• Saracen Mantra 3
• £559.99
• www.saracencycles.com
• Burly looks (and funky paint)
• Out-of-the-ordinary spec

Vital statistics

All dimensions based on Medium (17in) frame

Saracen is an oft-maligned brand, but it’s always managed to turn out some good-value machinery, particularly at the lower price points. The Mantra range is billed as “Extreme XC”, sitting as a budget alternative to the mid-range Zen bikes. The £560 Mantra 3 is the top of the Mantra range.

Frame

Saracen is certainly going for the burly look with the Mantra’s frame. The 7005 aluminium chassis packs a huge, squared-off downtube, rectangular stays, gussets all over the place and a low-slung aspect. It’s also got a rather fine paint job, described as “matt rainforest flip”, which is green, grey or purple depending on how the light catches it. You get a reinforced head tube, gear cables routed under the BB and rather neat bolt-on P-clips securing the brake hose along the top tube.

Beneath the surface, though, this isn’t the most sophisticated frame out there. There’s no mention of any butting in the spec (unlike the pricier Zen bikes) and compared to its rivals the generally straight tubes risk looking rather unadventurous. On the other hand, we’re no fans of gratuitous weirdness when it comes to tube shapes – the Mantra packs some curves where they count (for heel clearance at the stays, for example) and the angular lines have a purposeful air.

Components

Having rattled on in our other £550 tests about the fairly limited options available to product managers at this price, here’s Saracen with largely completely different parts on its offering. Some stuff is familiar, though – the close-to-ubiquitous RockShox Tora fork up front, for example. The one here is a 289 U-Turn offering between 85 and 130mm of travel.

Transmission and brakes both diverge from the price point norms, with SRAM X5 trigger shifters and rear mech (but a nine-speed Shimano cassette and chain) taking care of going and Tektro Auriga hydraulic discs taking care of stopping. With 180/160mm rotors the Tektro brakes are competent stoppers, but the feel is on the wooden side and the lever blades feel a bit spindly compared to the usual Shimano offering. The SRAM trigger setup has a lovely light action, but it didn’t want to behave itself during the test, with missed shifts all over the place. We know that this stuff can work, though.

The wheel package comprises anonymous disc hubs, a pair of chunky-looking rims and Continental Mountain King 2.4in tyres. Finishing kit is Saracen-branded with the exception of the SDG Bel-Air saddle. Everything works OK, but there’s a chunk of weight lurking somewhere in there (and we’re fingering the wheels as likely culprits) – the Mantra 3 comes in at a hefty 14.8kg (32.6lb) all-up.

Ride

In some ways, the Mantra 3 resembles Merida’s Matts Trail but in the opposite direction. That makes no sense, so allow us to elaborate. Both bikes have adjustable travel forks, but while the Merida has relaxed angles and a low BB, the Saracen has steeper angles and a high BB. In both cases, significantly shortening the fork is likely to lead to certain issues – pedal clearance on the Matts, scary steepness on the Mantra. You might be tempted to use it on climbs if you find the front a bit wayward, but we didn’t find that a huge problem.

Climbing on the Mantra wasn’t, however, a terribly rewarding experience. That’s mostly down to the substantial weight – it’s at least 2lb heavier than any of the other bikes we’ve looked at in this category. The big 2.4in tyres aren’t particularly easy rollers, either. This all makes itself felt on the kind of generally level but up-and-downy singletrack trails that are often found in UK trail centres, with the Saracen lacking the get-up-and-go to really inspire.

The more downhill it gets the more the Mantra likes it, though. It’s fundamentally pretty nimble, with only a degree of inertia working against your changes of direction. The short cockpit makes it easy to get some weight back on scarier bits, and those big tyres become useful allies. The heft that seems excessive on the climbs manifests itself as a planted and secure feel on the downs.

Ups and downs

Positives: Imaginative spec, confident stance, killer paint

Negatives: Mix’n’match bits not as slick as the all-Shimano alternative, heft

Verdict

On paper the Saracen is a decent prospect, and out on the trails there’s quite a lot to like too, especially on downy-pointing stuff. But there’s no getting away from the fact that the extra weight of the Mantra over its rivals doesn’t seem to confer any particular benefit and certainly makes its presence felt on the uphill and level trails that inevitably make up most of a ride. If you feel the need for some stoutness, though, the Saracen is well worth a look…

Ratings

Performance 3/5
Value 3/5
Overall 3/5