What i like about your videos is, that you do your job properly, you put grease where it should go, do not make any weird setups, just keep it simple and working with XT and so on. I like it!!
What a beautiful build! I love the older rigid mtb's, especially with the 80's features like the bars, biopace chain rings, underslung rear brake and uniglide cassette. It's nice seeing a build that's sympathetic to the era and isn't trying to modernise for the sake of it. Great workmanship too, nice to watch.
Late to the party, but this is excellent and I had to comment. Very neatly done, especially the rear hub width issue. And _finally_ somebody posts a rebuild where it's acknowledged that on these 80s/early 90s bikes you need to swap freewheel hubs for cassette hubs. So many videos are like, "I updated this ancient bike" but then it has a 1 1/8" steerer tube and is fitted for an HG cassette already. That's not a challenge! 😂 I'm going through this right now with a 1990 Trek 930 that I bought new, so props to you! 🙂
Thanks! The group I used is period specific and I’m sure it would have been used on this spec of bike as standard. It is a cassette but it isn’t HG. This generation of freehubs used a UG cassette. You can convert to HG but I wanted o keep the original 6 speed UG.
I bought one of these brand new back in the late 1980s, I wasn't that good off road, the U brake often got clogged with mud, and you always had to keep an eye on the headset, great looking bike though, your reincarnation for the road suits it perfectly, looking good ....
XT/Biopace goes great on that frame, mint green & tan is a great colour combo, agreed. Really does finish it off nicely with white cable outers. Top job, looks the biz.
This groupset is rock-solid, I have it on some of my bikes and it just works. And never fails. And if it does, you can still find all the parts. Great stuff! Would have swapped out the Uniglide against a HG cassette, though.
Beautiful, I had the 89 version of this Saracen Trekker, with a 21 speed HG Deore II/ DX Groupset instead, with U brakes front and rear!, but the rear was in the traditional position and not on the bottom, frame looks pretty identical
Those U Brakes were much more powerful than cantilevers, so were often placed on the (beefier) chainstays, but that's why they fell out of favour. Most decent MTBs in '88 seemed to have them, but by 90/91 they were mostly gone.
Super nice build. Color reminds me of…well you know. Rear brake might be a little bit funky on a muddy day, but maybe then stop in to a cafe for a bit of coffee to wait it out.
That takes me back. I had the slightly earlier Trekker which was slightly bluer and had front and rear U brakes. They were truly the worst brakes I ever used. I eventually had canti bosses put on. Loved that bike though.
I've tried a small one in the past - I didn't find it that effective. The parts were polished too :) The Autosol, fine wire wool and microfibre cloth all feature. It's not machine polishing though if that's what you were eluding to?
@@MonkeyShred yes, I was thinking about machine polishing. Don't get me wrong, the job you did was 99% perfect, that would only benefit you mear 1%. Btw love that old style city cruzer bikes, and that one look capable of even more complicated terrain than paved roads. And that steering bars are great! Would love to have one just like that.👌🏻
Nice video, I found your video whilst servicing my own 88 Trekker. I have owned it from new. It cost me £399, when my wage was.£1.50 an hour. I have had other bikes, just never could part with my Saracen. Shame though you didnt restore the front U brake, it was one of the defining features of the Trekker (88 and 89 MY).
Nice build. Love the frame colour. I had a Muddy Fox Courier (metallic lilac and white fade) with a rear u-brake, stupid for UK conditions as it clogged (a lot) on mud and especially South Downs chalk. What’s the name and title of the music? It’s very restful. Subbed.
Thanks! As soon as I saw the colour of this frame I had to have it. Unfortunately it;'s been so long since I made this video I don't remember the track name or have it saved.
Wow this build really turned out great. Such a skill to have lacing up a rim wish I could. Color choice is bang on this bike is another keeper. However does it ever stop raining in England 🏴 lol 😂 cheers
Love the end result! What kind of polish do you use? I have an older steel frame with a few little rust dots and I don't think a repaint is necassary and maybe a polish would already help
I owned a similar looking Bike in the 90s. The XT-Cranks are nice. But the Biopace chainrings annoyed me. Shifting was bad. And my legs didnt like Oval rings. They made them tired, because the cadence was never smooth. Nice work!
