Anyone got a Saracan Tourmalet?
latw5
Posts: 54
Hi guys,
I'm looking for a bit of advice. A mate of mines girlfriend has just started working for Saracan Bikes and as an employee she can get 50% discounts on any bike in their range!
I've obviously taken this as a signal to upgrade from a trek mountain bike with slick tyres to my first full road bike, which i have been thinking about for a while anyway.
My question is does anyone own a Saracan Tourmalet, and is it any good. Its catalogue price is £1000 which is out of my price range, but as i can stretch to around £500 then it seems a good bet to spend more with this opportunity.
Are there any good road bikes out there for £500 (full price) that people would recommend instead of the Touramlet - I just want the best bike possible, not too fussed about brand name etc - or is a grands worth of Saracan always going to be better than a £500 bike whatever the brand?
I havent done a test ride or anything yet, but would definately appreciate peoples thoughts on the matter!
Cheers
latw5
I'm looking for a bit of advice. A mate of mines girlfriend has just started working for Saracan Bikes and as an employee she can get 50% discounts on any bike in their range!
I've obviously taken this as a signal to upgrade from a trek mountain bike with slick tyres to my first full road bike, which i have been thinking about for a while anyway.
My question is does anyone own a Saracan Tourmalet, and is it any good. Its catalogue price is £1000 which is out of my price range, but as i can stretch to around £500 then it seems a good bet to spend more with this opportunity.
Are there any good road bikes out there for £500 (full price) that people would recommend instead of the Touramlet - I just want the best bike possible, not too fussed about brand name etc - or is a grands worth of Saracan always going to be better than a £500 bike whatever the brand?
I havent done a test ride or anything yet, but would definately appreciate peoples thoughts on the matter!
Cheers
latw5
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It' the devil and the deep blue sea syndrone a great discount (50% is that right?) and the brand Saracen. I have never owned a bike from that company only riden a few(mtb's) and I have found them to be rather "bland" and unexciting. Imo I would rather go for trek, spesh or gaint than saracen but then again thats just my opinion. Lets face it , riding a bike you don't really like is a total waste of time.....you pays your money,you know the rest, good luck0
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ii wouldn't buy a saracen for any money.
they look horrible, big ugly downtubes, and the ones i see being ridden sound really clunky.
i imagine a £1000 saracen is better than a £300 one, but it's a bit like comparing illnesses.0 -
hmm, quite glad i posted. thanks for the couple of replys
think i will test ride the £1000 saracen, but definately a £500ish trek and giant too - ive been really pleased with the trek mountain bike i have and would hate to go for a saracan and not feel its of good enough quality.0 -
the best that can happen is you get the saracen, it's not too bad and does you well for a number of years.
the worst that can happen is you get it, it's toss, it costs a lot to repair and you get really into road bikes during the interim, making you lust enviously after better, cheaper, lighter bikes and ride self-consciously around on your ugly steed.0 -
Previous posts are pretty uninformed in my view. 500 pounds Special Ed gets you an alloy frame with Jalco (yack!) rims, no name finishing kit and about 50% Sora. The frame is supposed to be pretty nice though.
The Saracen comes with a good chunk of the Veloce group set (in itself 260 odd pounds), 100 pounds worth of Mavic wheels and ITM finishing kit. Added to that, the frame has carbon stays, which allegedly improve the ride quality.
IMHO, you would be crazy to pass up a team deal like that for a Sora equipped generic bike.
Many people seem to be snooty about Saracen, Dawes, Claud Butler and Raleigh, forgetting that the vast majority of bikes have the same generic parts. This is foolishness, especially given that the Allez costs 100 pounds less in the US then it does in the UK.....0 -
not snooty about dawes, or about raleigh really.
bit snooty about claud butler.
quite snooty about saracen.
the build quality is poor. they look nasty.0 -
acorn_user wrote:Previous posts are pretty uninformed in my view. 500 pounds Special Ed gets you an alloy frame with Jalco (yack!) rims, no name finishing kit and about 50% Sora. The frame is supposed to be pretty nice though.
The Saracen comes with a good chunk of the Veloce group set (in itself 260 odd pounds), 100 pounds worth of Mavic wheels and ITM finishing kit. Added to that, the frame has carbon stays, which allegedly improve the ride quality.
