Saracen Launch New Mantra LSL Hardtails
PRESS RELEASE: Saracen
If you thought the hardtail was dead, you need to think again. The LSL series (which stands for low, slack, long) from Saracen has been not only keeping hardtail riding alive but pushing the boundaries by making bikes that are more trail capable than ever before. In an increasingly full suspension world, there will always be room for a rowdy hardtail designed to maximise fun and minimise fuss. An XC bike this is not.
All three models are built around a custom butted and hydroformed 6061 aluminium frameset with geometry designed to make progressive look old school – they’re not called long, slack and low for nothing.
As you’ve probably guessed, the differences in the models are spec-based. The Mantra Trail combines Deore and SLX 12-speed components with Deore M6100 brakes, a Rock Shox RK35 140mm Silver fork and KS Race I 150mm dropper, while the Elite takes things up a notch with a mix of SLX and XT but using Magura’s MT5 to handle braking, and Marzocchi Bomber Z2 fork. At the top of the range the flag ship Mantra Race goes full Shimano Deore XT 12-speed with 4-pot XT brakes, a KS Lev Integra dropper and a Fox F36 Performance Elite fork to make up a very tasty package indeed.
The three bikes in the range starts with the Trail LSL at £1499.99, then the Elite at £1899.99 and finally the Race which is £2799.99. All are available from both Freewheel and the Saracen Bikes website now. Head to www.saracen.co.uk to find out more.
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Literally nobody who rides in the U.K. thinks the hardtail is dead.
A well-specced, burly hardtail is a thing of great usefulness when 90% of the time the trails are steep, wet and muddy.
You can't trumpet the whole 'long low slack' thing if only two of those apply
As for whatever is dead, I know there are people having a field day keeping lists and warning us whenever dead bike parts stroll into the market. We could be grateful or we couldn't care less. I opt for the latter.
There prices are a joke these days.
They used to be good value.
I built my first 29er in 2016 with a On-One Inbred frame that costed me 180€,last time I checked similar frames were going for 600+ euros...add to that the super high cost of shipping and aditional taxes and it's not a big surprise they are struggling.
Brexit victims,as many others,I guess.
Other than my pretentious aesthetic opinion, 10/10 looks like a great bike, and I would ride it and love it, even with that massively cavernous front triangle.
Still looks fun and defs isn't XC, but also isn't wildly progressive.
Doctahawk is something like 62°...
But, if you halve all of the numbers and my point still remains, 64° is not that slack for a hardtail... My 63° hardtail feels a fair bit steeper than my 64.5° full suspension bike and I think it would still handle a few degrees before it started to handle poorly.
Also, give a dude a break. I am not gonna crunch numbers everytime I wanna BS on pink bike about bikes. You can correct somebody without being a jerk...
Increasing sag increases HA. Assuming your axles are level the length of the bike is irrelevant.
I had a tandem with a Recon up front once.
Check out Reverse components - a 10mm spacer to adjust 0.5 HA.
So 20mm per degree.
No, I don't. Because you're even more clueless. The wheelbase length absolutely does affect the angle change with increases/decreases in height at either end of the bike. 20mm at the end of a 1200mm wheelbase is going to have a lesser change than when applied to a 1000mm wheelbase. That you don't understand that is not my problem. That Reverse Components offers a clever bit of advertising to get idiots who don't know math to buy their product doesn't make it factual. And I never said increasing the sag didn't increase the HA. I said it took an enormous amount of sag to achieve the 2 degree change he was claiming.
I Turned my 27.5 DH bike into a mini mullet as a last resort when I exploded a rear wheel and a friend had an old 26" DH wheel on hand and now I don't want to go back. Its at least partly due to my riding style, but the confidence scrubbing jumps and cornering is insane
That said the bikes look nice, and if you have a rubber spine then all the better
Can relate
Every time I've built up a hardtail over the years, I think to myself mid-ride: "this would be so much more fun on my FS bike". The best beater bike built out of spare parts is a short-travel FS bruiser.