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The Trek Mamba is not worthy!

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#21 ·
Fuze911 said:
Ha i remember the days i used to utilize my local bike shops....and then one by one they all lost my business because of the "i know more then you" attitude or missinformation about products. Learning to work on and building up my own bike has been a really cool and learning experience.
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+1 on this. If you don't mind having stuff that's a year old, Fleabay has some nice finds.

FWIW-I still patronize the LBS when that can get me prices within 10% of the online price.
 
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#22 ·
i have found that attitude with some bikes stores i have wanted to buy from

a lot of them not willing to budge on price on older models

so you have to wonder sometimes i have bought a full bike tool kit teach myself to fix a bike and save a lot of money in the process

i think some bike stores need to snap outta reality and be more flexible im willing to pay a little more if they give service but not 50% more for shitty service
 
#23 ·
My LBs said the same thing when I called this week about putting a new fork (rockshox Reba RL) on my 2012 Mamba. though the bike is only 6 months old, tried to give me $600 trade in on a $1100 bike and then tried to sell me a demo Giant Superfly ($3800) for $3000.

Seems my bike got hit with a 45% depreciation while the demo bike only got hit with 18% depreciation.

They said the same thing about my Mamba that it was not worth it, but it really is. My bike is paid for, I found a smoking deal on a Rockshox Reba RLT dual air for $380, am getting it installed for around $30, next up are some Stans Arch Ex wheels and new tires and I will be set until the drivetrain breaks. Then I will replace the drivetrain with Shimano XT stuff and call it good.

At the end of the day the bike is paid for, does what it is suppossed to do. Seems like the comments of it is not worth the upgrade are nothing more than a preclipse to an upsell to get you to trade in your current ride or just buy a better ride from them.

not everyone can afford to upgrade a bike each year, I already did that once this year and will have spent close to $6k on bikes this year.
 
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#24 ·
This is why I do not shop at local bike shops much. I've gotten comments like this from guys at my LBS, and it really makes me wonder, "What if every business was conducted this way?"

Let's say I walk into my local grocery store and go up to the meat counter. I tell them I want a 2" thick T-bone steak. Do they ask me WHY I want that steak? Do they tell me that red meat leads to heart disease? Do they insert their opinion in any way? No, they don't. They simply get out a knife and hack a steak off because that's what I want!

Bike shops and car dealerships are notorious for this. As are realtors. I can't count the number of times a realtor has tried to tell me I want something other than what I said I wanted.

So yeah, goodbye local bike shop. Hello online dealers. I'm getting to be a pretty good bike mechanic as a result. I say upgrade your Mamba however you want, whenever you want. The Mamba is a great bike and as long as you're happy and out riding, that's all that matters.
 
#25 ·
With bike shops I think you really do need to find a guy who you like and trust and stick with him/her and try to deal with them more often than not. Bringing them boxes of Starbucks coffee also works well. Many people simply don't want to say "I don't know" and they are not eager to have to do the work to look up on a spec sheet to see what type of BB you're dealing with and then recommending a proper crankset that will make you happy.
 
#26 ·
Wow that is crazy I have been saving for 3 months to be able to buy a Mamba and hope to get it soon $1000 is not cheap for most people and sale is a sale some people just don't realize how important a little customer service is in this digital age. That's crazy...
 
#27 ·
This happens in bike, motorcycle, car tuner shops, etc. unfortunate.

I visit a LBS for certain things where I can't stand the people. Sales people know nothing and any Q is passed along to the techs who have $hitty attitudes. I run in for parts and GTFO.

I have upgraded a lot of things on my Mamba and plan on keeping this bike a long time. Drivetrain will be upgraded as it wears out. I couldn't be happier with this bike.
 
#28 ·
I cant tell after tonight put a fork on your first and foremost upgrade if you plan on riding trails at a decent pace. I was pretty sure I was maxing mine out and put a ziptie on the fork tonight to test the preload out, sure enough even with max preload I am bottoming out in the corners.

Soon to be resolved as I got the shipping notice from the vendor I ordered my new fork from, next up is some tires and then to work on some new wheels.
 
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#30 ·
screw your LBS and drop them a very nice review on Yelp lol

I personally swapped almost everything except frame/stem/handlebar on my '12 Trek Wahoo 29er (same frame as mamba). Spent over $1400+tools and my bike was only 500 bucks to start out. My bike now weights 28lbs and I wouldn't be happier with just buying a brand new bike.
 
#32 ·
Nobody is saying the Mamba is a bad bike. They're just saying that high-end suspension and parts are expensive and if good wheels and shocks cost more than your bike, you should consider a different bike than full parts replacement.
 
