The team at Saracen Bikes have launched two brand new bikes at their IceBike show in the form of the Traverse 29er and an e-Bike variant of their Ariel.
While the lineage of the Ariel-E is immediately apparent, a closer look at the Traverse shows its roots in the ever popular Kili Flyer range, but adapted to 29″ wheels. Both bikes were launched at Madison’s IceBike show down in Milton Keynes.
Traverse.
The Traverse reinstates the 29″ wheel to the Saracen range after the Kili Flyer dropped to 27.5″ wheels a few years ago. Much like Saracens in the past, the Traverse sports a butted alloy front triangle mated to a Toray UD carbon rear. A flex stay replaces the traditional pivot and with a Fox DPS shock manages the 100mm of rear wheel travel, with a 120mm Fox Factory fork keeping things sorted out front. Running gear is a full SLX 1×11 Shimano setup with the rear caliper mounted inside the rear triangle thanks to the 142 Boost rear.
The Traverse is available in the spec in the photo above at £2,999.99. Full details available on Saracen’s website.
Ariel-E.
E-bikes are all the rage these days, so it’s no surprise that Saracen have joined the party with their connection to Shimano and their Steps e-bike motors. What is interesting is that they chose the second longest travel bike in the range to adapt to an e-bike.
We’ve long known the capabilities of the Ariel having tested it in its various guises since 2013. The redesigned Ariel is quite the beast as Jamie found out at the Ariel launch in Wales last year.
An alloy front and a carbon rear shows the Saracen trademarks we know well. Geometry, while tweaked, is very much akin to the current crop of Ariels, and sports the same suspension platform rocking a Fox 36 out front and a DPS shock on the rear. Shimano’s E8000 Steps motor deals with the e-bike part of the Ariel-E, offering 60 miles on a single charge after 5 hours on the mains.
The Ariel-E comes in at £5299.99. Full details can be found on Saracen’s website.
