Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
By Dylan Pitcairn
I bought the bike in anticipation that it would be in the RED color that was specified. Instead, the package arrived and I was surprised to see a black frame inside. I thought to myself, hmm... strange. At that point, I put the bike together with no hassle really. (I am a bike mechanic, so this is second nature) The only problem was that the front derailler was a bit too small, but a little tweak to enlarge it and everything shifted well. I have to say that I hate Grip Shifters. Just dispise them. I got the bike for my dad and I had a few requirements: Disk Brakes, 29er mountain bike, Shocks, under $300. This fit the details and the price is right.
For my dad, it is enough to get by with for another 10 years. I personally own a recumbent trike (Catrike 700) and this is way lower in quality than my trike, but hey, it isn't the same by any means. The brakes are disks, but I'd rate them to be as strong as rim brakes, a bit spongey at times. I can't lock the rear w heel to skid to a stop if I needed to, so that may have some further investigation into the pads. The chain was super oily and yucky. A rag took care of the excess lube and the shimano gears are fine. I fitted one of our old Cateye systems on the bike to track speed and distance. I can get up to about 20mph, but beyond that, I have to huff and puff.
The seller who sold me the bike was a bit of a laugh. I complained about the color, asking for either a replacement or partial refund on the mistake. All they told me was that this was the "new, better" model and that they lost $45 on the transaction. I had to laugh and wrote them a bad review. Nothing more said.
The bike is good. I have to admit, for the price, it is made from aluminum, and under 35 lbs. The tires are knobby and make a nice rolling sound on pavement. The gears are a bit sloppy and not perfect, but it is a mountain bike with grip shifters, so don't expect perfect crisp shifts. The price is d ead on and assembly is required.
Don't be freaked out by the other reviewers who complain about DIY construction. Face it, if you buy a bike online, you have to put it together and tune it. There isn't another way to do it without buying it in store. Dollar for dollar, it is a deal not worth missing for the mild mountain biker who needs something to ride with. Obviously, the more moderate to hard core will want better componentry and brakes, so you may look elsewhere.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
By James A. Lawrence
This is a very nice bicycle for the money. I would have given it a 5 star except for shipping damage. The box was dinged up from shipping and the parts were able to move around and the front wheel spokes became tangled on the pedal shaft. I had to work on it a bit to get the spoke off without damage. The reflector that was mounted in the spokes was broken adn had fallen off. I did not ask for a new one.
The assembly was quick and easy without reading the directions. After pumping air into the tires the bike was ready to ride. It was a gift for my rather tall 14 year ol, 6' 4" tall and he fit nicely onto the seat.
Very nice bike at a great price.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
By BoA
The bike is +-ok, but quality of some parts isn't too high: the manufacture uses the cheapest bottom bracket, disk brakes and fork.
- the Zoom disk brakes was installed instead of Promax, and I have strong feeling that Promax should works better;
- the fork works like rigid one;
- the bottom bracket doesn't have enough oil and works very hard.
So, this is the good bike for beginner, who wants to test 29er. But I don't recommend to buy and use this Mongoose as real MTB.