#34 ·
Its like those high schoolers who put $2000 worth of stereo equipment in a $400 honda civic. Thats what a lbs employee said to me when I wanted new wheels for my 06 Gary Fisher Tassajara. Ive spent well over the original purchase price of $850 on upgrades and parts replacement. I love the fit and geometry of my bike and its a well built relatively lightweight frame that I found more than worthy of building up. Ive had multiple lbs employees tell me I was wasting my money and it wasnt worth it. I guess they dont like making money? My bike is now one of a kind around 25lbs, fast as hell and climbs like a goat! If you love your bike dont let anyone tell you what you can and cant do to it. It is YOUR bike after all!
 
#35 ·
So the square taper is problem? This can be switched out to something better? If so what would that be?

I've been somewhat interested in a Mamba.
 
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#36 ·
Square taper is just fine at that level... same with the shocks... same with the wheels... same with the tubes... same with the axle. Just don't buy it with the intent of replacing all of those things. When you're ready to upgrade, sell it and buy something that has all those things.
 
#38 ·
KEITH21 said:
So I called the LBS to find out if someone could tell me if a set of cranks would work in my Trek Mamba. The guy on the phone says "what do you want to upgrade the cranks for? The Trek Mamba frame is not worthy of upgrades. Usually people just trade in their bike and get half their money back and upgrade the whole bike. Any bike that runs less than $1000 isnt worthy enough to upgrade." Then he says if your buying online then im not making a penny and I was waisting his time. Same place I have purchased two bikes and quite a few accessories from. I am quickly learning to buy upgrades online and do the work myself. :)
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The guy who answered the phone fell into a familiar trap and could have handled it differently. Correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I'm reading, here's what he heard:

"Hi, you don't know me and I've found some cranks online, but don't know if they fit my bike. I'm calling you for free advice so I can buy something off eBay because the eBay retailer can't or won't offer me any customer service, but I expect you to do this for me out of the kindness of your heart."

He gets this all day long. He did want to dust you off his shoulders because, in his view, you will, likely, waste a lot of his time in the future by calling or coming in for advice and buying online and watching videos online and installing it yourself.

The way he should have handled it was, "Those are great cranks and a little out of spec for that bike, what's wrong with the ones you have now?"

Or, better yet, the way you could have handled it was, "Hi, I bought a Trek Mamba from you a while back and I'm really disappointed with the cranks because one of the arms keeps coming loose. I saw a pair of cranks online and I'm thinking about buying them so I could replace the stock ones because I don't want to waste my or your time with a warranty claim, but don't know if they will fit my bike - is this something you can help me with?"

His response should have been, "Man, I'm really sorry you have to deal with that. I've got a pair of loaner cranks here in the shop. Why don't you bring the bike in and we'll swap them out real quick so you can stay on the trail while we get this warranty thing sorted out. As for upgrading the cranks, you probably won't see much of a performance increase by swapping out cranks. It's usually the last thing I upgrade on my bikes. Besides, from my experience, once you start upgrading an entry-level bike, it will be so much more expensive replacing part by part than if you just buy an entire upgraded complete bike. What is it about your bike that you'd like to be different?"

See the difference? This is where a lot of bikes shops could differentiate themselves. That's the value of a LBS over online retailers. Online guys can't do that.

Now, I'm going to talk out the other side of my mouth because it is so rare an LBS provides that level of service. If you're considering a Trek Mamba, Consider this: Sette Razzo X7 10 Speed 29er Alloy Mountain Bike at Price Point
 
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#39 · (Edited)
I wonder what your LBS will say when you need new brake pads?

I hate it when shops just can't stick the part in question and try to convince you to take it up level or two and replace more than what is needed. Sometimes it's justified but more often it's not.

Shops also forget the connection and history a customer might have with his or her bike. Your bike could be out of date and not of much value to someone else but to you, it's priceless.
 
#40 ·
this thread is full of stupid.

calling a LBS to ask about an online purchase is just wrong. going in there discussing options, seeing what they can do for you and if the prices are better online is a fine way to handle it, as long as your not intentionally wasting their time. try to give your LBS business, but when it financially doesn't make sense dont have blind loyalty. don't just use them for free advice though.

i have a mamba and i have changed out some parts that have broken, but nothign that would be considered an upgrade except clipless pedals and grips. not saying it isn't "worthy" of upgrades, just that it is a waste of time and money.

for all the people who say they love having a unique bike and diying their stuff, you should just buy a new frame and then assemble parts as you go. even if you can upgrade a mamba (or wahoo, marlin etc.) up to something nicer, on par with the x-cal, you will end up with a ton of parts that are worth nothing. you could sell the bike whole as is for a decent amount of money, but just selling a tora fork, bb5 brakes, or an 8 speed drivetrain is going to get you basically no money back.

i have thought about upgrading to hydros on my mamba, but when it is going to be ~200 or so for a reliable set it just doesn't add up. my brakes are working fine, and 200 bucks is a 1/4 the price of the whole bike.
 
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