IMHO, you would be crazy to pass up a team deal like that for a Sora equipped generic bike.
Many people seem to be snooty about Saracen, Dawes, Claud Butler and Raleigh, forgetting that the vast majority of bikes have the same generic parts. This is foolishness, especially given that the Allez costs 100 pounds less in the US then it does in the UK.....
I had a look to see what this bike was all about and I see the Saracen Tourmalet at this place doesn't seem to have any Veloce, more a bits and pieces job - which for a 1000 quid, I'd expect a higher standard.
http://www.discountbicycles.co.uk/jshop ... _Bikes.htm
The wheelset doesn't seem to get great reviews either - seems they are on the heavy side!! If this is the same build as what is on offer, I think for 500 quid it would probably be OK, any more and maybe look at alternatives, even if it means waiting a little longer to save a little more.0 -
i like the way you say that "previous posts are uninformed" and then summarise all of the advice given in the previous posts with your belated comments.0
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Well, the posts above were mostly "Saracen bikes are rubbish". Given that we are comparing a bike with a 1000 pound rrp which he can get for the same price as a 500 pound specialized, this would seem to be uninformed.
I agree that the discount bikes Tourmalet would not be on my list. The one on the Saracen cycles website is much better. It has Mavic Aksium wheels, alloy/carbon frame and Veloce. Veloce is a very nice groupset.
As for belated, I am five hours behind you guys right now.
"Apology accepted, captain
http://www.saracencycles.com/index.php? ... Itemid=241"0 -
at £500 you can't beat it, whether it is worth £1000 against others available at that price I doubt it, though compnents seem fine the frame is a bit of an unknown - could be good though, it is probably a mass produced far east frame similar to those offered by higher status brands.0
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i humbly accept your apology.
saracen bikes are rubbish.
but veloce is good.
aksiums on the heavy side.0 -
Please go and watch Star Wars. Young fool, only then will you truly understand the power of the dark side!
Aksiums might be considered heavy *for a one thousand pound bike*. Still wayyy lighter than my wheels.
Otherwise, let's agree to disagree. Generally, you can't beat team deals. I'm not a big fan of Cane Creek wheels, but at the team prices I have, I would be silly to buy anything else! Fortunately, as a postgraduate student, I still cannot afford them
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thought i'd throw in my tuppence worth, i would say give it a ride and compare it with the usual suspects at 500 quid, if it is the bike from the discounts page i would head to trek or spesh but if it is the bike from the saracen website and it rides nicely it seems a bit of a bargain at £500, especially if you think of it as a £500 bike not a £1000 bike, if this bike was being offered to the general public at £500 with this spec i think that it would feature on the reccomended list of quite a few people. with most of the veloce groupset (sadly missing the lovely new chainset) itm finishing kit and those mavic wheels (wouldnt most people be pretty pleased to get them on a £500 bike?). if it rides nicely it looks like a good deal.
don't forget to tell us what you decided and give us some info on what it rides like
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Saracen bikes aren't rubbish. They made some dodgy full sussers a few years ago but apart from that they're well made bikes at generally good prices. I've got a few of them and never had a problem. Read the mag reviews of the Zens - always scores well.
The Tourmalet looks good, at £500 its a steal, and the 07 model does have Veloce components, Top Bhoy didn't bother to check that it was the latest model.
Defintely get it latw50 -
stanny wrote:The Tourmalet looks good, at £500 its a steal, and the 07 model does have Veloce components, Top Bhoy didn't bother to check that it was the latest model.
Defintely get it latw5
Top_Bhoy didn't bother to check if it was the latest model because the OP didn't specify any year or spec, nor was I wasn't being adamant that the bike I linked to was indeed the one on offer - more a query!!! I made a very reasoned response in good faith!!
Stanny, I suggest you keep your personal crass remarks to yourself before opening your arse and letting your thoughts out.Wanker!!!0 -
There is a tourmalet in my local bike shop for £1000. I would not buy it for that money, but for half price and think it represents good value for money.
Not a 'sexy' brand but you are certainly getting a better all round bike than if you pay full RRP for a normal £500 bike. (mavic wheels and a decent groupset vs cheap crap wheels and budget groupset.)0 -
No need for that Top Bhoy0
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stanny wrote:No need for that Top Bhoy
For the reasons I gave earlier - There was every need!!!0