Nice build although you could have gone a bit more period with the grips, saddle and tires seeing as you'd gone to such lengths restoring the old xt bits. Nothing that can't be swapped out easily as all the hard work is already behind you. Keep it up.. 👍
Unfortunately I don’t think they’re easily found these days. Especially in the UK. I bought them years ago when Planet X sold Nitto stuff and they were cheap! Banana Industries may get them - I know they were looking at stocking Nitto stuff but I don’t know if Bullmoose were included.
What i like about your videos is, that you do your job properly, you put grease where it should go, do not make any weird setups, just keep it simple and working with XT and so on. I like it!!
Thanks Matej!
What a beautiful build!
I love the older rigid mtb's, especially with the 80's features like the bars, biopace chain rings, underslung rear brake and uniglide cassette.
It's nice seeing a build that's sympathetic to the era and isn't trying to modernise for the sake of it.
Great workmanship too, nice to watch.
I got a feeling your from round my way...
That unmistakable sound of the scrap man driving around 🤣
Had to give you a like for your resolve - that is, the rain
Thanks - can't say I'm doing the same this weekend though with the wind and rain.
Nice rebuild and pukka little touches like the kool stop pads with the brakes. Nitto bars always a winner.
Thanks Colby. Always got to have KoolStop now!
Blue bottlecage fits perfect. Matches with some other blue details.
True. It's growing on me.
Late to the party, but this is excellent and I had to comment. Very neatly done, especially the rear hub width issue. And _finally_ somebody posts a rebuild where it's acknowledged that on these 80s/early 90s bikes you need to swap freewheel hubs for cassette hubs. So many videos are like, "I updated this ancient bike" but then it has a 1 1/8" steerer tube and is fitted for an HG cassette already. That's not a challenge! 😂 I'm going through this right now with a 1990 Trek 930 that I bought new, so props to you! 🙂
Thanks! The group I used is period specific and I’m sure it would have been used on this spec of bike as standard. It is a cassette but it isn’t HG. This generation of freehubs used a UG cassette. You can convert to HG but I wanted o keep the original 6 speed UG.
Yeah I have an 88 trek 900 there's going to be some cold setting going on
I bought one of these brand new back in the late 1980s, I wasn't that good off road, the U brake often got clogged with mud, and you always had to keep an eye on the headset, great looking bike though, your reincarnation for the road suits it perfectly, looking good ....
I totally agree that bike looks great in that colour with the beige tires and tanned grips and the blue bottle cage is I nice touch beautiful 👍🏾
Cheers Rory!
This looks fantastic 🎉
Thank you!
Nice work in the rain.👍
I love how this turned out. The color and parts look so good.
Thanks Mike!
Dangggg this build is super fresh, love the mint color frame , really stands out! Nice job as always bruuuudddddaaaa
Cheers Dude!
XT/Biopace goes great on that frame, mint green & tan is a great colour combo, agreed. Really does finish it off nicely with white cable outers. Top job, looks the biz.
Thanks Stuart. Ordered the white cables specially for this build. Kept it really clean :)
I like the angel hair pasta on the wheel. I think I see bio-pace chainrings on a b124 crank. Nice color, nice bike. Enjoyable and informative. Ty.
Biopace cranks but they're M730 cranks :) It's all M730!
Superb job on the wheels. Amazing.
Thanks Jon. Couldn't let them go to waste with the rusty spokes and wrecked front hub.
I think a pop up gazebo should be your next purchase ;)
It would have taken off and ended up in the next county if I used one this weekend! XD
Fabulous result, we’ll worth all the effort especially working in the rain 😀
And here was me thinking "we haven't had much rain this year...!" and then all it does is rain.
