• From one of the world’s first mountain bikes to one of the fastest, pushing the boundaries is what we do best.

From one of the world’s first mountain bikes, to one of the fastest, pushing the boundaries is what we do best.

Seeing British racers taking our British-designed Myst to the top step of the podium has been hugely satisfying and is only matched by the pride in releasing our latest range of bikes.

At Saracen we want to make sure that everyone who buys a bike with our logo on enjoys every minute they spend on it.

And judging by the grins on the faces of our test team, anyone who gets their hands on one of the first of our new breed is in for a treat. It has been a long journey to get to this point and we’re incredibly excited to take Saracen direct to consumer.

We’re backing these bikes and want every rider to have a massive grin whether you’re ripping a berm, hitting that kicker just right or – very occasionally – powering up a climb too.

That’s how we all fell in love with riding bikes and not much has changed since. See you on the trails.

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Our HISTORY

2024 | the new myst has landed

2023 | A NEW MYST

There's a new look to the Factory Team pits - but we can't talk about it just yet...

2022 | WINNING BIG

Matt Walker wins his first elite-level World Cup race in Leogang and Jordan Williams becomes junior World Champion, putting the Myst firmly onto the top-spot of the podium.

2021 | RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW

A new era for Saracen, as we launch our completely revised Ariel range and go direct to consumer!

And while you get to enjoy our latest bikes on the trail, we are already hard at work designing our next generation with a little help from Matt Walker…

2020 | REALISING DREAMS

Ten years on from launching the Madison Saracen team, our Myst stands at the top. Raced by Matt Walker to win the UCI Downhill World Cup Series overall, this was more than just a dream realised. It was the core of what we stand for – hard work, development over time and achieving the end result. This wasn’t only for the bike, but also for Matt, who joined our development team back in 2014. 

Away from the race track, we expanded our LSL project to give the Zenith 29er that same unmistakable fun-ride feeling. 

2019 | MULLET MYST ON TOP

It was some time coming, but Danny Hart took our Myst to the top step of the World Cup podium in Snowshoe, claiming our first ever elite men’s victory. As ever, the races led the tech trends and Danny’s bike was one of the first to sport the mullet setup. 

Pre-season and our range was all about the 29ers, with the Myst getting a big wheel makeover and at the other end of the spectrum the Traverse, which was our first 29er trail bike. 

The Mantra also got the long, slack and low treatment, signalling a new direction for our hardtail range. 

2018 | OUR FIRST AND LAST UNBOXING EDIT AND A CARBON ARIEL

After weeks of rumours, Danny Hart came out of a box and joined our team. The aim was simple – put another British rider on a British-designed bike on the top of the podium. 

We also launched our all-new trail bike, the Ariel LT. Dubbed the mini-Myst, this thing was seriously capable. You could pedal it up a hill and then take downhill trails in your stride. A young lad called Matt Walker dusted off his suit and made his acting debut for the launch of it. 

2017 | A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE

After two years of hard graft and plenty of setbacks along the way, it all came together for Matt Walker and he took his Myst to junior World Championship glory. 

 At the end of the season we put a mountain biker against a road rider and loads of you enjoyed watching it!

2016 | A NEW ERA – THE CARBON MYST IS UNLEASHED

After being race proven, we launched our all-new full carbon Myst. As our first completely carbon bike, this was a result of years of design and testing, all with the aim of creating a bike that, in later years, could win an elite men’s World Cup downhill race. 

A little-known junior Matt Walker, took his first World Cup win and we started to dream about a not-so-distant future.

2015 | BLACK MAGIC

Our 2015 range was all about the carbon! We applied it to our Mantra hardtail and our Kili Flyer trail bike. 

Most exciting of all, our full carbon Myst reached prototype stage and was thrashed on the World Cup scene for its final test before production.

2014 | CHASING RAINBOWS

Simply brilliant – Manon Carpenter had the season of her life and won not just the World Cup overall, but the World Championships as well. Unforgettable scenes in Hafjell that live long in the memory. 

On our bikes, the battle of the wheel-sizes was just beginning as our Ariel gets the 27.5 treatment. 

2013 | SIZE MATTERS

What size should your wheels be? Back in 2013 we go 29 on our Kili hardtail and 27.5 on the Zen. 

If you’re racing downhill you obviously stick with 26 because they are the fastest choice, no arguments. Manon proves the point and takes the Myst to third in the World Cup overall. 

2012 | STEPPING UP

Fresh off World Championship winning success, our new Myst makes an appearance and Manon sticks it onto the elite women’s podium for good measure!

We also update our Ariel range with a new 60 model and our prototype Hack tries to redefine the way you think of your commute. It was also a certain Blake Samson’s acting debut… now you know.

2011 | WORLD CHAMPIONS

From the launch of our Madison Saracen development team, to Manon Carpenter winning the junior World Championships – this was an amazing first year of racing and set the foundation for our Factory Team to follow.

Fittingly our Myst appeared in the Dirt 100 most wanted and at the other end of the spectrum our Kili 29er hardtails were making a splash. 

2010 | THE RANGE AS WE KNOW IT

Our first complete bike launch set the direction for the new Sararcen. Names like Ariel and Myst get their first models and we get a first look at our Amplitude dirt jump range. Behind the scenes, we make plans for a downhill race team. 

2009 | NEW BEGINNINGS

In 2009, the brand was acquired by Madison, the UK’s largest distributor of bicycles, parts and accessories. Since then the Saracen team have worked to return the brand to its former glory. 

Our initial range includes Mantra and Zen hardtails, along with kids bikes. 

1990S | THE GLORY DAYS

The coolest thing to do in the ‘90s was to ride a mountain bike. Even cooler? Going racing. Racing has always been a huge part of who we are and the glory days of Rob Warner and Steve Peat in the early ‘90s will never be forgotten. Ask our team manager Will – he was there for it!

1983 | A NEW BREED

Started in 1983, Saracen was a leading bike company from the very beginning and built one of the UK’s first mountain bikes.

A year after the brand was created, two of the first Saracen mountain bikes were ridden to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro by Nick and Richard Crane, from there on the brand was a market leader especially during the early 1990s. 

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