Bike Setup: Tioga tires, rock shox rear and rock shox indy front.
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Submitted by
Mark Zed
a Cross Country Rider
from Buffalo
Date Reviewed: April 16, 2007
Strengths: Stron Frame, Great in snow(best ever),great price point
Weaknesses: front Shock , heavy rimbs,Crank
Bottom Line:
Great for the money , works better than any Mt. Bike in mud and snow I have used; however not the best for hard trails or rocks. it does not kick-out easy but lacks in the climb, needs a stronger spring in the rear.
at about $400 or less this would have been a great buy!
Similar Products Used: Giant Hardtail John Tomac sig.
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Submitted by
Siew HW
a Weekend Warrior
from KL, Malaysia
Date Reviewed: June 6, 2003
Strengths: This is a bike with very a strong frame. Very agile. I had been using it nearly 3 years now. Offering a very comfortable ride - downhill, uphill or on rough terrain.
Weaknesses: The Crank is not strong enough. Rims a bit heavy and the front suspension needs to be upgraded.
Bottom Line:
This is a great and fairly priced bike. At abt $600, and if you are able to upgrade some of the components, you would have a bike with great performance that can easily outperform the other more expensive ones.
Similar Products Used: Would stick to this bike for some time.
Bike Setup: Upgrade to the following : Rock Shox Judy XC, Mavic X221 rims, Selle Italia saddle and of course, the STX-RC crank to a Ritchey Comp. The rest of the stuff that came along with the bike is still OK.
Weaknesses: - rear shock not the best - seat must go - handlebars - derailuers are cheap
Bottom Line:
the bike is a great bike for the price. the derailuers are cheap but are easily upgraded. CHANGE THE SEAT! if you are lookin for a bike to ride on weekends or to screw off on this bike is for you.
Similar Products Used: many trek gary fisher and mongoose bikes
Bike Setup: the bike mainly stock other than a new deore crank, new seat, grips and pedals
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Submitted by
ernie
a Cross Country Rider
from los angeles
Date Reviewed: October 7, 2002
Strengths: Neuman frame is solid, has some "bob" on uphill climbing but not as much as I would thought on a Mongoose. Still this aint no Santa Cruz Bullitt or Specialized Epic. Componant mix is on par with most of this price range. As mentioned by others: STX RC crank must go!
Weaknesses: Front fork--Manitou's worst boinger next to their Magnum series. Its like having a Jett or Judy TT. Also, you can forget putting on a bottle cage unless you like getting mud or dust all over the bottle, since the only place to put one on is below the bottom tube frame.
Bottom Line:
Heavy, ugly framed bike with a brand stamped on it everyone who knows anything about mountain bikes stays away from. Nevertheless a good bike with the same warrantee everyone else gives out. I never had trouble with the brand, I own a SX4.3 as well. Its a good value and as a bike sitting in the shop for 2 yrs, It was a steal at this price especially with the disc upgrade. I call it a "freeride" bike--its too heavy for XC racing, but only gives a 4" travel for downhills. Disc brakes and the new rims and the 2.35 Maxxis tires really weigh it down. I dont suggest this upgrade if you like to climb steep switchbacks.
Strengths: Room for upgrading despite other idiotic reviews. If someone truly used the bike... it is agile, quick and very durable. Frame quality is great and very durable.
Weaknesses: Stock is okay for novice but can be weak when reaching a more advanced level of riding.
Bottom Line:
I must admit that Mongoose has done a great injustice to their reputation by selling junk in Kmart and Walmart. Bad PR... but I hear Specialized just doofed there dealers in 2001... so their reps are on the line, too.
Anyhow, I was fortunate enough that Dick's Sporting Goods in Cincinnati Ohio luckily had two bikes in stock in 1999 (Pro Series NX 8.1) on sale. I am one of two lucky owners of the NX 8.1. I started mountain biking at age 28 in 1999 and had my first race in the fall of Fall 2000. I am considering some races in the summer of 2001. I will never be a NORBA racer but I love to ride off-road!!!
As I mentioned, the bike is worthy of upgrading and I have done so in a period of 2 years. My initial purchase of the bike and upgrades total approx. $2500 to $2800. What the average person does not understand is that most, if not all, bike makers only make the frame... all other components are made by others. The Mongoose frame is SOLID and the rear suspension is very firm in climbs... even for a full-suspension. I'll challenge anyone on the Harbin Park climbs that I can outperform a hardtail on "THE" climb.
