Mongoose Men's Status 2.2 Full Suspension Bicycle (26-Inch Wheels), Matte Black, 18-Inch

Mongoose Men's Status 2.2 Full Suspension Bicycle (26-Inch Wheels), Matte Black, 18-Inch

CUSTOMER REVIEW



In my youth I used to ride a lot. Now I'm just trying to exercise to lose weight. (I'm pushing 200lbs at 5'9") Is this a $1000 bike? No. Do I wish it was? Yes. But it is the best bike I could afford that will do well off road.



I'm not climbing mountains, just a few hills. The gearing appears to me to be fine for steep terrain. I've put about 100 miles on this bike without issue. None of those miles were on a road and it was rough terrain on a narrow track over grassland (fairly bumpy). The suspension seems to help me a good deal. I couldn't ride on this trail with previous bikes due to the bumps and bouncing to the point of non enjoyment. It steers well.



For the price range this bike is in, I see no honest faults. Components could be more costly and well made, but if you wanted those things you wouldn't be looking at this bike. The chain switches gears when I want it to without a blip with amazing accuracy. The saddle seems decent enough, but you probably will want to upgrade at some point. Everything behaves like I expect it would at this price point. Rims came fairly straight, brakes work, gears shift, pedals turn, etc.



I found the bike to fit me adequately. Not exactly a perfect fit, but close enough to want to ride it every day, and that's the most important point. I'm actually having a blast on it and now riding up to 15 miles off road a day.



I did buy this from a box store already assembled. But I would imagine that anyone buying this bike should expect to have to do some adjusting to the components and "dial it in" with the brake pads, and derailleurs, etc., and make sure everything is tightened up!



I feel that this is a fairly decent $200 bike and it should last me a good long while and take a decent amount of abuse.



*EDIT 8/11/13

As I have now learned, you might also want to make sure all your bearings are lubricated, as with any bike not bought from a bike store. I developed a bad squeak at about 300 miles and found that the crank bearings had very little lubrication and one of the bearings was dead. When I pulled it apart I had a bunch of blackish powder fall out accompanied by a mangled bearing...no grease. I also looked at my axle bearings and found a similar situation. They were greased, but not well. Luckily there's plenty of videos online to explain how to disassemble and perform this kind of maintenance. I don't fault the bike for this. I think I spent $20 on a crank puller and bearings and was on my way again. Got the bearings here, B000AO9QII



My odometer is now reading close to 600 miles and I don't foresee any more issues. My longest ride so far was 50 miles on muddy canyon roads and this bike did wonderful.