Help needed,Vintage frame info
Hi, I'm new to this forum,but been using the site for a while,so I'm thinking that you the Road.cc.users/readers.
Might be able to help?
I have a SARACEN racing frame and forks made with 531 tubing from the 1970's/1980's,
and I would like to find out some more information about the bike ?
So if anybody has any ideas where I could find out some more info (web sites)or has simular bike themselves or any info your help will be greatly recieved.
Thanks .Apres-mapk.
Singletrack MTB mag
road.cc on YouTube
you could ask on www.retrobike.co.uk?
posted by purplecup [188 posts] 8th February 2010 - 10:01
post a photo and I'll tell you what I know.
posted by neilwheel [81 posts] 8th February 2010 - 10:56
thanks, i'll try and get a photo up as soon as
possible,neilwheel.
and i'll look into retrobike tomorrow.
posted by Apres-mapk [5 posts] 8th February 2010 - 22:16
Hi, ok it's taken a while to get back but here are some photos it would be great if anybody has some info thanks.
Also all parts on the bike are shimano 600 also from same time,1970's / 1980's.
posted by Apres-mapk [5 posts] 17th February 2010 - 13:30
Looks like one of the original Saracens, from around '82, judging by the style of the 531 sticker and the components.
The company was based in or around the Wolverhampton area and I think it grew out of the original Tower Cycles factory. They used to supply a lot of bikes as 'own-label' notably to Evans and Eclipse but some places stocked them under the Saracen label. The company was sold in '87 to the Stanforth brothers who changed the company's direction to focus on the booming MTB market. Production stayed in the UK for a few years, but eventually moved to the Far-East.
The quality of the original Saracens was passable, but not up to the standard of rival 'own-label' production builders Holdsworthy. They weren't the straightest frames I've come across, but rideable and good for recreational use. Paintwork was variable quality, but yours looks reasonable given its age.
I wouldn't go so far as to describe it as 'Vintage' ... just getting on a bit. Too many were built to make it a collectable, but nevertheless it's a reminder that the UK once had sizeable bike and framebuilding concerns.
It's of possible interest to historians in the West Midlands given the number of bikes that were built in the area (its not just Raleigh of Nottingham who built bikes) and the fact that the Saracen factory was probably one of the last to survive.
This link HERE will give you some idea of just how many bike builders there once was in the Wolverhampton area alone.
Its a sad reminder of the sheer numbers and diversity of bike manufacturers we once enjoyed in the UK; a time when there was hardly a British town or city without a local bike builder to be proud of.
posted by neilwheel [81 posts] 17th February 2010 - 19:59
Hi,thanks alot neilwheel,this info will be helpful.
posted by Apres-mapk [5 posts] 18th February 2010 - 8:42