MTB

The New Saracen and Genesis 2017 Mountain Bikes are Here

Tis the season of shiny lovely new steads, and here's the latest from Saracen and Genesis

Having just come out of the tail-end of Eurobike, we’re still reeling in the wonderful new mountain bike goodies that are coming our way. To top up the gear-stores, we headed to Milton Keynes to inspect the new 2017 line of Genesis and Saracen MTBs.

Both brands have carved out an established and comfortable position in the off-road industry. Genesis are renowned for offering durable and comfortable steel framed hardtails, and Saracen are known for their big rig shredders, and of course, their sponsorship of British Elite rider, Manon Carpenter.

With revisions being made to their existing models, we’re also stoked for the new additions to the already impressive fleet of bikes. Let’s start with Genesis, and see what their 2017 line as in store for us…

Genesis 2017 Mountain Bikes

Genesis is a no-frills brand. They believe is producing quality bikes, built to last and suitable for shredding hard. Rather than the usual alloy and carbon builds you expect to find with most manufacturers, Genesis still produce exceptional steel and titanium frames.

Core 10 / 20 / 30

The Genesis Core is the ultimate fun hardtail bike. It’s the playful bike you blast around the trail centres for a quick fix of adrenaline.

Having massive success with their 2016 model, the Core 10 has remained the same for 2017, whereas the Core 20 and 30 have had some updates.

The Core 20 has been updated with a Rock Shox Recon Silver 120mm fork and a whopping 3×10 drive-train for a wide range of gear ratio. The updated Core 20 is available for £749.

The Core 30 has a double-butted aluminium frame, and is the top model of the range. Equipped with a 650b wheel-set, Rock Shox Recon TK 120mm fork, Shimano Deore group-set and a 2×10 drive-train, the Core 30 is a great bike to get you started in the world of MTB.

Available in sizes X.Small to X.Large, the Core 30 is available for a reasonable £999.

Genesis Tarn

The Tarn range of mountain bikes from Genesis are known for being their renowned steel hardtails. Equipped with some beasty 650b+ wheels, the Tarn is built to tackle some of the roughest terrain.

With an improved progressive geometry, the Tarn 20 is the top end of the range and is equipped with a 1×11 Shimano drive-train, internal dropper post, Rock Shox Yari fork with 120mm travel and beefy 35mm stanchions. Rather than going with the traditional 3″ width wheels, Genesis has slimmed the 650b+ to a 2.8″ width.

The Tarn 20 comes in this brilliant wasp like frame design, and retails for £1800.

In addition to this, there’s the Tarn 10 which comes with a fixed carbon fork and no dropper. Instead it comes with a 1×10 Deore drive-train and 3″ x 27.5″ wheels. This model is available for £1200.

Other models from Genesis for 2017 include the re-vamped Longitude, which after much feedback has reverted back to its 2015 build. It’s the ultimate bike-packers bike, built for touring on 650b+ wheels with a boosted crank and 2x Deore drive-train. This land exploring bike is available for £1000, or £400 for the frameset.

Saracen’s 2017 Mountain Bikes

Madison Saracen have been building bikes since the mid 1980’s, and have worked hard to build the sterling reputation it has today. With the recruitment of young racer Manon Carpenter, who went on to win the 2014 UCI Mountain Bike Championships, Saracen bikes gaining momentum in the off-road industry.

Mantra Women’s Hardtail

Saracen have introduced 3 women’s specific hardtail bikes this year ranging in price from £549 – £1599. Shorter stems, narrower bars and female specific contact points are what separate these from the male/unisex counterparts.

The Mantra is an ideal entry level mountain bike to really get the rider hooked on the sport. The Mantra Women’s is available for a reasonable £549 and comes equipped with 120mm travel Suntour XCM HLO fork, 3×9 drive-train for a wide range of gears, Shimano Atlas group-set and a wicked matt purple/blue alloy frame.

One up from this is the Mantra Trail Women’s, available for £899. This model comes fitted with Suntour Raidon XC LO-R 120mm forks, a 2×10 speed Shimano drive-train and a brilliantly feminine – but not girly – magenta and grey allow frame design.

The top end model is the Mantra Carbon Trail Women’s which is available for £1599. The matt teal and lime colour is certainly our favourite, and comes fitted with a Rockshox Recon Silver RL fork with 120mm travel, and a 1×11 Shimano SLX/Raceface drive-train. Although it looks amazing with the carbon frame gives it a might weight saving advantage, and it’s kitted to take on the most gnarly of trails, I would have expected a slightly better fork for the £1600 price tag.

Saracen Kili Flyer

The Kili Flyer has been Saracen’s do-it-all trail bike for years, and has a great reputation for being fun, responsive and a total ride beast. For 2017, Saracen are releasing the new Kili Flyer Elite with improved spec, an a new Kili Flyer Pro which retains the same key features as the Elite, with a lesser price tag.

The carbon frame Kili Flyer Pro benefits from a new norglide linkage system and internal cable routing. The attractive matt stealth and red frame houses a Rockshox Revelation RL fork with 130mm travel, a Fox Float Evol shock and a 1×11 Shimano SLX drive-train with a Raceface AEffect direct mount. The cockpit is built upon a wide 760mm Kore Durox bar, Kore Cubix stem and a interally routed JD dropper.

The Saracen Kili Flyer Elite is the same as the Pro, but beasted. The stealth carbon black and florescent yellow frame houses Fox 34 forks with 130mm travel that compliments the Fox Float Evol shock in the rear. With a full Shimano XT groupset, and 1×11 drive-train, this trail bike will eat up anything in its way whilst providing a progressive and comfortable ride, giving you full control.

Ariel Elite

Here’s one for the enduro and hardcore riders who are looking for a beastly ride with big travel. The Ariel Elite is built from an alloy front, and carbon rear triangle which houses a Rockshox Pike with a whopping 160mm travel, and is fitted with a 1×11 Shimano SLX drive-train. It’s attractive and aggressive, and we love it. It can take pride of place in your home for £3000.

Saracen Myst

The Saracen Myst has been bouldering its way down the mountains all over the world, ridden by 2014 World Champ, Manon Carpenter. It’s visually stunning and a total machine on the trails. For 2017, Saracen have the crème de la crème Myst Team bike with the heavy price tag of £5300, and also the new Myst Pro with a more reasonable price of £3400.

The Myst Pro has a carbon body, Rockshox Boxxer RC with 203mm travel up front, and the coil Fox Van RC Performance in the rear. With a 1×11 Shimano groupset, and Shimano Zee brakes, this bike is the ultimate weapon on the trails. The more affordable price tag of £3400 provides a more viable buying option for those who aren’t elite racers, or folks with mega bucks.

We’re feeling pretty excited about the Genesis steel frame hardtails for their fun and playful design with the more affordable price tag. The Saracen Kili Flyer Pro is certainly an exciting option for an all-mountain trail bike. It has everything you need, and could want, to really push your riding limits and progress your skills.