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85 Saracen conquest....what have i started!.....Finished!
- Thread starter Tootyred
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Guinessisgoodforyou
Retro Wizard
Both very nice 
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forever trying to copy those early Saracens, I ended up with a British Eagle instead, from sometime around 1985/6 -ish
...and ever so slightly better than the Saracens when out on the trails, its secret being that its built from road tubing
and a bigger more suitable size
Tee hee!
...and ever so slightly better than the Saracens when out on the trails, its secret being that its built from road tubing
and a bigger more suitable size
Tee hee!
Guinessisgoodforyou
Retro Wizard
I like a few of British Eagle bikes, not familiar with the mtbs though.
grey-beard
Orange 🍊 Fan
My first ATB was a British Eagle Inferno! I think it was a reynolds tubed thing, huge frame, far too big for me, but I'd love to still have it.
Mod-Master
Cannondale Fan
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The deer head groupset just looks awesome!! If I’m right deerhead hubs as well? I’m too lazy to look back at the thread
Would love a mid 80s Mtb, just getting too expensive nowadays…
Would love a mid 80s Mtb, just getting too expensive nowadays…
As for sizing...they are not exactly small bikes...its just im freakishly tall .
To give you an idea, the saddle is set for me at 6'4" tall. Frame measures as...
C to T 22"
C to C 21"
Head tube 7"
Top tube c to c 22.5"
I think there was a size bigger (25") originally, but I've never seen one...they were designed to have tiny seatposts, the originals only have 6" max out the frame! The stand over, if you got the "right" size for your height must have been frighteningly close, especially in an off road bail out....once again more akin to sizing an 80s Raleigh equipe!
To be honest, it really needs a pilot closer to 5'10" / 6' ish to get the full touring/ adventure capacity out if it.
Its got to be remembered that these were never designed as what we now perceive as a mountain bike. Even Saracens advertising till 86 sold them as "all terrain bikes". The geometry ( as with many early 80s mtbs, has more in common with a touring bike than a late 80s NORBA geometry frame. Long chain stays and forks offset for stability, just beefier tubing for more strength.
Funnily enough if you compare this to a brand new Stanforth Kibbo (kibbo is a stop off point on Kilimanjaro) they are frightening similar. Although thats hardly surprising as Simons dad, paul was the man at Saracen for a good while.
So the good old Saracen Conquests legacy lives on......its an important bike imho, not only one of the first commercial mtbs in uk, but one that drew mountain bikes into the imagination of many through the Crane brothers exploits and saracens advertising.
.To give you an idea, the saddle is set for me at 6'4" tall. Frame measures as...
C to T 22"
C to C 21"
Head tube 7"
Top tube c to c 22.5"
I think there was a size bigger (25") originally, but I've never seen one...they were designed to have tiny seatposts, the originals only have 6" max out the frame! The stand over, if you got the "right" size for your height must have been frighteningly close, especially in an off road bail out....once again more akin to sizing an 80s Raleigh equipe!
To be honest, it really needs a pilot closer to 5'10" / 6' ish to get the full touring/ adventure capacity out if it.
Its got to be remembered that these were never designed as what we now perceive as a mountain bike. Even Saracens advertising till 86 sold them as "all terrain bikes". The geometry ( as with many early 80s mtbs, has more in common with a touring bike than a late 80s NORBA geometry frame. Long chain stays and forks offset for stability, just beefier tubing for more strength.
Funnily enough if you compare this to a brand new Stanforth Kibbo (kibbo is a stop off point on Kilimanjaro) they are frightening similar. Although thats hardly surprising as Simons dad, paul was the man at Saracen for a good while.
So the good old Saracen Conquests legacy lives on......its an important bike imho, not only one of the first commercial mtbs in uk, but one that drew mountain bikes into the imagination of many through the Crane brothers exploits and saracens advertising.
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Saracengirl
Retro Newbie
I hope you don’t mind, but can I help with any questions regarding Saracen? There are a number of facts in your piece that are incorrect about its heritage. Saracen cycles were first built at the back of a cycle shop in Kenilworth, Warwickshire. However. These were not mountain bikes, just road bikes and were on frames provided by Knights at one time. The helmet on the badge was that of a Saracen, not a connection to Knight cycles. The first ATB was built by hand in Warwick and sold across the UK. I provided the two bikes to Nick and Richard straight out of our stock and at short notice for their trip up Kilimanjaro. The company was sold to Bluemels to help the Company grow. Actually, it was a successful partnership until Bluemels lost money in their branded goods and went bust. Saracen was hitting every one of its monthly targets and was thriving, but got sold to the Stanforth Brothers who ruined it by buying crap from abroad and using its hard earned reputation to pull them along. You are right one thing though, a great hand built British brand was lost forever. This I know because my dad, Brian Staples, founded Saracen and my mum and myself worked in it right up until Stanforths got their grubby hands on it. Every bike was hand built to order, and size or colour and we were extremely proud of our product.
Saracengirl
Retro Newbie
The Saracen ATB was never built by Knights and the headbadge was unconnected to them. The Cranes ended up with the 2 bikes because someone let them down last minute, and as an 18 year old girl in charge for a fortnight, I took pity and sent them from our stock to help them out. Not a bad last-minute decision as it turned out!!
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