2023 Saracen Ariel 50E A First Look

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The Saracen Ariel 50E is more than the sum of considerable parts. Great geometry, great suspension, great parts allied to a capable Shimano STEPS motor and capacious 720Wh battery from Darfon. • . • This particular model is the Saracen Ariel 50E. It is the entry level e-bike Ariel in a three bike range. This 50E retails direct from Saracen for £4,999. • . • The next model up is the 50E Pro with Shimano EP-8 motor and Fox 38 Performance fork and Float X2 rear shock for £5,999. Topping out the electrified Ariel range is the Ariel 50E Elite with a Fox 38 Factory and the oh-so-cool DHX2 coil rear shock for £6,999. • . • Aluminium frame. In a particularly banging shade of Neon Red. Uses an e-bike specific version of Saracen’s much-admired TRL linkage design to give out 150mm of rear travel. This TRL layout is an oft-overlooked aspect of the new generation Ariel E-bikes. Single pivot linkage activated goodness. Super supple around sag point and quickly rising in progression to give the rider loads of support and feel. • . • We have a Large size Ariel 50E here, which is 29in wheel front and rear, as too is the Extra Large. The Medium and Small Ariel Es come in mixed wheel mullet configurations. Truth be told, on regular bikes I’m personally not massively sold on mullets but on full-bore e-bikes like the Ariel 50E, I must confess to finding the extra manoeuvrability and the increased arse-clearance very useful. • . • Up front we have 160mm travel forks. In the 50E’s case, the fork is a 160mm travel Marzocchi Bomber Z1 with some well-executed custom colour matched decals on its legs. Nice. Air sprung. Rebound adjust, ‘sweep adjust’ Grip compression damping. It’s a really, really good fork that is well up to the rigours of e-bike ragging. • . • The rear shock is a Fox Float X Performance unit with rebound adjustment and 2-position compression (it’s got a climb switch in other words). This is not a tinpot weedy shock. 230mm eye-to-eye delivering a full-on 65mm of shaft stroke. • . • It’s things like this that are easily missed on spec sheets but have a massive effect on how well – and consistently – the bike rides. Not to mention how more forgiving they are in terms of setting up. Dinky, weedy shocks suck on e-bikes. A lot. Kudos to Saracen for making the considerable effort to package proper shocks into these bikes. • . • Oh, the decals are colour coded on the Float X shock as well. Neat. • . • It’s worth pointing out that Saracen have a comprehensive and – for once – actually accurate and useful suspension setup guide for this shock on this bike. Hours of faff saved. Even the most suspension-phobic tweak-freaked riders can get a decent there or thereabouts suspension set-up. Again, well done Saracen for going the extra mile. • . • Motor is a Shimano E-7000 on this entry level Ariel 50E. Whilst this motor ‘only’ has a top grunt of 60Nm of torque – compared to its siblings’ EP-8 85Nm – this is the key item that helps bring this bike in at under £5K. It’s something of a gamble by Saracen to spec a middling motor with decent dampers and finishing kit, but I think it’s a gamble that pays off handsomely on the trail. I’m more than happy to trade in 25Nm in exchange for proper suspension, brakes, wheels, tyres and all the other Good Stuff. • . • And hey, to look on the considerable bright side, 60Nm is still quite a lot of assist. And it is certainly significantly less battery-draining. And let’s be honest, a lot of 85Nm motor-ed e-bikes often don’t get used often in BOOST mode because of just how much it can rinse a battery. • . • Speaking of batteries, the Saracen Ariel 50E contains a big ol’ 720Wh battery inside its down tube. No more 504Wh range-anxiety specials that came with the previous Ariel E-bikes. More is more. You’ll be doing many, many more miles of mountain biking with the battery and motor combo. • . • The main power switch is neatly integrated into the top tube (there’s a USB-C power port just below the power button too for powering GPS device or even smartphones). There’s the simple bar remote near the left hand grip and the display sits besides the stem and gives you all the info you really need. Shimano’s remote control and dinky screen combo offer the best balance of discreteness and useful info. Other systems either give you too much info on a too-big screen, or give you next-to-no info on a screenless set-up. • . • You can connect via Bluetooth to the bike via Shimano’s actually good phone app – called E-Tube – to do some tweakery. You can tweak the motor’s power levels and you can also change what stats and info the display shows. • . • Read more at https://singletrackworld.com/charged/...

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