Saracen Adds New 29ers

We’ve just heard from Saracen that it’s launching two new bikes. Both 29ers and both designed for UK riders.

New to the range for 2017, the Zenith and Zenith Trail take a heap of inspiration from the ever-popular 27.5in Mantra range of bikes, with slight adaptions for the bigger wheels resulting “in a faster end product, built for durability and control.”

Saracen bikes are designed and tested in the UK and “designed with the weather and trails of this fair land in mind.” As if to press home the point, all Saracen hardtails have Crud Catcher bosses on the downtube.

In terms of use, Saracen reckons these two are just at home racing cross-country as they are flowing down the runs at Bike Park Wales. There are two spec levels, so let’s hop in at the top.

Saracen Zenith Trail – RRP: £1,399.99
At the top-of-the-range, sits the Zenith Trail with an RRP of £1,399.99. With a Rockshox Recon Gold DL Fork, Raceface Ride Single 32T Chainset, Shimano SLX RD-M7000 and Araya Double wall rims, Saracen says “it’s a serious beast to contend with on British trails. It provides a real racing alternative to those that previously would have been looking at the Mantra Elite and Mantra Trail carbon.”

Saracen Zenith – RRP: £949.99
Saracen has also designed “a real trail ripper with the Zenith” which comes neatly into Cycle to Work Scheme budgets… Spec-wise it comes equipped with a Suntour Raidon XC LO-R Fork, Shimano Deore FC-M627 36/22T Chainset and FDM-618/RDM-615 Derailleurs, Shimano RM-66 Hubs, Schwalbe Nobby Nic/Racing Ralph Tyres and Araya Double wall rims.
Simon Wild, product manager at Saracen, said: “We have worked really hard to get these two new bikes ready for the spring and are immensely proud of what we have created. The Zenith 29ers blur the boundaries between XC race and trail bikes. Fast handling trail whippets which are comfortable for long, mile munching days in the saddle.”

He said ‘mile munching’, folks. Time to get those 1:50,000 maps out for the summer, right? Anyway, we’ll bring you some more shots of these when they start shipping.