certainly need to add some tyres which I have already.

The bike is going to be used, and not a display piece... but any tips welcome.
 
Thanks for the welcome and replies!

I like it here, not sure I have much to offer, but like reading what you lot get up to, some fantastic work and effort :D
 
mattrixdesign2":1y43m0bj said:
I like it here, not sure I have much to offer, but like reading what you lot get up to, some fantastic work and effort :D

You have plenty to offer, lots of us here enjoy this sort of thread :D .

Nice project, you can see straight away that this could be very presentable with some tlc. I'd try and make the best you can of the original paintwork with a t-cut or other colour restorer and try to salvage the original wheels too if you can.
 
Right then, T-Cut and Polish will do it for now.

I need to get my road wheel made true, so I may take this wheel in aswell, but the spokes do seem loose all around, I don't want to pay for a rebuild.

If I keep the wheels is there any tip for getting them looking good, the spokes and rims have got quite dull, is it just a case of elbow grease or can I add some wonder chemical?

What I like about the bike is every seems to be original parts, and made in Japan etc.

It needs new grips and pedals, I presume using modern stuff will fit fine?

Or can you suggest something old skool to keep it looking from its era? I know little about Saracens.

My bikes from those days were Raleighs and a Falcon :D
 
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