Submitted by
ricky351992
a Downhiller
from Corona CA
Date Reviewed: July 19, 2008
Strengths: solid frame
Weaknesses: weak pedals
rims tend to taco easily
Bottom Line:
honestly i dont see any problem with this bike. its very cheap so you cant complain about upgrading it because your still gona spend less than most bikes and you can still end up with a decent bike. I rode the bike stock for about 2 months(only changing tha rims) and it held up fine. the only reason i decided to upgrade it is because i do alot of difficult trails and the original suspension didnt have enough travel. after upgrading the shocks the bike handle perfect. i cant complain. after everything is said and done i have a very decent softail for less than 1000 bucks. so to everyone out there that is complaing i think u should stop biching, suck it up and spend the extra 500 dolars
Similar Products Used: Kona stinky/ kona kikapu/stinky delux/kona blast/Forge sawback/sawback 5x
Bike Setup: Rst storms up front and dnm dv22 shock in back/ felt drop zero stem/redline bars
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Chris
a Racer
from Waterbury Center, Vermont, USA
Date Reviewed: January 5, 2005
Strengths: Looks SOOOOOOOOOO COOL!!!
Weaknesses: Every part on the entire bike has either broke off, or is cracked in multiple places-except the grips, those puppys are damn strong...
Bottom Line:
If you have bought this bike, it is way too late. If you ever consider buying this bike, or are reading reviews to learn if this bike is the one for you, go away. The price wouldn't be low enough if Mongoose gave you $100. The quality may be Awesome - yes i know Awesome - but still it is not worth it. If there was a way to only rate this bike at ZERO CHILIS, i would. (and by the way, i actually do own one baby)
Similar Products Used: Other various dependable, strong, reliable, good Mongoose products bought at Ames.
Bike Setup: Stock except seat - I had to have one of those seats with the litle hole in the middle because the way the bike was set up, it hurt so much.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Josh
a Weekend Warrior
from Mountain view, CA
Date Reviewed: August 3, 2004
Strengths: Stiff, heavy frame good for downhill, nice shifters, value
Weaknesses: shocks have little damping and travel, low ground clearance, pedals, rims
Bottom Line:
I have owned and abused this bike for 4 years. The thread of the rear bolt suspension faded after all those dirt jumps and stairs. If you are 140 lbs like me, change the shock to 900lbs. If you are over 200 lbs and ride like me...get a bike with a more reliable rear suspension or reinforce the Bolt with metal tubing OR lose some weight.
Bike Setup: 900 lbs rear spring and reinforced metal tubing above Bolt, WTB VelociRaptor tires, stronger rims, crotch friendly seat
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Thomm
a Weekend Warrior
from Essex Junction, VT, USA
Date Reviewed: July 16, 2003
Strengths: bang-for-the-buck. Frame can take a pounding and stay true.
Weaknesses: assembled by sweatshop kids (Read: needs heavy tuning once aquired). Rims deform easier than expected.
Bottom Line:
The price I payed for this MGX grx 6.5 is pretty good considering the fact that the frame is so well built, and it has full suspension. I've read other reviews in this forum, and I agree, if you're a 6'1" 300+ pound guy who insists his mass is "muscle" then yes, you may find faults with this and any bicycle. Me? I'm content to toss my 6'2" frame and all 170lbs of my mass around the nearest wooded area and have a blast. I actually overshot a huge tabletop and fractured my arm 2 years ago (I couldn't get my feet out of the rat traps in time so I went down with the ship), and the bike suffered no damage whatsoever. Yes it's heavy, no the components aren't race worthy, but who cares? If you were really pro you would buy an expensive bike anyway. This bike is for the weekend warriors...period.
Similar Products Used: none. My GSXR doesn't count ;|
Bike Setup: bone stock w/ a gel seat, rat traps, and "sand" tire up front
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Dimtri beauliere
a Weekend Warrior
from Vancouver Washington
Date Reviewed: April 11, 2003
Strengths: looks nice in the store
Weaknesses: every thing, to many to list dont bother with this bike just walk were ever your going
Bottom Line:
why cant i give it no chillis. bike is pile of burnning feccies. no, burrnig feccies more fun its burrnig. well first off im a big guy(6'1" 320lbs no joke not a fat 320 ethier im prety muscular) i konw that stuff has a tendancy to beak when i use it but it happes when my friends use my bike to, so i know my size had something to do with it but still the sprockets on the back slipped untill i got a monkey wrench and tightened the back suspenson all the way down but after one very relaxed ride started to slipp again. shifters broke flat out broke will no longer shift efective ly turrning it into a scooter with a seat. my friend and I have found a new creature the tire monster it will jump out grab your rear tire for long enough for you to go over the hadle bars then let go and disapear till it decides to garb it again my friend and I couldn't figure out what caused the phenomenon but it hurts. You will also find that the back tire tends to taco quickly to the point were its almost imposible to remove it after wrenching down the suspension i was in my friends back yard waiting for him i decided to hop around alittle cause i haddint been on the bike in a while then the tire bent like butter, just no ressistance, if you took a pice of tin foil shaped like a tire and bent it thats about what happened. handle bars always come loose no mater what you do you put your hands on the horn dellies ( dont know what there called) and about a 1/10 of a second later your lookin at the tread on your front tire. the seat horrible i had to get one of those over sized grandpa seats because the stock one kept riddin up mu butt
Strengths: styling, inexpensive, good entry level bike.
