Saracen Eiger - too good for a donor bike?

gerryattrick

Retrobike Rider
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I just picked this up off Gumtree for £20. I bought it primarily for the parts for a couple of other early 90s bikes, but having looked at it after cleaning the dust off it it's quite a nice bike - if a bit garish!

As far as I can find out they were a special build for Halfords by Saracen.

It has been stored in a garage unused for around 15 years and everything works well without any adjustments. The braking surfaces on the rims still have a lot of the black finish on them. A mix of Exage 400/500LX & Deore LX kit.

I just don't know whether to keep this as it is and keep on looking for the parts for my other two builds. .
 

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It's rubbish!......you should karma it to me! ;) hehe.

I say for £20 whatever you do with it will be more than acceptable. If you bought it with the intention of using it as a donor bike, and have no other bicycle-related needs - commuter, tourer, hack, winter, etc...) then use it in the manner in which you intended.

Nice ride though :D
 
Its your bike to do what you want with but there is no way I could bring myself to split that. The worst you will do is double your money.
 
As above. but i'd say after a good strip clean you'll have a stunning example, and one i'd certainly hang on to
 
You are right about the link with Halfords. That one looks like a 1990 bike.
As far as I can tell the Eiger was virtually identical to the Tufftrax from the same year albiet in blue rather than magenta.
They both had a 400LX groupset.

The one you have appears to have had the crankset replaced at some point as it would've originally had a limited edition black version fitted.
You appear to have the original wheels and Tioga FJN tyres.
Nice to see it still has the original colour matched reflectors fitted too.

It is a nicely put together bike and the polyester powdercoat should stay looking great for another 20 years.

I have a 1989 Tufftrax which is almost built up to catalogue spec. It looks very similar and it's one that I will be hanging on to.
I've also got 1990 Eiger frameset and 1990 Tufftrax frameset too.

1990 catalogue is here for reference: --> http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/v/M ... 0.pdf.html
 
drystonepaul":1lwutcsj said:
You are right about the link with Halfords. That one looks like a 1990 bike.
As far as I can tell the Eiger was virtually identical to the Tufftrax from the same year albiet in blue rather than magenta.
They both had a 400LX groupset.

The one you have appears to have had the crankset replaced at some point as it would've originally had a limited edition black version fitted.
You appear to have the original wheels and Tioga FJN tyres.
Nice to see it still has the original colour matched reflectors fitted too.

It is a nicely put together bike and the polyester powdercoat should stay looking great for another 20 years.

I have a 1989 Tufftrax which is almost built up to catalogue spec. It looks very similar and it's one that I will be hanging on to.
I've also got 1990 Eiger frameset and 1990 Tufftrax frameset too.

1990 catalogue is here for reference: --> http://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery2/v/M ... 0.pdf.html

Agree with Paul, basically a Tufftrax with a different name. In my opinion it looks so original it'd be a shame to split.
 
Thanks for the replies. I'll keep it for a winter rider for the next five months or so.

But because all the components are in great condition and roughly period correct I think I'll use them on the MS Racing frame I'm rebuilding for next summer.
 
When it comes time to split it give me a shout, I might well be interested in whatever is left ;)
 
Can anyone tell me where I can find the frame number on my Saracen Eiger (see photo) and would I be able to find out how old the bike was if I had this (how/where)?

Thanks
 

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