Saracen Urban Cross 3

Unsurprisingly given its name, Saracen pitches the Urban Cross 3 as a machine designed to tackle city streets. Certainly, with its secure and comfortable ride, it does that very well. But it's got a lot more potential, and with a very competent spec including Shimano hydraulic disc brakes and Deore gears, it's a fantastic all-round leisure bike.

• Pros: Very comfortable, stable and assured; good gears and brilliant brakes; surprisingly fun off-road
• Cons: Front end is more relaxed than exciting; stock tyres only good in the dry; be careful with sizing

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Ride quality

The first sensation that hits you after jumping aboard the Urban Cross is how easy everything feels. The front end is particularly relaxed: it's not sloppy, but it's certainly not fast and lively. That might be to do with the Suntour 75mm suspension fork, which goes a long way to help you survive an army of speed bumps, even at speed. Locking out the fork helps a bit with control, but it's still not a dynamic front end. In any case, I'd rather plump for the benefit of the extra bump insulation and accept the leisurely control.

However, while the Urban Cross 3 might not naturally feel super-exciting, it is fantastically stable and comfortable. Cruising is a relaxing experience and getting up to speed is no great chore. Overall, balance is very good, too. I'll talk about the Urban Cross 3's Schwalbe Tyrago tyres in more detail later, but I wasn't always completely convinced by the grip they were offering. However, the natural stability of the bike made up for it and there was never any need to panic, even when travelling at speed.

While stability trumps excitement with this Saracen, climbing is actually pretty rewarding. Helping this particularly is the Urban Cross 3's efficient back end. The suspension seatpost helps to take the sting out of big hits but the frame already seems to tread quite a nice line between forgiveness and effective power delivery. Certainly, you won't get off the Urban Cross 3 feeling like you've been in a fight.

Position

In fact, if there's any fighting to be done, it'll happen before you ever spin a pedal. Getting into a good position on the Urban Cross 3 proved a bit more troublesome than I expected. One small annoyance is the fact that the handlebar only has a single intermittent central line for lining it up correctly in the stem clamp. Of course, once you've set the bar up as you want it, that issue may never affect you again, but it irritated me.

More important to understand is the Urban Cross 3's geometry. I have a relatively long torso and relatively short legs (and short arms and deep pockets), so normally getting the length right can be a bit of a chore. But the reach on the Saracen was pretty good; another 10mm on the stem would have made it perfect. What I wasn't expecting was to find that I was getting dangerously close to maxing out the permitted seatpost. Having compared geometry with other similar models, it's clear that Saracen does run a relatively short down tube. For example, this 'medium' Urban Cross 3 has a 585mm horizontal top tube length with a 450mm seat tube, while a 'large' Specialized Sirrus has a 583mm horizontal top tube with a 510mm seat tube.

Indeed, the frame is quite a compact little number, made from custom butted 6061 alloy, with an 'XX44 head tube' (which allows the use of 1 1/8-1 1/2in tapered-steerer forks in straight, 44mm head tubes) and a lot of tube manipulation and shaping going on at the rear dropout.

It's got a few useful commuting extras, too, such as mudguard and rear rack mounts. However, it's a little short on modern luxuries: there's no internal cabling, for example. Overall, though, it's a nicely finished, very mountain bike-inspired hybrid frame – just as you'd probably expect from Saracen.

Groupset

The last bike I tested was that Specialized Sirrus fitted with Shimano's entry-level Tourney kit. It's the closest I've come to feeling outright hatred for a Shimano product. Even though the Saracen's Deore setup is only supposedly middling quality, in operation the difference is stark. Shifts might not always be velvety smooth but it's super-reliable: everything works as and when you want it to. It's also easy to operate and durable.

In fact, the entire drivetrain is free from criticism. A Suntour XCM triple chainset does a good impression of being a SRAM product and, allied with the 10 speeds on offer at the back, provides enough gearing options to tackle anything. I don't think I've even had to use the smallest gear, although I have spun out the tallest gear a couple of times.

The real jewel in the Urban Cross 3's crown, though, is the Shimano M365 hydraulic brakeset. Again, I've been testing bikes with other makes of hydraulic brakes or even V-brakes recently, and it's easy to forget how well sorted Shimano has got these relatively low-spec discs. Outright power is always there but the real beauty is how you can apply it so smoothly. It sounds strange to say, but it works so well, you don't even consciously realise you're braking; you're just using your mind (and a little bit of finger pressure!) to slow or stop.

Components

The feel or modulation that comes with the M365s is especially important because of those 35mm Schwalbe Tyrago tyres. In the dry, they're perfectly fine, but in damp conditions, especially with leaves and mud on the road, their grip seems just a little unreliable. Thankfully, the M365s gave me enough of an idea about how close the tyres were to losing adhesion that there were no lock-ups, but a tyre swap – especially for winter – would be my first upgrade.

The wheels the Tyragos are seated on are also nothing special. Double-walled Saracen alloy rims on KT hubs make for strong if heavy hoops. Again, on a very decent general use leisure bike they're nothing to complain about; on a self-professed urban jungle attack machine, they're a little underwhelming. They rolled nicely, though.

Other than a lack of position markers, the 720mm handlebar with Saracen lock-on grips feels good to use and the short stem is fine.  

The suspension seatpost works well, too, and I quite liked the Saracen Custom saddle – it won't need swapping out until you run out of other ideas for Christmas/birthday presents.

Value (and added value)

Saracen bikes are traditionally fair markers of what buyers can expect for their money from a typical mainstream brand, and the Urban Cross is no exception. There are cheaper similarly specced models available, and there are definitely more expensive options out there, but as a complete leisure bike package that works, you're certainly getting your money's worth.

> Buyer's Guide: 9 of the best hybrid/urban bikes

However, I wondered, by widening our expectations a little, could the Urban Cross 3 offer even more? With its mountain bike heritage, I decided to take it on a little trip off-road to see how it fared. On a damp and gloopy day, and still using those stock tyres, I had a blast. The frame's naturally benign handling and balance let you slip and slide to your heart's content. And while the 75mm of front end suspension is never going to let you do anything too extreme, it is enough to have a bit of fun on local trails.

So ignore all that business about 'negotiating the urban landscape'. Yes, as a daily commuter the Urban Cross 3 is a safe, comfortable and secure way to ride to work. However, expand your horizons slightly at the weekend and you've got a plucky little hybrid that is far more capable than you might imagine.

Verdict

Less an urban attack machine and more a very, very capable general use leisure bike