Saracen PBS

[jeed]

Parts Bin Special that is

Bought this Traverse secondhand in 1993 or thereabouts after my bike got nicked from my parent's garage. Raced in the Leisure Lakes and Tatton races, amongst others in the mid-90's, then relegated to commuting and luggage duties.

Felt sorry for it and the discovery of a little bmx track/jump set in the forest on my way to work set the cogs in motion...raided the parts box...voila. Comes complete with 10-year old snowflake front wheel that i built 10 years ago and couldn't be arsed taking apart when they weren't cool anymore

Looks messy but is an absolute blast to ride.

Frame: 1991 Saracen Traverse, Cro-mo, 18"
Fork: Cro-mo

Headset: STX threaded
Stem: Tioga
Handlebar: Random flat bar - weighs a ton
Grips: Odyssey BMX
Barends: nah

Brakes: Cheap Tektro v-brake (rear only)
Brake Pads: KoolStop
Brake Cables: Shimano
Brake Levers: Avid Speedial 7 (rear only)

Shifters: XT Thumbie (rear)
Front Derailleur: nope
Rear Derailleur: 97ish LX
Derailleur Cables: Shimano
Cassette: Shimano 13-32 7sp
Chain: SRAM
Cranks: 96ish DX
Crank Bolts: Shimano
Chainrings: Blue late-90s Middleburn 36
Bottom Bracket: Shimano square-taper
Pedals: GT 90s flatties

Hub Skewers: Shimano bog-standard
Rims: Fir Impes (front), Mavic 331 (rear)
Hubs: Hope titanium (front - blue ano) Shimano DX (rear)
Nipples: DT Swiss alloy (blue)
Spokes: Dt Swiss D/B
Tyres: Michelin Wildgripper

Saddle: Brooks
Seatpost: USE
Seatpost Binder: XT

Weight: 25.8 lbs

 

[doctor-bond]

I'm loving this: thin tubes and a brooks saddle - strawberries and cream.

And it gets ridden and has done for years .... spot on.

But no front brake?

Is there a good reason or did the parts bin run dry?

 

[Little Bob]

Don't know why but I think this is great.

It's a 'tool', as in it's built to do a job with no frills or superfluous adornments (not even a front brake...).

Wicked

 

[jeed]

Cheers...

Yup, parts bin ran dry...got an NOS XC Pro brakeset knocking around, but looking to sell that and anyway, would have been like gold-plating a pig.

Here it is in it's previous shopper incarnation! Exactly why it's got that dodgy soft-focus thing going on, i'm not too sure.

 

[Iwasgoodonce]

I have always liked Saracens from this time. Are those the original forks? Apart from them, this frame looks very similar to my Kili Flyer Comp from the year before. Where is the frame number? Is it on the rear canti bridge? Out of interest what is the number? Still got mine and am wondering if it is a similar sort of number.

 

[neilll]

I reckon that is earlier than 1991 chap...

 

[jeed]

Yup, original forks, think the Kilis came with the nice welded-through forks and the cheaper stuff like this had the regular type.

Frame number's on the rear bridge and is D021306

 

[Iwasgoodonce]

Cheers, mine is BO4 3018. Mine had (I think) Tange Big Forks. These were curved but didn't have a lot of taper. They were also heavy. My bike actually lost weight when I changed them to Tange Shock Blades.

 

[neilll]

Cheers, mine is BO4 3018. Mine had (I think) Tange Big Forks. These were curved but didn't have a lot of taper. They were also heavy. My bike actually lost weight when I changed them to Tange Shock Blades.

I've got a 1991....behind me right now....had the same big Tange forks, they got lost which is good news....will check the serial number shortly...