Saracen MTB, Courier Comp, Puch 20” and various other bikes.

Yeah I think I will! Any suggestions? I like the idea of Bullmoose bars since they’re all the rage but I need something for the quill stem.

Anything more swept would be comfier I guess (I’ve never understood people straight bars they always feel odd to me). Bullmoose would be cool and are available in quill, Planet X have them I think, expensive new though and rarely come up second hand.

Nice man I’ll keep my eyes out. Picked this frame set up on eBay for £17 or so, impulse purchase. It’s really really rough but no dents or cracks, just missing paint and surface rust. Don’t know anything other than it’s a 90s Schwinn Paramount. I like the paint.

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No major updates, being a barber I’ve hardly worked this last year, so I stopped commuting and therefore stopped cycling. Money got tight around Christmas time so I sold the LOOK.

The Peugeot is in pieces in the shed and I’ve not even looked at the Paramount.

Today I finished up the last bits on the Saracen and took it for a couple of rides. Really enjoyed it however the chain jumps off when I try shifting to the bigger cogs, only really letting me use the first 3x gears. I’ve never built a geared bike so I’m sure it’s an oversight somewhere but not sure where to start.

I’m awaiting delivery of an old GT Timberline frame, and a Puch 20”.

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Sad about the first part, but great to see the second part of the post! The Saracen is simply fantastic, love every bit of it!

Thanks dude! Looking forward to seeing your new Gazelle. Big fan of your Rockhopper too.

Cheers mate!

Having a ride yesterday motivated me to try some parts on the Paramount. I slapped on the mavic wheels from the Saracen, a nitto stem from an 89 Kuwahara and some pretty scratched Easton EA50 Monkeybars. The seatpost is too small but wedged it in there with some card behind to get a better image of the shape of the bike. Looks like all black parts might be the way to go!

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Today my Puch Promenade arrived, started building it up, will finish tomorrow. Could do with new brake cables and pads, tires etc. I’ve noticed the back wheel is slightly buckled, I am tempted to throw some bmx wheels on and beat it up, but gonna enjoy it in OG form first. Here’s a pic whilst fitting my Wald folding basket earlier.

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Let me know if you decide to sell the paramount.

Will do mate!

Took the Saracen out in the snow this morning, rode sweet, other than the chain not liking the higher gears. I wonder if I need to shorten the chain, looking at other bikes the derailleur is pulled down a lot more.

Also finished putting the Puch together and took it for a little spin, definitely needs brakes sorting but handles good.

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That Saracen is cool, my first proper Mtb was a saracen and was painfully heavy. ^ That looks much more fun

Thanks dude. This one isn’t so bad, but the Puch must be double the weight haha.

Lots more snow here today. Needed to get some dog food and my car is currently off the road so did a couple of miles on the Puch. Obviously the brakes were horrendous but took it slow and thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

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Saw this ‘Universal Riviera Sport’ (more or less a like-for-like copy competitor of the Raleigh Riviera) for sale just around the corner from me, knocked the guy down from £50 to £30, got it home, took it apart, cleaned and serviced it.

Came up real nice and got the 3x hub working smoothly again. I’m going to fit my old Wald bars that I used to run on the Peugeot and it should make for a good cruiser. Just waiting on tires, tubes and grips.

Also got wheels for the Paramount, just waiting on QR skewers for those.

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Question - is it possible to convert the Puch’s (or any old bike) BB and cranks from cotter pin to square taper?

I’ve been riding it daily, collecting takeaway beer, bike parts and food shops. When you couple the weight of the bike, the gearing and my poor fitness it can be rather hideous going uphill.

Also raised the saddle, adjusted the rear brake and shortened the chain on the Saracen, rides sweet.

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Hey guys I’m looking for some inspiration for a new stem/handlebar set up for the Saracen. I feel like I could do with a taller stem and a more comfortable hand position, however I have no idea what to go for.

I quite like the look of the Nitto Dirt drop stem with some flared drops but I don’t know if that’ll work with the geometry of the Saracen. I’ve added a picture of a Bianchi running a similar set up

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Finally got round to mounting some wheels on the Paramount, got these on eBay.

Shimano Deore hubs, 8/9/10 speed. Front rim is Ryde Zac 2000, rear is a sturdier Ryde Andra 30.

2.4” Schwalbe super moto X on both. Starting to take shape.

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Looks like a big wheeled bmx , gonna be fun

Re the Puch bottom bracket: this looks like a re branded Raleigh Twenty, if that’s the case you can get a threadless bottom bracket pretty cheap and then use the cranks of your choice. I used a dremel to make the bb shell a little narrower on mine. Those threadless bbs are handy anyway. If you’re just after weight savings I’d say just get some lighter wheels, seatpost/saddle, cockpit etc.
Re the chain coming off on the Saracen: it looks like you have the chainring on the outer position on your cranks, move it to the inside and see if that makes a difference (along with shortening your chain and maybe buying a chain keeper).
Re bars for the Saracen: I can’t say enough good things about map/ahearne bars. They are so comfy mile after mile. They have about 40 degrees of back sweep so any bar in that neighborhood should also be good.
Your bike collection looks sick, I’m excited to see how all these turn out!

Thanks mate! I’ll have a look into the threadless BBS! I think you’re right about the chainring, I’ve been thinking that was most likely the problem.

Finished up the Universal Riviera Sport this afternoon, already sold it to one of my barber buddies so I should see it regularly.

I ended up ordering the Nitto MT10 high rise stem and B136AA Randonneur bars in 44cm width. Excited to change up the cockpit and enter phase 2 of the Saracen.

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Swapping the chainring to the back of the crank seems to have resolved the chainline issues so the Saracen is now running perfectly, I also raised the fenders slightly for more mud clearance now I’m using it more.

Found myself seemingly stockpiling some fun parts which currently have no use, looking forward to deciding what to do with them.

Tatty early 90s GT timberline frame,

Stridsland/@t0-ster narrow-wide,

26” Mavic wheels with Middleburn hubs

Nitto MT10 stem and 44cm Nitto B136AA Randonneur bars.

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10 bumpy miles around Norwich today, good fun. Looking forward to a different bar set up.

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