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New School BMX 2004 - Now => New School Park, Street & Dirt => Topic started by: Wake22 on July 24, 2020, 11:57 PM
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I've just posted a "hello" in the new member section and I'm pretty new to all this (for example I haven't yet fully grasped the difference between old-, mid-, and new-school quite yet, so apologies if this is in the wrong section) but I'm after some help identifying the frame I've just picked up.
The seller didn't really have a clue and reckoned it "might be a Stolen brand", but the "S" on the seatstay bridge definitely marks it out as a Saracen frame. From my MTB days I'm aware that as a brand they have a somewhat mixed reputation, but as long as it's not going to snap in half on me I'll be content for now.
I'd really like to know which model it is though, so I'm wondering if anyone can ID it. I dropped a line to Saracen themselves with some images and the frame serial number and they reckoned it's a "2014 Saracen Amplitude Destination". I'm not so sure about that though - there are some distinctive features of the frame that I'm struggling to match up with any of the images/specs I've found online.
- Chainstay is crimped on the RHS only for chainring clearance.
- 2 mounts on the TT for the brake cable
- Head tube designed for an external headset
- Dropouts don't feature any cutouts
- Seatstay bridge features an "S" logo that is stamped, rather than completely cut out.
- Single gusset on the downtube.
Other than that, I know it's got a 21" TT and it's steel. From the weight I would hazard a guess that it's chromoly but I'm really just guessing and it could easily be hi-ten. Welds look reasonable, if nothing spectacular. The forks are not the originals. There are still some flecks of paint remaining that look purple-ish in colour, but that may not be from the original colour scheme.
As I said, if anyone is able to shed any light it would be much appreciated!
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If anyone comes across this in the future...
I'm pretty certain this is (or was) a 2011 Saracen Amplitude Wave. I believe that the purple traces are from the original paintjob.
I have now stripped the bike down completely and found a catalogue of horrors / misidentified parts including a knackered bottom bracket that appears to have been fitted with a hammer. I suspect I shall salvage those parts that are worth saving and bin the rest.
The joys of eBay!