Saracen vs Reebok



kmmc55

New Member
Aug 13, 2004
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I am a novice biker in the UK and am looking to buy a mountain bike (with on road biking also). I have a budget of £200.

JJB Sports have a 2004 models - Saracen Rufftrax 21 speed bike and Reebok Traverse 24 speed bike within my budget - both £199. I dont know which one to go for.

I like the gear shifters on the Rufftrax , but the Traverse has aluminium cogs on the rear gears, metal pedals, squarer forks than the Rufftrax.

I dont know a great deal as I am only starting so any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers, Kenny :confused:
 
:mad: oh well, i suppose i will have to decide without any "expert" tech advice :confused:
 
kmmc55 said:
:mad: oh well, i suppose i will have to decide without any "expert" tech advice :confused:
Please don't take offense to your unanswered question. It's tough to give a recommendation here because both of the bikes you mention are at the very low end of the quality spectrum, and most people on this board have probably never heard of either bike.

I did a quick google search of both bikes and came up with very little info on the Reebok, but quite a few hits for the Saracen. You might be able to find some comments upon searching for yourself.

Personally, I would look into purchasing a good used bike from Ebay (or local), for about the same price or a little more. Stick with the well established bike brands, but make sure you get the correct size! With a quality used bike, you can always upgrade individual components later as needed.
 
Yeah have to say for that money there all about the same whatever you buy & the only step up from £100 bikes will be a cheap aluminum frame instead of a **** hi-ten steel frame, as Scotty said if you want something decent search for 2nd hand in the free ads papers, theres allways lots of Lardys take up mountain biking to lose weight & then find out you actually have to pedal them so they get used a few times then sold on.
If you want to buy new (or you dont really know good from bad in the 2nd hand market) then most of the better manufactures bike lines start at about £300 (Specialized are about the best specced at the low end) also if your not doing a lot of off road you can get a Specialized Hardrock XC with rigid forks for £250 (which would be a lot better because low end suspension is mainly just put on these bikes for show & percieved value), the next few months is a good time to buy as well as its the time of year they roll out the 05 models so you can get decent discounts as dealers shift the old stock.
If you post back with any more questions I'll do my best to help.
 
Thanks Guys.

I would like to go more expensive but I live in the Highlands of Scotland and 2nd hand quality bikes are few and far between, and unfortunately my budget doesnt go far enough to hit the high end of the range for new bikes. My main query was the durability / quality of aluminium gear set on the 8 cogs rear wheel of the Reebok. I have searched online for any info but found nothing on the Reebok.

My biking will be mainly onroad and offroad forestry tracks.

I think I will probably go for the Saracen Rufftrax.

(nice bike Jaz)
 
When you have to be strict about budget, K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid).

8 speed parts are more expensive then 7 speed parts. To be able to afford to build a bike with an alloy 8 speed cassette, they would have needed to carve the cost out of other components of the bike.

The biggest culprit to the durability of low-end bikes are the seals to any bearing (hubs, bottom bracket, headset). Most low-end bikes have exceedingly poor seals, which allow for dust/mud/sand to penitrate the bearing and cause greatly accelerated wear. Take a closer look at how they are sealing their bearings, and if there is one that has any kind of rubber seals, go with that one.

Regardless of which bike you end up choosing, closely inspect the frame welds. Low-end bikes can have welds that are very inconsistant from bike to bike. The floor model might have sloppy, incomplete welds while the one higher up on the shelf might have more complete welds.

Cheers,
Juba