Bankrupt saracen frame's.

[Pointer]

Do they have Saracen stamped on the dropouts? I see they have the pierced top tube, mine also has a 'S' at the rear behind the seat tube - pressed into the steel.
My 93 Sahara Elite frame at home looks very similar, the main tubes are oversized Tange DB, while the rest is standard Chromoly. Fairly heavy but quite nice ride/proportions.

 

[drystonepaul]

Recommend checking out the other thread about these.
I've had two frames of John at Bankrupt Surplus. Good guy to deal with and worth asking him if you don't at first see what you are after.
I can verify that they are good quality genuine Saracen frames from back when Saracens were still decent bikes.
Information about model years etc. seems suprisingly difficult to find, probably due to the previously mentioned financial troubles and because Saracen bikes turned to s*** at the end of the 90's. Everyone has most likely burnt all their old catalogues and denies ever liking or even knowing about them. The brand has recently been bought by Madison, so maybe they'll start producing some nice steel again like they have with the Genesis range.

Anyway I've built up one of my frames so far, which I reckon is a 1997 frame. The other one is very similar to those already posted and I'm guessing it's a 1993 frame. I'm about 80% sure of my dates but I could easily be proved wrong.
Here's a some pictures of my Saracen tourer build up...

 

[lumos2000]

i think it was an 18" and yes it had the S stamped on the end of the top tube, they do look nice with black p2s, thinking of getting another one now :roll:

 

[andy.l]

Bought my gf's frame from them,she has had no problems with it whatsoever and rides it regular,for £17 it was a bargain

 

[silverclaws]

Yes, it is little details like that Ido admire on Saracen, on my tufftrax, I have cleaned out the stamped 's' on the frame and am planning to fill it with white metal, so it against the black colour of the frame stands out, rather like a car badge on the rear of a car. The 'Saracen'on the rear drop outs,that is a bit more tricky, the same idea for those, but will see if the big 's' works first.

Perhaps interesting or not, but my '92 Traverse elite, did not have the 'saracen' stamped into the rear dropouts, only my '93 frame has that.

The '92 frame was true temper avr tubing, the '93 frame is tange mtb tubing
The '92 frame had oval tubing, the '93 frame is round tubing except where the seat tube pierces the top tube, that bit is oval.

Might be a way to date the frames.

 

[bone_idle]

Here is my ebay frame just rebuilt as a commuter bike only weights 21lb thats with heavy old pedals. Running 42:16 perfect fit no half link or tensioners. These frames ride great, very comfortable on the backside

I am suprised they have not all been snapped up yet £20 for a new cromo frame is such a steal.

The other thing that suprised me is the paint job has turned out to be very durable not chipped at all after 6 months constant use.

[/img]

 

[legrandefromage]

Mine (now built up for the next door neighbour:

 

[Dead Rats]

here's one I've built up (cost £28 NOS delivered) for a mate over the last week with bits from the shed (inc. karma fork, brakes & seatpost) and cyfa's old crankset... the karma fork needs cutting down (gonna leave that until mate's fixed his riding position) and the ouchy saddle is on max as I don't want to put any marks on it. Pretty heavy this one, but a solid cheap XC bike which handles well.. It came with a 'Team Saracen' headbadge and I added my logo on seat tube and a Saracen sticker on the RH chainstay - a temp chainstay pro...

 

[drystonepaul]

Looks alright that Al. Are those wheels okay and did you use them in the end?

 

[Dead Rats]

Looks alright that Al. Are those wheels okay and did you use them in the end?

Cheers Paul... they're straight-ish but not very round done my best and thanks a million again, but looking for a rear to match my spare front which I might fit instead and keep these for a pub-hack (Araya RX-7 gunmetal on Deore LX hub if anyone has such a thing)