Weaknesses: Poor components. Weight. Slipping gears, cheap pedals, requires additional $$$ to make the bike into something to take pride in.
Bottom Line:
When i first got this bike i was riding and had the chain slip on the casette and then jam, sending me flat on my backside. I've been downhilling for 3-4 years now, and have had this bike for a little over 2 years, I was LIVID when this happened 3 days after purchase/tuning. Rather than swear the bike off and empty my wallet on something with a better name I figured it has a decent frame, great styling, and with some work could be just what i needed. Pretty much all that's still stock is the seat, frame, and skewers.
At first this bike is what you pay for: a CostCo consumer-end cycle.
I love the bike now. And I haven't had a problem with it since the suspension fork was acting up, which i quickly fixed with a few dollars and some elbow grease. I love the way the bike looks. It's a real eye catcher to both the adept and novice now. Once i removed all the mongoose emblems and decals and put my own on there it really took the bike up a notch (i hate things with labels plastered all over them).
Only downfall is that it weighs a lot. so biking up hills can get exhausting. In replacing a lot of the cheap, heavy, stock components you lose some weight, but not nearly enough if you're into cross-country.
This bike suits my riding style a lot better than most. Maybe someday if my liking for downhilling goes past more than just a hobby i'll upgrade. But for the amatuer (in the olympic sense of the word) rider it's perfect.
2 flaming chilis for when this is right off the costco floor, great bike for it's class.
then some work, money, and lots and lots of riding (1200+ miles), and it's a great cycle.
4 flaming chilis for the potential of the cycle. But since it's a CostCo clunker, it can't ever touch 5.
Great bike, but I wouldn't have it as your dream cycle. If you're looking to get into downhilling as a way to spend your weekends, and don't mind dropping some additional money into the bike - go for it. If you're a professional, get something that suits you.
Granted i've put a bit of money into mine, but i'm into this for the fun, so I figure i could drop the same amount of money into a $1200 cycle, or just drop it into the $200 cycle and put up with a few extra pounds. Look at it this way: it will help keep those lovehandles from ever coming back.
Bike Setup: hayes disc brakes, Shimano XTR Mega 9 Cassette, Race Face North Shore DH Crank, Sram ESP 9.0 Shifters/derailleurs Shimano 545 Pedals, Cane Creek AD-12 Rear Suspension, Marzocchi Z1 X-Fly Fork, & misc other parts from the shop.
Bike Setup: Shimano Acera, Alivio and Deore drivbetrain and shifters. Shimano SPD pedals, RST 381 AET fork, Shocks Works Hydraulic rear shock, Amoeba tee and stem, Quad disk brakes (rear and front)
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
James Tener
a Downhiller
from Vancouver, BC, Canada
Date Reviewed: September 13, 2001
Strengths: This bike is unbelievable! You can tell you will have the ride of your life the minute you get to the top of whistler and point the thing down the hill.
Weaknesses: Absolutely nothing
Bottom Line:
Wow. I took this bike to a downhill race recently here in the north shore....i came in second out of 15. But it was no surprise considering i was riding an unbelievable bike. I ripped down the trail like a...fast thing...and the suspension was incredibly smooth. I've taken it of some 6 and 7-foot drops, and it's held up fine. The suspension just soaks it all up. Biggest drop so far was 8 and a half feet, with a grass landing. I'm still riding it after a year's worth af punishment, I haven't had to upgrade a thing. I'd reccomend this bike to anyone who is seriously considering hardcore downhill or free riding on the north shore. This bike will certainly not dissapoint even the most hard core rider. I'd give it 50 flamin' chillis, but they're only letting me give five.
The Thing sucks! The rear shock has a 1250 lbs spring which turns it into a heavy hardtail. The rear shock bottoms out if you replace the spring with other ones ranging from 650-900lbs. Besides, the bottom bracket is TOO LOW. The bike seems to work better if you are heavy, let's say, Over 90 kilos (200 lbs). The fork sucks as well! Don't buy it! save your money! Get something better. My country has never been famous for making quality bikes, but even the ones that are mede here are better by far. Don't you think you can improve it by adding a good downhill shock twice or three times as expensive as this thing.
