Madison Saracen Factory Race Team Manager Will Longden, said: “From my side all the development of the bike has been driven by a desire to see the Myst keep on winning and we spent many years refining the previous version, to give us all the information we needed, along with rider feedback, to produce the new Myst.

Read Review

We are proud to share our latest release of dirt jump bikes kicking things off with the brand-new top-spec Amplitude AL Elite. .

Read Review

With progressive geometry and MX wheels, the latest Saracen Mantra Trail LSL takes us one step closer to the perfect hardtail mountain bike. But has Saracen gone far enough? In short, not quite. I’ve outlined my blueprint for the modern trail hardtail several times now. In summary, I believe that MX wheels are the future of the modern trail hardtail, but Saracen has missed one key ingredient – bigger volume tyres. It’s got almost everything else right though, so it’s still a great option for anyone looking for a capable bike that won’t break the bank. Saracen Mantra Trail LSL Need to know Entry-level model of a three strong range 6061 alloy frame with LSL, long, slack, low geometry Geometry designed around a 140mm travel fork Four frame sizes, with generous 490mm reach on the size L MX wheels, so 29in up front, 27.5in out back Maxxis 2.3in tyres front and rear Shimano Deore/SLX 12 speed drivetrain 150mm KS Rage post Double tool mounts on frame Frame and geometry Saracen has expanded upon its LSL (long, slack and low) geometry concept for the latest Manta Trail hardtail. And it’s not just marketing BS either. The size L Mantra Trail boasts a whopping 490mm reach and I measured it at 485mm to the headset bearing cover, which is as low as the stem could feasibly go. If you are still using the top top measurement as a yardstick for sizing, the Saracen has a seriously stretched 660mm horizontal top tube, in part due to the relatively slack 73.5º seat tube angle. So whichever way you slice it, the Mantra Trail LSL is seriously long for a hardtail, and you’ll probably want to consider downsizing, even if it puts you outside of Saracen’s sizing recommendations. But is it slack? Yes, the head angle measured 64.5º, which is only 0.5º steeper than the claimed. So that just leaves low. With a BB height of 306mm, it’s not as low as the 298mm BB height on the Whyte 909 X that I tested last year, so Saracen could easily go a hair lower, as I never clipped a pedal once. All four frame sizes sport 440mm chainstays, and while this works to help keep the front tyre loaded on the larger frame sizes, I’d like to see Saracen make full use of the smaller 27.5in rear wheel to offer shorter stays on the size small. Or size specific rear ends across the entire range. Cable routing is internal, and while none of the cables are securely clamped in the frame, and all of the cables could easily have 30mm chopped off them to tidy them up, remarkably they did not rattle. That’s not to say this bike was quiet though, as the chain slapped the chainstay to beat of every bump. So much so, that the paint on the chainstay was peppered after just a couple of rides. Suspension Saracen had the entry-level Manta Trail listed as having a coil-sprung 140mm travel RockShox 35 …Continue reading »

Read Review