Merida One Sixty 1 vs Saracen Ariel 152

Bastardbrain

Right I`m down to 2 bikes and can`t decide for the life of me.
I`m leaning towards the Merida for the Rock Shox Pike RCT3,Sram X0 Shifters, XT Brakes and the Rock Shox Reverb Stealth. But extremely put off by the Uber camp Decals.

The Saracen only has the Zee components, Shimano M615 brakes and Fox Kashmiri CTD Forks. Spoke to 2 people who ride the Saracen and love it but need help!!!!!!!!

BloggingFit

I'd go with spec. The decals aren't that bad...

rockmonkeysc

The Fox fork isn't as good as the Pike but it's not bad. Zee components are good kit, X0 is very nice but doesn't last as well.
Personally I would go for the Saracen. I also know people who have them and love them.

felix.london

All those things you mention would make the decision easy for me...Merida! Plus I like the look of it myself but yeah ain't nowt wrong with Zee kit - sort of DH SLX which isn't a bad thing at all.

But you can't ignore the Pike, XT brakes, Reverb & 1x11 if you ask me. Guaranteed within a year you'll be wanting to upgrade to these exact components if you go for the Saracen

rockmonkeysc

I would take 1x11 as a bad point. Very expensive to replace the chain and cassette when they wear out after a few months.

felix.london

RockmonkeySC wrote:

I would take 1x11 as a bad point. Very expensive to replace the chain and cassette when they wear out after a few months.

yeah - that's is true and as the OP was originally after a DH bike it makes even less sense really! But I'd still take it as a package with the other bits

Bastardbrain

Tough little decision aint it. Both got plus and minus points.
Heard the Pikes are way better then the FOX now

benpinnick

I had a chance to ride 2015 fox 34 forks yesterday for the first time on a friends bike he just got in. My first comment was, and no word of a lie.... 'Are these broken?' Not another vintage year for Fox I fear. I'd buy the Saracen and dump the forks. Get some sweeps or revs for £400 ish or pikes. Also worth looking for a bargain now. Saracens will drop in price heavily in the next few weeks. Scoring a third off will pay for those pikes it badly needs.

Bastardbrain

I dont understand why on earth they would put Shimano M615 brakes on a £3000 bike.

ej2320

Bastardbrain wrote:

I dont understand why on earth they would put Shimano M615 brakes on a £3000 bike.

Still better than Avids I've seen on £3000 bikes...

ej2320

Also Zee is very good stuff for the money and the Saracen has good finishing kit with a Kore cockpit and wheelset and a KS lev integra

Gibbo3771

Bastardbrain wrote:

I dont understand why on earth they would put Shimano M615 brakes on a £3000 bike.

Would expect saints for that price, I just got my M615's for £34 a pop. Not a bad brake mind you.

rockmonkeysc

Saints are a bit overkill for a bike like this. Even my Zee brakes are extremely powerful with an extremely sharp initial bite. I would prefer XT's on an enduro bike, they're just more user friendly.

benpinnick

You'd be better off waiting for the sales or buying the frame only option over a 152 having looked at it. You could buy a frame and build a mint bike for less than the £3200 for the complete bike!

felix.london

it's an insurance job so he's got seriously limited choice...these two being the 'best' options