This is my favourite vintage Mtn build yet thank you
Thanks!
This groupset is rock-solid, I have it on some of my bikes and it just works. And never fails. And if it does, you can still find all the parts. Great stuff!
Would have swapped out the Uniglide against a HG cassette, though.
That might be a future upgrade :)
Great build with the xt. Also love the ice cream truck in the background. Reminds me of home in Tamworth. Really like the build.
Cool stuff bro. These steel bikes could easily outlive us in perfect working order if treated well.
Love the handle bars.
Me too. So comfy and stylish!
I can stare at this bike all day
It's a looker for sure!
Nice I've a saracen eiger team love it..you build is sweet thank you for sharing Kind regards Stuart
Nice job.you made it look easy lacing up those wheels.
It's easy when it's sped up ;) That built went quite well though and I was done quickly!
Beautiful, I had the 89 version of this Saracen Trekker, with a 21 speed HG Deore II/ DX Groupset instead, with U brakes front and rear!, but the rear was in the traditional position and not on the bottom, frame looks pretty identical
I'm jealous. Very sweet ride.
Don't be jealous :) Just keep your eye out for another. There was one for sale on eBay last week!
cracking build
strange placement for the rear brake - right in the line for getting covered in crud and grime!
I was told the reason was to put more weight down low. But your right, all it did was collect mud
Those U Brakes were much more powerful than cantilevers, so were often placed on the (beefier) chainstays, but that's why they fell out of favour. Most decent MTBs in '88 seemed to have them, but by 90/91 they were mostly gone.
Right by an oily chain too!
Lovely build. The colour, the groupset, the finishing touches. Straight out of the catalogue :)
Great build, as usual. I love the fork crown on this one.
Thanks Ron. I love the rear too. The top seatstay design is really clean.
Really nice.. I love the look. Thank you for the videos brother.
Thanks dude!
Probably my favorite bike you've done mate. Love it !!
Cheers Jason. Glad you like it.
Love it! Get some off road tyres on there and ride it off road.
Cheers Steven. I've got others for that though :)
Super cool! Good job! Nice bike, I got gt on tange prestige tubing with deore xt/lx.
Nice. What GT is it?
@@MonkeyShred gt all terra tange prestige tubes
Looks absolutely gorgeous! Congrats!
Thanks Thomas!
Classic and clean. Love it!
Cheers JP
I liked the replaced axle. Nice touch.
Thanks. Much better than trying to squeeze the frame to size.
What a gorgeous build mate!
Thanks bud!
Super nice build. Color reminds me of…well you know. Rear brake might be a little bit funky on a muddy day, but maybe then stop in to a cafe for a bit of coffee to wait it out.
Super cool project and perfect execution! Keep it up! :D Cheers from Poland!
Dzięki! (I actually knew how to say thanks but thought it was spelt Tchenke XD )
Nailed it dude, as always 🍻
Hey look it's the MarinMan with his new YT channel that everyone should definitely check out!
@@MonkeyShred you’re too kind. I promise I’ll film in landscape
That takes me back. I had the slightly earlier Trekker which was slightly bluer and had front and rear U brakes. They were truly the worst brakes I ever used. I eventually had canti bosses put on. Loved that bike though.
Haha yeah it's not the best place for a rear brake is it!
Oh man you really need ultrasonic wash for that parts. And a little bit of polishing wouldn't hurt 👌🏻👏🏻👍🏻
I've tried a small one in the past - I didn't find it that effective. The parts were polished too :) The Autosol, fine wire wool and microfibre cloth all feature. It's not machine polishing though if that's what you were eluding to?
@@MonkeyShred yes, I was thinking about machine polishing. Don't get me wrong, the job you did was 99% perfect, that would only benefit you mear 1%. Btw love that old style city cruzer bikes, and that one look capable of even more complicated terrain than paved roads. And that steering bars are great! Would love to have one just like that.👌🏻
Nice video, I found your video whilst servicing my own 88 Trekker. I have owned it from new. It cost me £399, when my wage was.£1.50 an hour. I have had other bikes, just never could part with my Saracen. Shame though you didnt restore the front U brake, it was one of the defining features of the Trekker (88 and 89 MY).
