90s Saracen help needed!
- Thread starter Lorenzo24
- Start date
bikeworkshop
Old School Grand Master
To chrome plate, the surface has to be incredibly well prepared.
It's a huge amount of work.
The (Marsh iirc) bars now look like they are new, although a vgc pair could be had for similar money.
It's a huge amount of work.
The (Marsh iirc) bars now look like they are new, although a vgc pair could be had for similar money.
Finally, after a year of messing about on the internet and looking for help on how to rebuild my first ever retro MTB I have managed to pull together version 1.0. of my Saracen bike from the mid 90s. It's not been without its challenges and there has certainly been some money spent (and wasted!) on parts that I didn't need and tools that I didn't know how to use but its been amazing fun. I'm defo looking forward to continuing the build and maybe even trying a new bike to work once I've worked out where to keep it all!.
First things first: I realise this version doesn't meet the high standards of some of the amazing bikes I see on here! I tried to rebuild this bike based on the theory that it wasn't an identifiable model (see earlier posts and pic 1) so therefore was flexible to playing around with a mix of original parts but also some repro modern/retro parts. This was mostly about money, time and general lack of skills when it came to fixing things myself...
Things I've learnt so far!
Don't just buy everything you need over the course of months and months and start rebuilding when you think you have everything you need. It meant that I accumulated a lot of parts without really knowing if they fit or work on the bike frame I had. A lot didn't sadly! I have a bag of spare stems, brakes and all sorts!
One of my big investments from Ebay was a Shimano STX Special Edition groupset. I really liked the gun metal look and went style over substance. Sadly the gears mechanisms were not in working order and by the time I tried fitting them on myself it was too late to realistically return them. I managed to use some parts of the groupset but not much more. So my groupset is a mix and match of Shimano STX and lower quality Shimano V brake system.
Not all bike parts are made equal... Turns out there are what feels like infinite sizes and types of handlebars, quill stems and other related parts. I spent months and months looking but I settled on a really nice Ritchey Force Stem by Nitto and a Ritchey Force handlebar (albeit not the right colours!) One for the next upgrade.
Original retro parts are hard to source and learning to compromise on what I needed to make the bike rideable and looking good was the balancing act! I loved my original seat, even though it was a bit scuffed, but I found most Shimano STX 731 pedals were in a very roughed up condition and I settled on some generic repro MTB pedals that best matched by STX groupset (that I didn't end up using a lot of!)
Decals - bought loads and road tested loads but in the end went for more discreet branding!
Tires! Still not sure I like the ones I chose but I ran out of money! Just needed the bike to work...
And that's it for now. I've been lurking on the site on and off this last year and thanks those of you that answered some of my silly questions. I've enjoyed this first build and although I didn't quite build the bike of my dreams I'm really happy with what I've landed on. I know I will adjust and tweak a few more times ( I will find that STX Special Edition groupset of my dreams!) and will now consider doing some sort of bike build course because the more I learnt the more I realised how little I knew!
First things first: I realise this version doesn't meet the high standards of some of the amazing bikes I see on here! I tried to rebuild this bike based on the theory that it wasn't an identifiable model (see earlier posts and pic 1) so therefore was flexible to playing around with a mix of original parts but also some repro modern/retro parts. This was mostly about money, time and general lack of skills when it came to fixing things myself...
Things I've learnt so far!
Don't just buy everything you need over the course of months and months and start rebuilding when you think you have everything you need. It meant that I accumulated a lot of parts without really knowing if they fit or work on the bike frame I had. A lot didn't sadly! I have a bag of spare stems, brakes and all sorts!
One of my big investments from Ebay was a Shimano STX Special Edition groupset. I really liked the gun metal look and went style over substance. Sadly the gears mechanisms were not in working order and by the time I tried fitting them on myself it was too late to realistically return them. I managed to use some parts of the groupset but not much more. So my groupset is a mix and match of Shimano STX and lower quality Shimano V brake system.
Not all bike parts are made equal... Turns out there are what feels like infinite sizes and types of handlebars, quill stems and other related parts. I spent months and months looking but I settled on a really nice Ritchey Force Stem by Nitto and a Ritchey Force handlebar (albeit not the right colours!) One for the next upgrade.
Original retro parts are hard to source and learning to compromise on what I needed to make the bike rideable and looking good was the balancing act! I loved my original seat, even though it was a bit scuffed, but I found most Shimano STX 731 pedals were in a very roughed up condition and I settled on some generic repro MTB pedals that best matched by STX groupset (that I didn't end up using a lot of!)
Decals - bought loads and road tested loads but in the end went for more discreet branding!
Tires! Still not sure I like the ones I chose but I ran out of money! Just needed the bike to work...
And that's it for now. I've been lurking on the site on and off this last year and thanks those of you that answered some of my silly questions. I've enjoyed this first build and although I didn't quite build the bike of my dreams I'm really happy with what I've landed on. I know I will adjust and tweak a few more times ( I will find that STX Special Edition groupset of my dreams!) and will now consider doing some sort of bike build course because the more I learnt the more I realised how little I knew!
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lewisflex
Retro Newbie
That's looking absolutely sweet. Thank you for prodding my dormant memories of how lovely 90s STX looked, especially in that slightly reddish silver.
Be kinder to yourself! I think you're building the bike you want to build, and as such, for you, it's the best bike in the world. If we all built to the same standard we'd all own the same bike and that would be boring.
Be kinder to yourself! I think you're building the bike you want to build, and as such, for you, it's the best bike in the world. If we all built to the same standard we'd all own the same bike and that would be boring.
