Customer Reviews

Mongoose Montana Men's Mountain Bike

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I ride about 5 miles a day from home to school and back. Very flat, good weather, easy ride, and I'm not huge or anything. I figured a cheap bike like this would last a year, and then I'd upgrade. I've had it a month, and there have been a number of problems.

In general, the parts are flimsy. The seat post clamp won't prop up the seat. The handlebars are loose because the bolt that holds them comes loose. The bike feels like it's off balance. Also, while making sharp turns, my toes scrape the front tire. Biggest problem - pedals made of really weak plastic that actually ripped. Drivetrain, shifters, and brakes OK so far, but I'm not expecting much.

Do NOT buy this bike if you expect to ride it on a daily basis. Spend 2X or 3X more and get better quality components.

I am scared to even ride this thing. The handlebars cannot be tightened enough so they keep twisting around. The front wheel is too close to the pedals, which makes turns difficult. The wheels were somewhat out of true right out of the box. Perhaps because of this, the brakes dont feel right. I havent ridden this enough to break the pedals yet, but reading the other reviews here, it is bound to happen soon.

One more thing is the assembly. There are no instructions on how to assemble from "out of the box". The ones available are needlessly detailed and often skip basics - useful for a mechanic, not for the typical user. The whole thing seems designed in a very ad-hoc fashion: for example, every allen bolt is a different size.

I'm going to count this as a loss and get my old secondhand bike fixed.

Edit: Thanks to the reviewer who posted that the front wheel could be backwards. This was indeed true. Think me a moron and I wont disagree with you, but the reason I did that was due to the wedge inside the front wheel tube that matches the one on the bottom of the handle being reversed (ie. the factory installed it back-to-front). There's no way to get at it to turn it around without special tools so I just got a bodybuilder neighbor of mine to jam the handle in as-is. The handle comes a bit loose once in a while so I have to carry an allen key with me while riding, but given the trouble the bike's been, it's a small deal.

I still wouldnt recommend the bike or change my rating. Other things wrong with it: gears are not smooth at all. Chain comes apart. Balance is bad (cant ride it hands-free). Seat is uncomfortable. Also, very high friction - it's like riding an exercise bike sometimes. I did a measurement: freewheeled it down a hill and see when it stopped by itself once it reached flat ground. My old secondhand bike which I've rarely oiled (it's also a mountain bike but manifestly not a Montana) reached twice the distance.

Bike looks good, easy to assemble. But the parts (specially the padals) are made of poor quality weak plastic, which tear off within 2 weeks of biking(total 3-5 miles). The tire is also of poor quality.

Would recommend spending some more money and buying a better one.

I purchased this bike as a present for my husband. There was some minor assembly (putting the wheels on) but when he rode it for the first time, the rims rubbed against the brakes (because they were warped). When I called the manufacturer yesterday and explained the problem, they said they would ship me new rims. So, I am waiting on the new rims. I would have rated this FIVE stars, if it was "out of the box perfect."
The customer service department of the manufacturer was quite helpful and pleasant, so I feel pretty confident that the rims are on their way. I will change my rating to FIVE stars once the new rims are in place because I think the best way to judge a company is how they handle customer issues and I wasn't put on hold, I didn't have to provide a whole bunch of information, and the gal on the phone was helpful.
I would recommend this purchase because it IS a great value for the price!

I think the bike is priced very well. I bought it for my wife knowing that she wouldn't benifit from an more expensive bike since she doesn't ride often. For the price it is a big step up from many at its price range but is not top quality compared to bikes priced 4 to 5 x as much. Overall satisfied. To see how it holds up with wear.

I was not able to assemble the bike and ended up spending another $100 getting professional assembly. They pointed out that the problem I was having is that the derailer (sorry, I forget the French spelling) was bent and had to be replaced. So, that ended up costing even more.

In the future, I will buy my bikes from bike shops instead of risking damage and uncertainty in shipping.

<EDIT ( 02.2009): My suspension fork wasn't properly functioning. I called the warranty department and ask for a replacement. They shipped a new suspension fork the same day! And I received it in 3 days! (FedEx) This is not a high quality bike, but actually the company has a great warranty! They were really helpful. I could put 3.5 stars if it was actually possible.>

Ok, I must say that I am totally disappointed with this product. First of all, I had to reassembly front brakes, because they were not working properly. Then, I realized that spokes on the front and rear wheels must be adjusted as they were wobbly! Luckily, I knew how to do that, but took me about 1 hours to make it work and to true the wheels. Then, tried to ride it; guess what! the gears needed adjustment! I also did that, and thought that it is now OK. I use the bike to commute, 10 miles a day. I rode it like 70 miles (on the main road) and the left pedal is now broken! I am 165 lbs, and I am not riding aggressively.The pedals are really bad quality!

I also had problems with the handlebars. Couple of times they became loose during the ride, and I had to stop and fix it. I am really lucky for that didn't cause an accident!

Make yourself a favor, instead of buying this bike [...] for all the adjustments, pay more and get something better than this!

I know that it's cheap, but it is not free! And cheap doesn't mean that exaggerated low quality product! I would definitely return it If I could!

Edit: I think I have now problems with the fork: the slider moves back and forth, even though the stanchion is stationary (I am not talking about the normal up-down movement of the suspension!). I hope it will not fall apart when riding!

We bought two bikes (man and woman)bikes... at first we had problems as our feet would hit the front tires on turns while peddling (very dangerous)! Good thing I got on this website and found another reviewer had mentioned the shock absorber forks had been on backwards. We flipped the forks so the brake calipers faced the front of bike. What a difference! the bikes ride fantastic and we are enjoying them!

I was able to quickly assemble the bike in less than 15 minutes. I noticed a small tear/rip in both pedals, after riding it for the first time. Within a 2 week period, the pedals are almost falling off. I rode the bike for about 1 mile a day (lunch break) for 2 weeks (10 days) and the pedals have almost completely fallen off. Cheap plastic/rubber. I've had this bike for about 5 weeks, now, and over all, it is a good bike for the price, but something like the pedals showing wear and tear after the first ride of about a quarter mile, is ridiculous. The ride is smooth, especially with the suspension, and the shifting of speeds is very easy, though there are a couple speeds that you can shift to, where you cannot get rid of the clicking sound. If you purchase this bike, be sure to also add to your cart an extra set of pedals, because the ones that come with this bike is of really bad quality and workmanship. It's like buying a car without a gas pedal. If it wasn't for the bad pedals, I probably would have given this bike 4.5 stars. It's just the fact that you have to use the pedals, every single time you jump on this thing, and it just reminds me of how messed up the original pedals are. Okay, I'm done with my rant/review.

At this price, the bike is awesome! It was delivered as promised and little assembly was required, it is the best looking bike I have seen in a while. Although I only use it for casual treking, I am confident this piece of equipment could handle just about anything.