Nice video as always, 1989 model as the fork isn’t the u brake variant if I remember correctly 😉
beautiful!
Thanks!
8:17 Gran manejo de la espacialidad!
I had the same bike loved it except for the rear brake no good in Yorkshire mud thanks very much
Thanks! I actually really like the brakes but I am just using it for a cruiser really
Nice build. Love the frame colour. I had a Muddy Fox Courier (metallic lilac and white fade) with a rear u-brake, stupid for UK conditions as it clogged (a lot) on mud and especially South Downs chalk.
What’s the name and title of the music? It’s very restful. Subbed.
Thanks! As soon as I saw the colour of this frame I had to have it. Unfortunately it;'s been so long since I made this video I don't remember the track name or have it saved.
Btw great choice of music!
Thanks!
What’s the reason for the bar you had stuck through the drive side bb cup when removing it?
Sweet restoration! I love these older bikes so much.
So the tool doesn't slip off. It's much easier to undo when it's held in place like that.
oooh, I like it
Cheers Sam
This bike speaks to me. "Lets go get a coffee and talk to some pretty girls." HaHa
Maybe when it stops raining!
You need to ride that in Miami Florida That should sell quick great colors
It would cost a ridiculous amount to get it over there!
Wow this build really turned out great. Such a skill to have lacing up a rim wish I could. Color choice is bang on this bike is another keeper. However does it ever stop raining in England 🏴 lol 😂 cheers
It's actually only just started! I was thinking just before "it hasn't really rained all winter" and then bam... rain for 2 weeks.
Also damn nice.
U da man, man 💪
Thank you!
Love the end result! What kind of polish do you use? I have an older steel frame with a few little rust dots and I don't think a repaint is necassary and maybe a polish would already help
Thanks. I use T Cut to try and tidy up the frame and then Autoglym Deep Shine after to give it a bit more protection and shine.
I owned a similar looking Bike in the 90s. The XT-Cranks are nice. But the Biopace chainrings annoyed me. Shifting was bad. And my legs didnt like Oval rings. They made them tired, because the cadence was never smooth. Nice work!
Thanks. Biopace definitely isn't for eveyrone. I've seen some things saying Shimano got the design slightly wrong so it isn't the optimal oval design.
Very nice 👍
Cheers John
Awesome👌
Thanks bud!
Was that a Muc-Off product I saw?? I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it but I really like their stuff.
Muc-Off is nice but just to expensive,ripoff.nothing better than diesel,petrol,paint thinner or anything like that
I dunno bud. I think you might be seeing things ;)
Nice build although you could have gone a bit more period with the grips, saddle and tires seeing as you'd gone to such lengths restoring the old xt bits.
Nothing that can't be swapped out easily as all the hard work is already behind you.
Keep it up.. 👍
Thanks. Those parts are a personal choice. I’ve used them in multiple builds and find them so comfy.
What a build! Is that oval? Polished bottle cage 🤙
Thanks Jay. Yeah it's a biopace crankset.
Any idea where to get a set of the Nitto bars in the UK? Were yours new?
Unfortunately I don’t think they’re easily found these days. Especially in the UK. I bought them years ago when Planet X sold Nitto stuff and they were cheap! Banana Industries may get them - I know they were looking at stocking Nitto stuff but I don’t know if Bullmoose were included.
tops
What brake pads are those please?
Kool Stop!
The worst ever place to put a rear brake, i remember some companies didn't even entertain u brakes, they were so Right not to.
👍😻
Kitty approved?
it means I like it. I don't know much about emoticons)
Don't work out in the rain especially if your restoring it or what not
Master links are the worst 🤦♂️
??????? ?
What are you questioning?
Ask your dad how to pack bearings
Why? Do you need a how to video?