Newbie, Looking at a Saracen Mantra 2?

hammoj28
hammoj28 Posts: 6
edited May 2009 in MTB beginners
Hello,

Decided to buy a mountain bike as i need a sport to keep me occupied and keep fit.

I will mostly be riidng up tracks and going through woods as theres tons of em around here. I had a Saracen years ago and it was a pretty good bike i must admit.

Looking for a Hardtail.

I firstly set a budget of £200 and was looking at cheaper bikes but then decided i may aswel spend a bit more to get a decent bike so im guessing 300 is my limit as i have other hobbies to spend money on.....cars.

So i was quite pleased when i noticed the Saracen Mantra 2 is within my price range. It looks like a sturdy bike and has nice features.

But iv heard people complaining its heavy. How heavy can it be compared with other bikes? I cant actually find a weight anywhere?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I am rather taken with the mantra 2 though.

Sorry to go on.

Thanks

James

Comments

  • mtbikerboy
    mtbikerboy Posts: 325
    According to the bike radar reviews, the mantra 1(07) is 17.14kg and 3(2008) is 14.4kg so the 2 is probably somewhere in between there. For ideas, look at the what hardtail sticky as well as other threads going on recently in the buying advice section for the same budget.

    i have no experience with the mantra but i think you can get more bike for the money.
  • mtbikerboy
    mtbikerboy Posts: 325
    edited January 2009
    Just looking at the spec, the mantra has combined shifters and levers, which would make make it more complicated to upgrade the cable disc brakes later.

    A good option would be the Carrera Kraken which is now selling at £308 with the extra 10% halfords discount and VAT reduction. It also has much higher spec drivetrain components, hydraulic brakes and it will be lighter.
  • hammoj28
    hammoj28 Posts: 6
    Thanks for the reply. I v had a read through some of the stickies.

    Theres so much choice out there! Its scary.

    Im very confused with the Saracen, some people hate it and some people love it to bits. Think im gonna go sit on one and try it.lol I know i love how it looks.

    Iv been told about the carreras being good by someone else, will check them out,.

    Any opinions on this Scott bike? Seems a good price?

    http://www.langsettcycles.co.uk/product ... 1b0s2p5147

    Thanks again.

    James
  • xtreem
    xtreem Posts: 2,965
    The GT Avalanche 2.0 2008 Disc is also worth considering because you get a hydro brakes,
    and a bit better fork than the Aspect 55. And only for £320.

    And if you can afford £350 for the Mantra 2 then the GT Avalanche 2.0 and the Scott
    Aspect 45 are very similar bikes, that weight under 13.5kg.
    And if you're not planing of taking big drops any time soon then both will satisfiy your needs.
    NS Bikes Eccentric Alu custom - 2016
  • hammoj28
    hammoj28 Posts: 6
    Bit out of my budget tbh.:(

    I can get the Saracen for £275, i think its quite a lot of bike for that?
  • missmarple
    missmarple Posts: 1,980
    Better than the Saracen and same price if not cheaper:

    http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=29070

    http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=25443     GET THIS!

    http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=25442
  • xtreem
    xtreem Posts: 2,965
    [b]hammoj28[/b] wrote:
    I can get the Saracen for £275, i think its quite a lot of bike for that?
    You can get the Mantra 2 for £275? :shock:
    Then go for it mate.
    NS Bikes Eccentric Alu custom - 2016
  • hammoj28
    hammoj28 Posts: 6
    Yeah, iv seen it somewhere for that but iv kinda lost the page, will keep looking, best iv got at moment is £289.99 which il prob go for. I reckon its good value.

    Thiose Beone cycles look pretty good though........Hmmmmm.
  • xtreem
    xtreem Posts: 2,965
    Even £290 is a good price.
    NS Bikes Eccentric Alu custom - 2016
  • missmarple
    missmarple Posts: 1,980
    hammoj28 wrote:
    Yeah, iv seen it somewhere for that but iv kinda lost the page, will keep looking, best iv got at moment is £289.99 which il prob go for. I reckon its good value.

    Thiose Beone cycles look pretty good though........Hmmmmm.

    Beone certainly has better forks than the Saracen, I don't know anyone who actually rides a working saracen?

    GT
    BeOne
    Carrera

    Are your best bets in this price range, I'd deffo go with the BeOne....
  • dg74
    dg74 Posts: 656
    I've got the Mantra One (still excellent condition with no hassles) which for the money was a wicked piece of kit and got 4 stars on this here site in a review.

    I'm now looking at trading this bike for a road bike. Or selling it.
  • hammoj28
    hammoj28 Posts: 6
    Lol, dam. I bought the mantra 2 on sunday. Just waiting for it to arrive. Thanks for advice and opinions guys.
  • badlander
    badlander Posts: 37
    I have a Mantra One which i've been riding for about 4 weeks.I've changed the stem and bars so far (shorter truvativ stem,deity bars).
    On the whole,pretty pleased with it.It fit me very well and for a starter bike it was a fair price at £245.Sure,the components aren't the best but it's getting pretty tough treatment and the parts will no doubt break and get upgraded as my skill level does.
    It's said that it's a heavy bike but i've not really noticed it that much,it is sturdy....which for me is great as i've stacked it into trees,off drops and into berms a fair bit already....all part of the learning process!
    I'm actually glad i went for a cheap hardtail as i've discovered that i love riding a mtb, and will probably require an expensive full suss freeride bike in the future.But untill then,i'm pretty happy learning and thrashing it out on my Saracen.
  • ryane1992
    ryane1992 Posts: 1
    yer m8 i ave the orange saracen mantra 2, and its a beast of a bike, and the new ones have better parts than the one i got, but obviously as you use the bike bits break and you replace them along as ur skill gets betta :P. so mine is fully kitted up and is such a gr8 bike:). to be fair the weight is not heavy like people say, i can got loadza air easy, n its not so light u ave no control its like perfect to be fair, and as i do alot of downhilling, it seems very light to me. so i hope this is good for you wb

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