Fairly heavy but tough bike (Saracen Rufftrax)

Member Name: dr_doolittle

Product:	Saracen Rufftrax
Date:	02/04/03 (2298 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: tough, reliable

Disadvantages: weight

My last bike got stolen, I was feeling depressed so I decided to splash out on a nicer one.
I use my bike mainly for excercise, and occasionally cutting through traffic in the city.

This bike was around 150 when I got it. The 2002 limited edition. Its like any other mountain bike, but it looks fantastic with some of the best varnishing ive seen. I regret this now, as its costing me half the bike to lock it up.

The zoom suspension is useful, and im not a master of physics but it reduced friction a lot, making the bike feel faster. However, the downside is that the frame is made completely out of steel which is good if youre expecting to cycle down a nasty hill with lots of rocks and trees (which i havent got round to yet), but day to day its a pain because it weighs the bike down a ton. The tyres are industrial and id be comfortable riding over most smashed bottles on friday nights with them.

You get standard shimano gears which need adjusting after a month because apparently the cables slack. Evans do it for free after a month, but I couldnt be bothered.

All in all, this bike is suited perfectly for heavy usage and the general construction quality is excellent, as I havent even needed to make a single adjustment after at least 100 hours of fair usage. Time to take it out on the hills i guess.

Just a tip, if youre cycling in the city the exhaust fumes can be extremely bad to youre lungs especially as youre closer to exhaust fumes than motorists. Best to wear a bandit / mask to avoid the black bogies.

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