Saracen

Arrived within a couple days! Absolutely blown away by the speed of delivery

Excellent.

Saracen have been great over the last couple of years where I have been buying and contacting them directly. (Previous to the change to a "direct to consumer" model, I used to deal with various local bike shops). I have had a number of Saracen bikes over the years, as well as bikes from other brands, since 2018 I have bought a Saracen in every model year bikes were released, apart from 2020. I did have my concerns in 2021, when Saracen had switched to a direct consumer model, that this would lead to poorer service and poorer value, in fact, service has been better and the value is still great. I bought a Saracen Ariel 50E Pro direct in 2021, a bike I still have. After a few months I had an issue with the rear wheel hub, which upon contacting Saracen had organised the local bike shop to repair the issue. I purchased the bike as it was the right bike, at the right time, at the right price and in stock. I recently bought a Saracen Ariel 60 Elite, which upon first ride I absolutely love. I did want to buy a full bike in 2022 which unfortunately was not possible, which led me to buying a bike from another brand. (The service from the other brand was good but the bike was disappointing). Although the people at Saracen are an absolute joy to deal with and they provide some excellent products, the website and order process hasn't been the best (and the reason for not assigning 5 stars). In 2021 the spec sheet for the Ariel 50E were incorrect, leading to the wrong frame bearings being purchased in advance of dismantling. On my recent order, I firstly ordered using the wrong payment type, which seems odd but there are multiple finance options from multiple providers and this wasn't very clear. (Leading to an unwarranted search on my credit report). The order status isn't very informative or granular, not usually an issue but led me recently to wait a few weeks before enquiring what had happened to my order. (Accidently canceled, for which some of the confusion was partly my fault due to confusion on payment methods). Will I buy from Saracen in the future? Highly likely, as long as they continue to provide great service, products and value, I will be a bit more careful around the aspects of the website though.....

If you order from here your delivery may come from freewheel.. package of full bike was okay (there was a massive boot inprint In the box that the delivery guys said come like that when they picked up) Bike is beautiful however I did notice disc break rubbing on pads ever so slightly fresh out the box.. warranty at saracen contacted and i was helped by the team In booking in the bike for a expert look/fix as I am a complete noob.. I was given 2 local options but I went with halfords they checked over the bike and all was good after the correct torque on brakes.. saracen did refund/gift compensation for inconvenience for the freewheel website.. happy with saracen overall and I'm sure you will be on your new bike

Delivery system issues, messages to confirm delivery and time slot when bike still sitting in a warehouse because it would not fit in their van. Delivery company unhelpful when chasing up where and when bike delivery would take place. Saracen customer services re-arranged delivery-very helpful after e-mail/call and waiting for a reply. First run on bike lasted until down change on gears with chain straight into spokes and jammed solid. Bike carried to local bike shop who took wheel off/chain dislodged and reset gearshift stop screws. Not a great start.