Mongoose sold their company to Wal-Mart because they were going out of business. Flashy paint and dual suspension should not lure you into buying this pieceofcrap. Recently, at a Boy Scout camp, I sw a 100 pound boy taco the front wheel of his mongoose fs, and ruin the front suspension, upon examining the bike, I noticed that all of the bearings were rough, the rear suspension had no dampening, (Never did) and the cranks were loose, along with the bb. The bb was non-adjustable, and a replacement would be hard to find. All of this from one week of easy, easy trail riding at moderate speeds. The evet that caused the tacoed wheel was hitting a root about as big as a ferw broomsticks lashed togther, at about 10 mph. The bottom line is, riding these bikes is unsafe, as parts failure during even MODERATE trail riding is INEVETIBLE! I AM SORRY I CANT GIVE THIS BIKE -4 FLAMING #$%^s BECAUSE THAT POOR KID ALMOST BROKE HIS SHOULDER! STOP PUSHING THIS BIKE AND ADMIT THAT IT IS NOT AN MTB! IT IS A 50 LB ROAD BIKE WITH SORTA KNOBBY TIRES AND A BUNCH OF ENERGY SUCKING SPRINGS! If you are going to buy an mtb for 200 dollars, go to a bike store and get a rigids bike from a real company with at least semi reliable components, and stop showing off!
Similar Products Used: There are no other products that you could buy that are a crappy as this one.
Bike Setup: Specialized Stumpjumper Pro, xt/xtr, sid xc, panaracer fire xc 2.1, mavic 222.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Evan
a Cross Country Rider
from Minnesota
Date Reviewed: June 22, 2001
Strengths: rims are relatively strong, brakes aren't bad, value.
Weaknesses: deureuller, weight, megarange superlow gear is too low to use even on steep climbs, pedals are light but lack strength, and single-pivot suspension sucks a lot of your energy out of you.
Bottom Line:
it looks cool but looks can be deceiving. it hasn't been so bad because i got the bike cheap, and got replacement parts cheap, but expect to spend more than retail on this bike.
Bike Setup: replaced rear deur., hub, seat, and pedals.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Kurt
a Cross Country Rider
from Tacoma
Date Reviewed: June 8, 2001
Strengths: Cheap. Full suspension. For a low end bike the frame is very solid and 100% aluminum, (I have the grx 6-5 model which appears to have a better frame and components).
Weaknesses: Heavy. Stripped down this bike weighs about 35 lbs. Some components inferior. Bike is ussually untuned when you buy it. Bottom bracket is about 1.5" too low. Ground clearance is poor. Seat post is too short and seat is uncomfortable. Cheap pedals.
Bottom Line:
This is a cheap bike and a pretty good value unless you plan on really hammering it offroad. It's great for riding around town and travelling offroads, but if you are really into mountain biking you'll find it substandard. It can't compete with bikes costing three times as much, but compared to the bikes in this price range it stacks up well. There are several different models of this bike with different levels of components on them. Mine is the MGX GRE 6-5 model and has Shimano v-brakes and rapid fire shifters, Shimano 24 speed drivetrain, (cranks, derailers and freewheel), and an all aluminum frame, (front and rear).
Bike Setup: I've got it set up for long distance riding on trails and logging roads. Three water bottles, a rear rack, and tires that are practically bulletproof and heavy as hell, (liners+Slime+thorn resistant tubes).
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Al
a Weekend Warrior
from Commerce, MI, USA
Date Reviewed: April 18, 2001
Strengths: Low price, good entry level bike
Weaknesses: All of the components will rapidly fail if you use it like a mountain bike
Bottom Line:
First of all, read the manual and set the bike up correctly. Dept. store dudes have no clue how do adjust anything, so part of the low price reflects that. Next, bear in mind that a decent front fork alone will cost more than this entire bike, and you get an idea of the quaility of the components. I put a total of 700 miles on mine and in the process replaced just about all the moving parts, but never had any frame or suspension problems. It's a good bike for cash strapped beginners and one thing is certain, When you finally upgrade to a decent bike (I just bought a Klien) you will really appreciate it!
Similar Products Used: This was my first full suspension bike
Bike Setup: Started out stock, upgraded the components as they broke
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
James Toredo
a Cross Country Rider
from Uninon City,CA,USA
Date Reviewed: March 30, 2001
Strengths: Low Price
Weaknesses: Everything!!!!
Bottom Line:
This bikes not only sucks,it bites the big one!! after only 24 days I run into a ocean of problems...firts the pedals,then the front suspensio, then one day as Im riding my derailer some how the derailer made the chain get stuck between the tire and the "all steel" frame..causing me to fall right on my head, crack my helmet and get mmmm about 10 cuts on my legs....all I have to say to you is...if you buy this bike, buy at your own risk!! and god have mercy of you....
