My Saracen Kili Comp - remodelled in a kinda Cruiser stylee

[We_are_Stevo]

It certainly does - I almost prefer it to my cro-mega

...and yes, the pivot bolts are alloy - but having nearly faceplanted on my first ride I don't have any worries about the strength of them!

 

[Dead Rats]

Superb

Does it ride as good as it looks?

One little thing that concerns me is the canti mounting bolts, are they aluminium?

sure are, I have exactly same ones on a couple of bikes here... I know the risks!

 

[racer x]

Nice liking the low raze stem set up cool bike

 

[We_are_Stevo]

Yes, I've always like the out and out XC racer profile the most. I'm also lucky that even at my advanced age I still don't get a stiff neck or dodgy back.

The one concession to comfort I did make was to swap the Hyperlite bar I originally fitted for a 501 steel bar in the hope it would be a little more 'forgiving' than the stiff alloy one...

...complete with tatty original decal

 

[We_are_Stevo]

The one problem I am having with the build as pictured is I simply cannot get the rear mech to index properly :?

I put that down to the fact it's an 8-speed cassette...

...that even with the 'hidden' eigth position (which isn't actually a 'click' at all...) will not change cleanly and slips under pressure. I had to quickly flick the shifter to friction mode to get anywhere.

I think I'll get myself a new 'Sunrace' 7-speed cassette to replace it.

The mech itself I got a little carried away with

The jockeys were well worn (not the only problem I found with it...) so I took the opportunity to replace them with the 3DV alloy wheels in the photo' - 10T upper, 11T lower (I did have 11T in both but it put the chain too close to the big cogs!).

I also had an original Avid alloy Rollamajig in purple but I left it on my Kilauea that I rebuilt for my daughter - because I didn't envision needing anything purple in the foreseeable future! Luckily the purple Crud Cog Hog came up on eBay so I paid a stupid price to ensure I got it!!

The sharp-eyed out there will notice the dodgy bolt on the cable clamp; that arose when I went to tighten the allen nut and found out that the thread was stripped! The perils of trusting a sellers description on eBay I guess :cry:

I think I have a spare removed from an old mech so I shall have to have root around in my 'box-of-bits' and see if I can find it??

I had a similar problem with the XT canti's which were still a bargain despite being missing one of the post clamps - eBay again! :cry:

Luckily I had a non-matching spare that does the job more than adequately - and you can't really spot it under the mud...

 

[We_are_Stevo]

The front mech I could have used a top-pull, but then I would have had a redundant roller...

...which would have been a shame after all the effort it took to free it up from under god-knows how many years' layers of rust!

Anyway, that's how it came from the factory so that's how I wanted it - n'owt wrong wi' a bit o' authenticity arter all

 

[petitpal]

Love it. Just in the process of rebuilding my MaxTrax - much further down the feeding chain but same gorgeous purple. (Only reason I bought the bike originally (in 94?)). Best frame colour bar none (in my humble opinion )

You're spot on about the bit of tubing through the metal noodle, btw. Mine originally came with a short length of black plastic tubing inside the metal (still using it, actually). Interesting route on the bottom pull mech, btw (and I agree 100% about having the roller and not using it, had to get a hammer to allen bolt on my roller on mine this morning to get it out) - seem to remember always running mine down the other side of the roller - thus avoiding the cross over wire - guess it depends on the mech you're using though.

Really, really nice bike though. Top work.

p.s. Like the chill pill and the cog hog (my 3dv one split years ago). Proper 90's

p.p.s. Personally I find the bolt on the rear mech quite true to MTB as I remember it (although not pretty). I dread to think the amount of canti's I wrecked BITD by overtightening, striping the thread and then drilling through, chucking a nut underneath and a long bolt on top.

 

[We_are_Stevo]

Yes, I thought I'd get a comment or two on my choice of cable routing for the front mech!

The thing is, I tried it both ways and (comparing it to my under-BB routed frame) the cable seemed to fall more naturally to the right of the roller and 'looked' better for being parallel to the seat tube... :roll:

...looks better from this angle

 

[We_are_Stevo]

Wheels are tried and tested Mavics I filched off SWMBO's Stumpy...

...and I was glad to find out the 'WildSlippers'...

...(complete with matching valve cap! :roll: ) didn't live down to their rather uncomplimentary pseudonym!

 

[We_are_Stevo]

Ah, the obligatory spec sheet before I forget again!

Frame: ..............Saracen Tange Prestige Cro-Mo yada, yada, yada...

Fork: .................Unknown matching Reynolds 531 threaded 1 1/8 with a steerer extender

Headset: ...........Dia Comp Aheadset
Stem: ...............Saracen 130mm 5 degree (inverted)
Handlebar: .........Reynolds 501 cromo
Grips: ...............Ritchie TrueGrips
Barends: ...........XLite

Brakes: .............XT M735
Brake Pads:........rubber/black
Brake Cables:......Clarks XTR-style
Cantilever cable hangers:front-Marzocchi enhancer thingy/rear-built-in noodle
Brake Levers:......XT

Shifters:.............XT 7-speed thumbies
Front Derailleur:...XT M735
Rear Derailleur:....XT M735
Derailleur Cables:Clarks XTR-style
Cassette:...........soon to be replaced Shimano 8-speed HG??
Chain:................Clarks 7-speed (only black, well brown/navy blue, I could find!)
Cranks: ..............Ritchey Logic
Crank Bolts:........unbranded 3DV alloy self-extractors
Chainrings:.........Sugino
Chainring bolts:...unbranded 3DV alloy
Bottom Bracket:..UN73 115mm
Pedals:..............unbranded 3DV/alloy

Hub Skewers:......XT
Rims:.................Mavic X221
Hubs:................Deore rear/Parallax front
Nipples:.............yes
Spokes:............several
Tyres:...............Biscuit Michelin WildGrippers
Tubes:..............black & round

Saddle:.............Flite Ti
Seatpost:..........Kalloy
Seatpost Binder:OEM

Weight:...........to follow

To be honest the photo's flatter it - in the metal it looks like what it is, a near enough 20-year-old bike, but this was never going to be a Prima Donna show-bike with the battered frame I started out with. It is, though, an honest-to-goodness retro XC racer in the truest fashion