It was probably the most exciting World Cup final ever. Even the toughest "haters" in the MTB forums seemed to agree. The deal seemed to be sealed. Amaury Pierron had all but secured overall victory before the last run at the final World Cup in Snowshoe. Only the last man on the mountain could now spoil it for him with a victory - Britain's Danny Hart on his Saracen Myst. And he did. In the final metres - more spectacular than ever. Danny Hart and Loic Bruni - two guys, two bikes. We liked the idea of pitting these two brand-new big bikes against each other.
But as is so often the case, everything turned out differently. The respective top models were ordered and the flight to La Palma was booked. First the Specialized Demo rolled into our test cellar just before the deadline, then the Saracen Myst - but unfortunately not in the top configuration (€ 6680) as ordered. What a pity! Instead of high-end suspension, you get the Fox Van Performance Coil shock and Rockshox Boxxer Select fork. Nevertheless, the frame is identical to that of the top model, as is the weight. What to do? The possibility of getting an alternative candidate was not feasible in the short time available. So we fought the duel; after all, both manufacturers knew their duel opponent and chose their weapons themselves.
You can find out how the duel between Specialized and Saracen ended in the test report, which you can download as a PDF with all the information, measurements and ratings below.
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Laurin Lehner
Editor
