Bikes & Gear

Reviews

Bike Features

Workshops

Buyers Guides

Saracen Mantra

Change Currency What's this?
Saracen Mantra

BikeRadar verdict

4.5 out of 5 stars

"Very heavy, but proper hardcore handling and strength on a shoestring"

11 comments
Tue 3 Jul 2007, 1:00 am BSTBy

Shopping partners

It's brave to try and create a proper hardcore character bike at a price where most companies are struggling to string together a decent conventional ride. But we think Saracen has done a damn good job. For a start, you'd be hard pressed to tell that the frame alone didn't cost £300.

Frame

The broad rimmed wheels can cope with plenty of abuse

With its massive oval to squared down tube and big strengthening gussets at both the reinforced head tube and seat tube junctions this is a properly tough frame that'll handle drops and rocks with aplomb. The pronounced 'S' curve of the rectangular stays also gives massive muddy tyre clearance and there's plenty of standover room too. However, the bolted seat collar is dying for a switch to a QR to make it easy to drop the seat for really steep descents.

Ride

The ride position pushes your weight forward to work the fork and nail cornering traction, while the big, wide bar and short stem give a fast, power assisted steering feel that's perfect for slithering through the tightest single track. In fact, if you're not spending as much time as possible with both wheels sideways or counter steering madly then you're missing the point.

The big tubes and hefty weight keep you surefooted on the trail too, thundering downhill with real authority and steamrollering through a remarkable amount of rough stuff before getting kicked off line. The RST fork works okay swallowing mid-sized rocks happily and only bounced back with a harsh top out when you properly clout something.

Also, while it was reluctant to give more than 80mm of its claimed 120mm of travel, that actually stopped the front end diving badly when we heaved on the brakes. Thankfully the tyres are big enough to add some subtlety to landings off larger drops too. The hefty overall weight of the bike is obvious on the trail. To be fair though, the stiff frame dug in and did its best to muscle its way up hills or out of corners.

Equipment

Saracen has done a great job of getting the crucial kit bits right too. The broad rimmed wheels can cope with plenty of abuse and give a chunky profile to the already broad 2.35in tyres and the gearing pedigree is par for the course.

The reinforced scuff proof saddle is a wise choice, but the plastic guard is definitely just a trouser defender not a log and rock defeater though. Plus, while the cable discs are spongy and delayed in action, they do offer more wet weather power and Saracen couldn't really have pulled off the hardcore look without them.

Any bike that weighs close to 40lb is always going to be hard to lug uphill or keep going all day, but the Saracen is worth the effort for those planning to push the limits of their riding. The frame and handling is excellent for playing tough in tight technical terrain.

What's the score with BikeRadar reviews? You can find a full explanation of our ratings here.

You might also like...

User Reviews

There are 11 reviews on this post

Showing 1 - 11 of 11 comments

  • Excellent bike overall. just be careful with tightening the cranks. beware of the disk buckling on the back but can be straightened with your hands!!

  • My mate had one and he so many problems with it. One time the actual frame snapped in half, doing the tinyest of jumps. Another time, his fork snapped! He was not impressed with it and has got rid of it since, dont blame him!

  • Bought one, hope it's good! Saracen have never let me down before with their bikes. Fingers crossed.

  • I had one for a while, only problem i had with it was the crank arm snapping on me! put decent crans and bashguard and didn't have any more problems. Brake's not too good mind.

  • my mate dropped his off a cliff by accident, got nothin to do with how it rides but it shows wat he feels about it.

    some how it survived the only thing was the seat that bent. bloody hard to get back up the cliff, we did have a bloody good laugh though.

  • Strengths:

    Great control because of where it puts your weight, almost unbreakable and very light frame (the wheels and the forks are the main source of weight), excellent value for money.

    Weaknesses:

    Front forks could do with more travel, although the Bikeradar author found this good in some circumstances, slightly spongy breaks (tweak them or just upgrade to hydraulics and you'll be sorted), weight of the forks. Slightly heavy because of the mentioned kit but this is nitpicking as after a few rides you'll get used to it. The bolts on the stem are specialist so replacing them can be a nuisance.

    Overall:

    The weaknesses may appear to outweigh the strengths but they are just nitpicking really. This really is a good bike for the price e bracket that it occupies. A lot of people are against Saracen but this bike just goes to show that they can get it right sometimes.

    Hope this helps.

  • Great bike unstoppable on the downhill not great going up but that makes going down feel even better! Unbelievable value! If you ride trails and don't have much money this is the best bike out there. BUY IT.

  • a few months after i had my sarcen mantra and the frame broke and the gears so i have got a gt chucker frame and the parts from my saracen on to the gt chucker frame

  • The frame is superb if you snap this you clearly misinterpreted the hardcore xc part much tougher than my old mongoose tyax super and i used that for hardcore xc so no worries here. fork is one of suntours better efforts in this price bracket , still crap mind. The componentry is good as it does the job and should last well, and the frame definitely warrants upgrades. The geometry is curious but effective, a very tall bike being the 19" version but comfortable once on, well would be with a better seat. Brakes are appaling, though in cable terms they aren't that bad, fortunately the frame is hydraulic hose ready and i intend to make use of that. Tyres need upgrading very sketchy in the wet, bars are steel and look pathetic but upgrades are very cheap. Overall i'm impressed saracen have managed to create a bike that encourages you to ride harder and when you do break it solid upgrades are affordable (x7, tora's, hussefelt juicy 3's you see where i'm going) I'll update as the season progresses but based on first impressions 5/5

  • i have just had a saracen mantra1 of my son after parting with my marin rockyridge 2008 i found it a bit heavy i have changed the bars,stem.seat and wheels this has made a big difference the old wheels and tyres weighed in at massive 14 lb its a great bike.

  • On the report I bought two Mantras anda DX for myself, and my disabled sons who thrash bikes, wse have never looked back.

    Have fitted Rock Shox (air on mine, spring on theirs) allow wingbars and risers and a few extras.

    Superb bikes, and as I am "heavy" and fifty, the braking stops me very well indeed, no complaints at all.

Submit Your Review:

You need to login or register to post comments.

Specification

Name:
Mantra
Built by:
Saracen
Price:
n/a

Available Sizes:
15 Inches, 17 Inches, 19 Inches
Available Colours:
Black
Weight (kg):
17.19

Frame & Fork:

 
Fork Brand:
RST Gila T7

Transmission:

 
Gearing:
24/32/44
Rear Derailleur Brand:
Shimano
Rear Derailleur Model:
Shimano Althus
Front Derailleur Brand:
Shimano
Front Derailleur Model:
Shimano C050
Shifters Brand:
Shimano
Shifters Model:
ST-EF50 EZ Fire

Wheels:

 
Rims Brand:
Sun
Tyres Brand:
Bontrager
Front Tyre Model:
Jones ACX
Front Tyre Size:
26x2.35
Rear Tyre Model:
Jones ACX
Rear Tyre Size:
26x2.35

Contact Points:

 
Saddle Brand:
Saracen
Seatpost Brand:
Saracen
Seatpost Model:
Saracen Blade
Stem Brand:
Saracen
Stem Model:
Saracen Blade

Related links

BikeRadar is not responsible for the content of external websites

Also on BikeRadar