Well it's finished - details in the second post.

And so it begins...

The basis is the below miserable looking 1989 Saracen Tufftrax salvaged from a life of scrap. It really is horrible.

It is now all stripped and the frame and forks will be will be going to the powder coaters tomorrow. I have no idea what colour to get it done in, I'll probably decide when I'm there. I like the pale blue it's in at the moment but then the olive drab of one of the bikes in my 80s thread did get me thinking...

A lot of the bits from the bike have been consigned to the round filing cabinet including the nasty plastic Exage brakes and pedals.

So far the parts I've salvaged from the bike/collected are:

Nitto golf club stem mmmm (the one where the top plate comes off and is held on with 4 allen key bolts)
3ttt Pro Compe flat bars though at only 560mm I think they're going to be too narrow, I feel I need something fat and wide EDIT: argh, they don't fit the Nitto stem, I need 22.2mm or 7/8" dia, bugger
Mountain LX Rear Mech
Mountain LX Front Mech
Mountain LX Cranks
Deore wide cantis
XT brake levers
DX 7+1 thumbies
XT M737 hubs on WTB rims (It's going to be a rider and as all my geared bikes are 8 speed it makes sense for this one to be as well.)

The brasso and emmery paper will see some action as some of the bits have gathered a few battle scars and I still need to source things like a headset etc. We shall see how this turns out.

Update 17th October

Back from the powdercoaters ooh it looks gorgeous! A big thanks to the wonderful chaps at J.R Finishright in Horsham for the blast and powdercoat. I wasn't fussed about the colour and left it up to them. They wanted some guidance so I said blue, whatever, leaving the shade up to them. It's come back a gorgeous powder blue (a bit like the On-One Pompino) a lighter shade than the original Saracen and they masked off the steerer crown, steerer thread and canti bosses without being asked, a nice touch

I have amassed most of the bits now. As I'm going to fit a Nitto golf club stem I need a set of 22.2mm (7/8") bars, Al is searching the shed of plenty though it may mean a trip to a motocross shop for a set of wide bars. Tyre choice is the next step, I'm thinking as it's going to be a cruiser a set of Schwalbe Fat Franks. The question is in black or white?

FINISHED!

Frame, forks, front & rear mechs and the seatpost stayed, the rest headed to the bin.

Here it is:

Frame: Saracen Tufftrax

Fork: Saracen Tufftrax

Headset: Tange Passage
Stem: Nitto "golf club"
Handlebar: yes, it has quite a wide one
Grips: Club Roost

Brakes: Shimano MT-62
Brake Pads: Ritchey
Brake Cables: Shimano XT
Cantilever cable hangers: Curve
Brake Levers: Shimano MT-62

Shifters:
Front Derailleur: Mountain LX
Rear Derailleur: Mountain LX
Derailleur Cables: Shimano
Cassette: HG70 11-28t (8 speed)
Chain: KMC
Cranks: Mountain LX
Crank Bolts: Shimano
Chainrings: BiOpace
Chainring bolts: Campagnolo
Bottom Bracket: YST threadless
Pedals: MKS

Hub Skewers: XT
Rims: WTB Dual Duty
Hubs: XT M737
Nipples: hee hee, nipples
Spokes: Sapim DB
Tyres: Specialized Rythm Lite
Tubes: Specialized

Saddle: Sele Italia Sprint, mmmmm suede
Seatpost: OEM
Seatpost Binder: bottom of the tool box special

You sure that's a Trekker, looks very similar to the 89 Tufftrax? The parts look identical to the mix supplied on the Tufftrax - Exage Country cranks, cantilevers & levers, Mountain LX R-mec & Deore thumbies.

you cannot call that in all seriousness HORRIBLE

it looks good in a roughassed way

get on with it then

a good save from the trash.

sorry to many silly comments have poped in my head . . .. . .

I am, frame and fork have gone to the powder coaters, they'll be coming back a slightly darker shade of blue in a few weeks.



Not sure at all to be honest, the Shimano decal was the only one on it so happy to be told otherwise so Tufftrax it is.



Shut it you.

I really like the stance of that bike. it looks bang one. Nice colour too.
Shame those chainrings are all bent out of shape...

Weren't giving much away from the title but I had a hankering it would be a Saracen!

Looks like a nice project. Intreged how the colour will look. Get some more "before" pics up if you have them. I love a transformation

Deffo a Tufftrax

Im watching this one , When you get it back from the powdercoaters ask them did the old powdercoat come off easiliy ............. If its anything like my 88 Trekker project the old Saracen supertough powdercoat will live up to its name

Yep, it's almost identical to the Tufftrax I have.... Although the fork on mine is different... Less of a sweep forward in it... Possibly because it's a smaller frame.

Will keep an eye on this one!

I like it something simple about a nice colour and fat tyres with skinny tubes

good save!

That's the only before pic you get, it's stripped and the frame and fork are being blasted and powder coated blue. The photo doesn't show how bad the rust was, no dents but plenty of the brown stuff poking through the paint.

Ok fella, well get a load of after pics up then