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  • New bike- Saracen Zen, anyone recommend?
  • codybrennan
    Free Member

    As the title says: new bike time, and I’m after a good do-it-all hardtail, which is my kind of thing.

    The 2014 Zen looks nice, good spec, and affordable. But some reviews say its a harsh ride.

    Any comments or opinions?

    cheers 😉

    droverjoe
    Free Member

    Hi Cody 😉

    Getting a hard-tail this time of year is a good move to start off with I think. If your riding is as muddy as everything around here in Hay-on-Wye (as I’m sure it is), keeping it simple is the way forward.

    I was attracted to the Zen when looking for a decent, all-rounder hard-tail and as you say, decent enough spec for the price and looked capable to handle a lot. (Not 100% convinced on the 2015 colour but horses for courses on that one I guess!)

    On the frame: in short, yes it is a fairly harsh and bumpy ride from the Zen. I think that’s probably the nature of the beast to some extent; a hard-tail with 140mm travel up front is never going to be smooth riding! Is it harsher than other bikes though? Yes probably. There’s certainly other hard-tail options (the Whyte 901 jumps to mind) that reportedly will liven up any trail (See ‘What Mountain Bike’ Review) and if you don’t mind SRAM, is nicely spec as well.

    On the spec for the Zen, you can’t go too far wrong with Deore drivetrain and brakes when on a budget and it’s nice it comes with a dropper as standard.

    Not had any personal experience with the Suntour fork but with 140mm of travel I would imagine it would be fairly flexy and confidence snapping on bigger hits and would be an early upgrade for me.

    Stock wheels at this price point tend to be fairly basic as well so again don’t be surprised if these need upgrading sooner rather than later. A decent wheelset can greatly improve a bike and its riding characteristics.

    It was these two last considerations that convinced me a custom built bike using the Zen frame would be most suited to me. So I’ve only had experience with the frame itself, as opposed to the complete bike. My build cost me over the £1,500 stock bike price tag (of the 2014 model) but whilst it’s no super bike, everything works well and is reliable. Important on those dark and wet nights! It’s based around 1 x 10 SLX drivetrain and brakes, XT hubs on Mavic Rims and a Revelation fork upfront.

    I’ve been really impressed with how it rides and handles. Not quite “do-it-all” as it’s definitely geared more towards aggressive trail or mountain riding; it can be quite a slog on more XC stuff. But it does handle pretty much anything you can throw at it, and as long your back end can take it, it will keep you riding. I’ve had lots of fun rides on it, which is what it’s all about I guess.

    Looking at the Zen stock bike 2015 I don’t think you can go too far wrong if you need a decent hard-tail to get you riding through the Winter months. Just be prepared to invest more money further down the line to upgrade certain aspects. Then again, that’s mountain biking, and part of the fun!

    (First reply so hopefully it’s of some use. I work in Drover Cycles, the bike shop in Hay-on-Wye so not a million miles from you. Feel free to pop if you have any further questions or get me on here; always happy to talk bikes to get me out of any proper work 😀 Good luck!)

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