[Closed] Saracen Kili Flyer

Yeah I have one , got it in December , just the base model but must say good bike , solid but a bit heavy , use it for Xc , trail centres and a bit of mountain stuff , was worried that 120 travel wouldn't be enough but so far it been fine , done 500mls on it and not a single problem , so I am one happy owner 🙂

Hi Gordy,

Sounds interesting. what type of riding do you do? did you demo anything else?

We've had one in on demo - not my size sadly but I've had a quick go. Others (customers and staff) have tried it extensively and feedback is very good.

As demonstrated by Manon, "only" having 120mm of travel is a non-issue for most riding. It's really a very capable bike and very well-designed.

I've got the original version with 130mm forks, I bought it as a frame and built it up with XT kit.
I think it's a really good bike, I've used it round local XT stuff, Wales and the Peaks. It's a bit heavy but hardly any difference to my old DW 5 spot.
I'd say it's not quite as composed as my 5 Spot was, but I prefer it to the Mojo HD I had.

Thanks for the replies so far.

Drover

I'm also of the opinion that 120mm is quite capable as I have a 26er Camber built up to a good spec and it has handles all of the usual trail centre abuse and the Peaks.

Xanboy

In what way do you mean not as composed? What's the travel of the 5 spot? 140mm? Any idea why they changed it from 130mm to 120mm for this year?

They changed it because when mine came out there were no 120mm 27.5 forks available so they fitted 130mm forks instead.
They have also changed the shock tune and pivot since mine came out, it gets a little bit caught up on itself. It performs best in descend mode on the CTD shock and I have set my fastest times at CyB, Marin Trail and on some Peaks descents on it. However this means it bobs quite a bit when climbing or on pedaly singletrack, so I run it in Trail mode most of the time but it doesn't descend quite as well.
The newest version is much better, I test rode one recently and it's much better on singletrack than mine but still goes down hill just as well.
It also a good pound and a half lighter.

It's sounding good so far. I don't suppose you know the weight? And if so the size of it. Obviously weight is only relative...

Mine is a large and from memory it weighed about 29 pounds. I test rode a large 2014 123 and apparently it weighs 27.5 pounds.

Great, thanks for the info, at 6'1'' I think I'd be looking at a large too.

Hi jsnc
I do a lot of Xc stuff mixed with trail centres , like I say I use the bike a lot and find it a great bike

I have a 2013 frame in large i built up with XF sweeps @140mm as a fun bike for wales weekends, trail centers, alps holidays ect.. I have a Pivot Les for all things cross country

Feels like it has much more travel than it does (rode back to back with SC bronson, g150 and Norco sight, all felt about the same)
Good in the rocky stuff and happy over-shooting jumps (oops)

Great climbing (4 secs off KOM at BPW climb (go me!))

Not convinced with the CTD shock, i'd rather set the compression and just leave it alone, climb mode seems ok for 90% of the time

Well made and thought out cable routing, crudcatcher mount, but no bottle mount, options for all rear wheel axles standards, and screw in bb

jono

I've been riding one (or two actually) for a few months now and I really rate it. It's due a review in the magazine soon, so I don't want to give too much away, but I reckon that its 120mm travel fits the kind of riding that I do very well. I like to climb and descend in equal measures and it can certainly go as fast as the rider wants to in either direction.

I think, ironically they're missing a trick in 'only' having an SLX level spec, but you can get the 12X frame set and build it up any way you want. Mine was a very, very early one (same pre-production batch as Manon's) and there were a few issues with pivots and bushings, but these have all been fixed quickly under warranty - and the production bikes have all the new, better bits fitted from new. Our 123 comes in about 27.5lbs.

It's very easy to get lured into mega travel (especially working here, with the fancy bikes we get coming through) but I reckon that 120mm travel is probably the sweetspot for many UK trail riders.

Hi Chipps,

Sounds interesting, when can we expect the review?

I think I'm with you on the travel, but only a demo will tell!

Thanks,

i built up a limited edition kili flyer X frame last year with full xt and hand built wheels by moonglu. it really is a cracking bike and weighs in at 28lbs. its also for sale on the bay at the moment as i no longer have time to ride it due to an expanding family taking up my free time

nick

Hi all
I have owned a saracen kili flyer 122 for a few months now and been very happy with it.
Mainly riding swinley forest and recently a trip to aston hill.
I did notice some paint damaged on the rear shock mount below the top tube around the Alan key bolt that holds the rear shock in place.
I checked the Alan key fitting and it was not loose.
Through my LBS saracen have given me a £30 credit which I was not particularly happy with but thought I would see if it got worse.
Now the paint damage is starting to appear on the other side of the mount around the bolt.
Does anyone on this thread have an opinion or any experience of this problem.
Many thanks Jason.

Thought I'd restart this as the thread was useful whilst deciding where to give one a go, which I did! I bought a flyer x frameset which I've just finished building up and it came with a replacement bolt kit to be fitted before use due to tolerance issues withe factory fitted ones... I'm guessing you need a set of those. Easy enough to fit once you have prized out the bolt locking washers.
Cheers

I'm considering buying the 2014x frame would go 1x10, reverb dropper post. 120mm forks size 17inch any idea what weight I can expect for this build