This week’s Reader’s Rig comes from Aidan Pinder in Manchester, UK, who shares his neo-retro Saracen Kili Flyer. Learn more about Aiden and his love of old-school builds and off-road rides here…

Words and photos by Aidan Pinder (@aid_pinder)

Hi, I’m Aidan, and this is my Saracen Kili Flyer. I’m 25 and live in Manchester, UK. I work as the assistant manager in a large chain bike shop, so from working with modern and somewhat finicky bikes daily, I often seem to find myself drawn to simple, old-school builds like this.

Saracen Kili Flyer

After working as a courier for a few years, these days, my riding is predominantly off-road, with plenty of trails and rooty singletrack locally. The local network of bike paths and canals makes staying off-road relatively easy, and riding with a diverse group means learning new routes all the time.

I can’t take all the credit for this lovely build. It’s mainly down to Paul, who happens to be one half of Grass up the Middle (@grassupthemiddle). He spent a while piecing this build together but is since happy with his current stable and decided to let this one go. I’d already expressed interest many times, and given the likelihood of finding another frame like this in my size and built so nicely, I couldn’t pass up the offer!

  • Saracen Kili Flyer
  • Saracen Kili Flyer

The build is a simple but lovely one. The wheelset is a calico mix, with Mavic XM rims laced to some lovely sounding Hope RS Mono hubs. Brakes are a combination of more modern TRP cyclocross calipers and retro moto-style levers, which work surprisingly well together. The drivetrain is a 1×10 with an 11-36 cassette and a 36T ring. One of the few things I’ve changed is to upgrade the previous friction shifting to this Dura-Ace indexed bar-end shifter. This also makes life easier if I do decide to try this build with some wide dirt drops in the future.

  • Saracen Kili Flyer
  • Saracen Kili Flyer
  • Saracen Kili Flyer
Saracen Kili Flyer
  • Frame/Fork Saracen Kili Flyer (22.5″)
  • Rims Mavic XM719 26″
  • Hubs Hope RS4 Mono
  • Tires Panaracer Gravel King SK 26 x 2.1″
  • Handlebars Nitto Bullmoose
  • Headset Tange Low Stack 1″
  • Crankset Shimano Deore DX MT60 with (36T)
  • Pedals Hope F20 Silver
  • Cassette Shimano 10 Speed XT 11-36
  • Derailleur Shimano Deore MT60
  • Brakes TRP Eurox with Dia Compe 4 Finger Moto Levers
  • Shifter(s) Shimano Dura Ace 10-speed
  • Saddle Brooks Swift Ti
  • Front Rack BLB Front Rack with Wald Basket
  • Frame bags Wizard Works Framebagracadabra (L)
  • Rear bags Wizards Works Shazam with Carradice Bagman Support
  • Accessory bags BitsByBe XL Bottle Pouch
  • Other accessories King Cages, Zefal Frame Pump

Currently, the summer tyres are some 26″ Gravel Kings, but for when the mud returns, I have some more aggressive Charge Splashbacks to go back on. The bags are all made in the UK: two by Wizard Works and one by one of my good pals, Barney (@bitsbybe). Other tasty touches include a beautiful Suntour Seat Clamp QR and some NOS Ritchey grips.

  • Saracen Kili Flyer
  • Saracen Kili Flyer
  • Saracen Kili Flyer
  • Saracen Kili Flyer
  • Saracen Kili Flyer

A recent weekend bivvy trip up to Macclesfield Forest was my first decent-sized ride on the bike, and I’m happy to report it performed flawlessly. Not a single mechanical groan, and I was actually impressed at how well it climbed the steep forest roads, given the reasonably narrow range 1x setup by today’s standards. Future upgrades probably include a Hope narrow-wide chainring for peace of mind and maybe a Wizard Works Basket Bag to complete the set.

You can see more from Aiden on Instagram @aid_pinder.

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