The bike is into its 3rd season and is still kikin' butt! I am still proud to have my mongoose and most riders can't believe that they see one that has all da trimmins'!
My advise to novice riders... don't buy becuz of the hype (Bike Brands come and go)... and also do yourself a favor by going to a bike shop to get a quality mountain bike you can grow into... I happened to be fortunate with my purchase and also had lots of advise from expert riders that I have met over the years.
Strengths: decent rear suspension, the best front suspension tracks good, durable, good feel, agile and quick
Weaknesses: cheap drivetrain, flexy bars and cranks, cheap rims, brakes heavy
Bottom Line:
actualy this is the 98 model. practicualy the same thing.
This was my first full suspension bike. i am now 16 the indy fork in came with was cheap. and i blew the rear shock
This bike the way it is set up now is a very good free ride bike. 5' in front, 4' in back. it weighs 33 pounds now
it is alright at climbing, doesn't bob much, decends real good, tracks real good, stays on the ground. very good jumper i have done a lot of abuse to it and the frame is still in great condition. can go down any decent goes where u want it to
i completly destroyed the stock bars and wheelset so i got new ones.
Now that i got the new stab primo, i ride it a lot less duh!
the way it comes, i wouldn't buy it unless u are deciding to upgrade. it is a terrible cross country though.
i raced it downhill for 2 years and did fine but now it just aint good enough for that
Similar Products Used: specialized fsr mako full suspension
Bike Setup: 2000 z.1 bombers rock shock coupe deluxe xt rear der. titec seat cheap rise bars irc kujo tires new sun ringle/lx wheelset everything else stock from the 98 model
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Submitted by
Barry Graham
a Weekend Warrior
from Christchurch New Zealand
Date Reviewed: October 28, 2000
Strengths: Light,quick,good looker handle very well in most conditions and loves it
Weaknesses: non to speak of now after new seat
Bottom Line:
I posted a review two weeks ago which pointed out the IQ level of some of the reviewers of this goose that slam it its proof of one thing these people have never come back to this review or didn,t have the brains to understand what I said about them or they are just guttless wonders next time children back up your ramblings with proof if not just crawl back into your rat hole and toss your self This bike is the best I have owned after years of mountain biking my setup is not standard but what is more upgrades and this baby judt get better and better but not for a while or my wife will kill me LOL
Submitted by
Matthew Robinson
a Weekend Warrior
from Chistchurch, New Zealand
Date Reviewed: October 17, 2000
Strengths: An excellent bike for the price. The kinetics and frame geometry are good.An excellent wheel set fo the price, Looks the part. Rear Suspension is easily upgradable. I love the frame! I also like the plentiful rear suspension adjustability. A solid,tough bike!
Weaknesses: You will need to up grade the Pedals ( Mine snapped when as a result of a crash-cheap plastic ones), front for struggles for consistant and full rebound, but is still good, I weigh around 100kg. Rear Coil lacks durability(maybe becuas I am Heavy)
Bottom Line:
The the price that you pay for this bike you cant go wrong. I have friends that have paid more for their Gt's,marins and Giants, but the extra money I saved i have used to upgrade my bike and as a result performs better tan theres. This bike will never let you down ( apart from the cheap pedals) and is an excellent choice for the weekend warrior or upgrade it to race.
Similar Products Used: Only hard tails:Gt timber line, Avanti Barracuda.
Bike Setup: Upgrades: -Marzoochi Z3 bomber fork.(This is a coll fork) -Stronger pedals -Heavy duty rock shocks rear coil(Mainly because of my weight) -Syncros riser handle Bar.
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Submitted by
Barry
a Weekend Warrior
from Christchurch New Zealand
Date Reviewed: October 16, 2000
Strengths: light ,quick,good looker
Weaknesses: bad seat
Bottom Line:
I changed the crank to 98 LX and the rear derailier to LX too I put riser bars on and a velo crossbow seat(leather) I got better shocks than standard you normally get spyders I got spyder r,s I changed the the brakes too tektro quartz on back and LX on the front I changed the shifters to stx rc the grips are now profile brake levers are tektro quartz so as you can see not much left of standard comp this bike handles like a dream right now I dont buy crap so it really pisses me off when dickheads run this bike down as I picked it carefully there are only a few in this review that do and quite frankly they would not know there arse from there face but must have small dick syndrome or had a bad accident on top of a barbed wire fence they are spoilers in to bring ratings down so get a life and get off my bike check out the 2001 goose,s they look sweet
