Submitted by
hadique
a Cross Country Rider
from York, PA
Date Reviewed: October 8, 2011
Strengths: Strong wheels, features for price, decent rear shock, trigger shifters.
Weaknesses: Everything else and in particular the cheap pivot points.
Bottom Line:
After one year of hard riding, everything on the bike was either creaking or broken. Headset creaked. Front brake squealed no matter what and didn't provide all that much stopping power to begin with. Octalink BB cartridge was shot. I weighed 200lbs for most of the riding.
The handlebars aren't to spec 22.2mm (are more like 20.5mm towards the end) so Ergon grips failed to go on without slipping.
But the BIGGEST problem is that every pivot point is a problem. In the rear triangle the bushings were shattered when I went to lube them. Mongoose wouldn't sell me replacements even though I don't have a dealer close and no one would ship. Had to drill them bigger to use hardware store available sizes. Then BB area pivot is held together via the inner race allowing the bearings to dislodge from the dog ears and inducing metal to metal contact. I had to file down the mount point to install 1/16" bronze washers to prevent dog ear movement. But still the rear shock pivot points creak and squeak. No amount of greasing with a variety of substances provides relief for longer than three rides. Gonna have to file those points to install bronze or nylon washers as well.
For the price is was a decent learning bike. The wheels are a pleasant surprise. Strong and wide for 2.3" tires. I broke a spoke, rode 5 miles home, and the bike shop said they were shocked how good the rim and wheel looked in general.
I've basically changed everything on it to Deore LX level, Hollowtech crank, Cane Creek headset, Hayes Prime brakes and as long as you're willing to fix the pivot points, it becomes a good if heavy AM bike.
If you're not willing to do the work.... its sucks big time and spend money on a better model. I would not purchase this level of full asuspension bike ever again or recommend it to anyone non-mechanical.
Similar Products Used: First full suspension bike but long time Gary Fisher hardtail rider.
Bike Setup: Deore LX everything off eBay and Cane Creek headset. Re-engineered pivot points.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
tire Shredder
a Weekend Warrior
from Dallas, TX USA
Date Reviewed: December 5, 2010
Strengths: Strong frame and stem, rear shock surprisingly reliable, forks do not bottom out, grippy tires and love the alloy pedals. Beefy head tube feels steady and looks awesome.
Weaknesses: A little on the heavy side but does not affect my ride. Shocks aren't the "best" in the world (this is all relative to the individual, they do the job for me).
Bottom Line:
This bike deserves more credit than its been given. Components are not the most expensive in the bike world but it certainly does the job and it has exceeded my expectations. I have ridden off of 4 foot ledges and big creek drop crossings and the shocks are stable and do not bottom out. The frame geometry is comfortable and this bike is the best climber I have ridden to date. This bike is a true XC contender. Don't let the names Mongoose and Suntour fool you. I have run circles around my buddy and his $1,600 Cannondale Jekyll with it. I am very happy with my purchase and I give it 4 chillis in value because it went on sale a month after I bought it.
Strengths: feels good to ride got the upgraded parts on it to make it work good
Weaknesses: deraler suck broke 3 times but i like to jump it so that exsplans why
Bottom Line:
good little heavy for a bike but its strong good for trails if u whant to jump it need better parts on it like a deraler,shocks and all that good stuff but the bottom line is its a good bike for there first time bike with full suspench.
Submitted by
jim.bike
a Weekend Warrior
from Sherwood,Or
Date Reviewed: March 26, 2010
Strengths: This is a great bike for the money. It has good basic components that are good quality.
Weaknesses: None
Bottom Line:
Good all around trail bike, which can be upgraded easily. This bike is a very inexpensive dual suspension trailbike that can take fair amount of abuse.
Similar Products Used: Big Hit,Sworks Enduro, Klein Mantra, Santa Cruz V10
Bike Setup: WTB seat, Thomson stem, Loc on grips,Rock Shox Tora 289 Uturn fork,Rock Shox Bar2.1 rear shock
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
shawn007
a Weekend Warrior
from Erie, CO USA
Date Reviewed: July 6, 2009
Strengths: value
Weaknesses: does not install confidence
Bottom Line:
This bike is a great value for moderate terrain. If it gets really nasty this bike makes your confidence suffer and speed slow down consequently. I've ridden it about 20 times now and moderate and difficult terrain. Here in Colorado it's really rocky and steep on the trails. Full suspension is a must and I don't really mind additional weight to compensate for additional travel and stability on the downhill.
For me this bike comes up short. The geometry puts too much forward weight bias for my taste, the frame is not stable, and the hydrolic brakes don't work that great (not enought stopping power... good feel though). For the money it is fantastic for what you could get at this price point 5 years ago. If I were to spend $650 again though I'd find a better used free ride bike that was banged up already. I will keep playing around with settings and try to improve the bike and report back though.
Strengths: Good strong and solid frame and all components are good value for the money. Been riding it a year XC and rock solid with no problems at all.
Weaknesses: Grips needed replacing but generally happy with setup. Is not too light at 33lbs but good upgrade potential to lighter setup
Bottom Line:
Great value for the money, rides like a bike twice the price and looks great as well. Would be a fantastic 2nd hand but too.
