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

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 (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...

Nice. Don't forget to put a picture on the Saracen Lovers' thread.

Just wrestling getting photos up at the mo :cry:

EDIT getting there!
EDIT Done it!

MORE

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

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

Click to expand...

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

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