Saracen has announced the launch of the 2017 Saracen Myst team carbon downhill bike that now comes with an XL size and a frame only option.

This is the bike that is currently being raced by the Madison Saracen downhill team. It first broke cover at Eurobike last year before being ridden to a World Champs silver medal by Manon Carpenter. It was the first carbon version of the Myst and Saracen managed to save half a kilo on the frame over the alloy version. The 2017 iteration looks clean and fast and has a couple of small improvements to keep pace with the competition.

The first bit of news is that there is an XL size for 2017. This means there are now three sizes available, although it has to be said that the XL is only about as big as a large GT Fury – a bike that we thought was bob-on with sizing.

Also new is increased headset cup adjustment. You previously got +/- 5mm adjustment but that has now increased to +8mm -5mm.

The team bike will be loaded up with a race-ready spec including our favourite Fox 40 fork, a Fox DHX2 shock and full Saint drivetrain. There is a bit of a price hit for 2017 though as the Myst has now crept over the £5k barrier to £5,299.99.