Submitted by
Joe Scolastico
a Weekend Warrior
from Dedham MA, USA
Date Reviewed: May 1, 2008
Strengths: Good frame and geometry. I liked the beefed up head post and body tubes. The brakes were strong being that they are hydraulic and offer good stopping power. The alivo offers a good shifting response on the fly and also provides reliability.
Weaknesses: The front shock seemed soft while on trails. Its not a problem though because im only about 170 pounds on a large frame. The stem was a bit extended for my taste and I replaced it with a shorter higher rising dimension one. The tires loose their grip on some of the wetter trails but they are inexpensive to replace. Most people replace a bike’s stock tires after purchase.
Bottom Line:
I like the mongoose otero elite. I have the 2008 model with the epicon rear shock in the back and it supports me well. I feel like the front shock is a little soft but it also has lockout, which is a plus. I plan on getting new tires and that’s about it for now. I looked at the Haro Shift r1 and thought that it was far too heavy, compared to the mongoose. My old Iron Horse Hard tail seems like it has at least 7 or 8 pounds on the newer mongoose. If you are looking for a bike in the 7 to 8 hundred range, this bike is for you. For the price, you cannot beat this offer from Mongoose.
Bike Setup: Stock for now. Will be getting Kenda 2.6 or 2.7 tires
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Thomas Lau
a Cross Country Rider
from Australia
Date Reviewed: November 4, 2007
Strengths: Very Strong frame, realible. Good geometry. Comfohttp://www.mtbr.com/reviews/postreview.asp?ProductID=129229 MtbREVIEW - XC Full Suspension - Mongoose Otero Elitertable,my friend said it's like a "Mercedes-Benz". Do well in muddy track, downhill, hp hill ... Alivio runs smooth. Looks unique! GOOD VALUE, 700 for dual sus and hydraulic. Brakes works well! Good for long term upgrade and "learner" on dual sus bike.
Weaknesses: The fork, suntour is kind of low level stuff, 100mm travel is not enough for rocky trail and little All mountain ride and too heavy. Rear shock is... u know too week and too heavy and some cracking noises start coming out from that after 2 months, but think it 's still alright. The handle bar is too wide, always hit trees. Steering is alright but the height of the front is a bit low which always makes me over and under steer. Wheels can improve. The original tires sucks. Alivio is quite heavy to run ... 8 speed only ... The whole bike is too heavy and it weight around 36 lbs and when i put the maxxis minon on, it weight 39 lbs !!! Too heavy
Bottom Line:
Again, this bike is very very good for $700 although the stuff is not as good as i thought (it's smooth but heavy, not too useful) but the frame works well and it's worth to upgrade. Remember one thing, u pay for what u get. Cheap bike always have disadvantage like the parts(fork, shock ...) but if u are running out of money or wanna buy a weekend mtb just for fun. This is what u want. Seriously, i ride this bike almost every single day, except sunday and some days around 18kms each time, this bike still works very well under my abuse =p . So i recommand this bike! And also, don't forget the new mongoose otero elite 08!!
Similar Products Used: EM ... dont really have any
Bike Setup: Changed maxxis minon coz i always go downhill and muddy track on this bike. Then i'm going to upgrade the wheels to mavic crossride, shimano deore LX gears, RockShox revelation fork, rear shock fox float bla bla bla ... convert it to a AM bike haha.
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Roman
a Cross Country Rider
from Israel
Date Reviewed: October 17, 2007
Strengths: Good strong frame, full alivio (works great), strong rims, price.
Weaknesses: fork is not usefull for downhill, original shock is weak and i changed it to manitou radium rl platform shock. may be a little bit heavy?
Bottom Line:
good package for the price, nice color, working hard and withought problems!
Bike Setup: mongoose otero elite with manitou radium shock
Overall Rating:
Value Rating:
Submitted by
Gordon
a Weekend Warrior
from Cairns, Qld Australia
Date Reviewed: July 1, 2007
Strengths: Feels strong, rigid, comfortable.
Weaknesses: Front springs a little weak for 79Kg rider
Bottom Line:
This has to be one of the best value-for-money bikes around. With the adjustable-travel rear suspension to make life even easier, it handles well. Sure, the components aren't the best on the market, but they can be slowly upgraded as money becomes more available.
Hey all, just wondering if anyone here has a 2008 Otero Elite and maybe has changed out their rear shock (Epicon)? Still learning about rear suspension, but I was also wondering i Read More »
Hi I am new to this forum and can't decide which one is better. I can get a orange 2007 Mongoose Teocali for $599 or a 2009 Otero Elite for $499 from a local bike shop.
Is the 2 Read More »
I am a newbie and have been looking for the best used FS bike I can get for the buck. I set myself a $500 limit. I have been looking for about 3 months and seem to have hit paydi Read More »
Just joined the forum! I have to say, I've been on here for only 2 days, and I've been reading SO much informative stuff! Thanks. I just purchased a new 2010 Mongoose Otero Elite f Read More »
I have what seems like a good deal for a frame ($220) but it does not come with rear shocks.
And what mounting hardware sizes do I use?
Need Help:) Read More »
