Customer Reviews

Mongoose Montana Boy's Mountain Bike (24-Inch Wheels, Silver/Blue)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this bike for my 9 year old son. I wanted something rugged for the abuse 9 yr old boys tend to dish out but I also wanted him to have gears so he could ride with me when I go longer distances.

In the bike market there are cheap steel bikes at the big box stores, or the high end light weight bikes at the bike stores. I know if i went to the bike stores I would find what I want for $350+. Hard to justify the money since he will outgrow this in two years. I took a chance on this and it seems to fit somewhere in between the high and stores and the big box stores.

The frame is aluminum, which is a plus for weight, but the bike does not seem to be a light as the best bikes at a bike store. Anyway, it is still better than some of the junk I see in the low end stores. The bike requires light assembly of the handle bars and the front wheel and it could have taken only took 15 minutes from unpacking to riding. The minor problem I had was a loose rear brake cable clamp. I had to reset and tighten this cable, fairly minor to those who are familiar with bikes. The shifters and brakes seem of medium quality, they are Shimano probably their lower end stuff. They shift well out of the box, but I think over time they will need some adjusting. The most important thing I notice is that my son does use the gears, therefore they must be acceptable to him. I observe him while we ride and notice he quickly became familiar with the appropriate gears for the terrain as we rode, that was what I wanted from this purchase.

Overall , I would definitely recommend this bike to anyone looking for a good bike at a decent price.

We all know that virtually all bikes are made in China but whatever factory built this bike was likely just converted from making rat traps. Seriously, this bike is junk and Amazon should be embarrassed to sell it. Here is the list of issues right out of the box:
* instructions were general, not specific for this bike
* both wheels out of true (warped)
* both bakes incorrectly adjusted and of very poor quality
* both derailleurs incorrectly adjusted
* the bike rides poorly making much noise and grinding from the gears

I am reasonably experienced in assembling bikes and I had to spend 2 hours on this one due to having to readjust and fine tune most of the factory settings just to get it ridable....

I would strongly suggest staying away from this bike and I am pretty much stuck with mine as it would cost of fortune to return. Play it safe and buy your bike from a local retailer....

Initially the bike was very nice, delivery quick. Upon assembly (if you are not mechanically inclined make sure you have help) it was discovered that Mongoose has poor quality control. Both wheel are wobbly (poor lateral run out) and they rub the brake pads once every rotation unless the brakes are adjusted out to there maximum. If you get any mud or dirt on the wheels they rub and slow you down considerably.

I called Mongoose and they said they would send me two new wheels, and a couple of other small parts I noticed defective. I received the small parts, but no wheels. I have been told that the wheels are on back order, and they do not know when they will be getting them. Oh well, they did say they would give me $12 per wheel to have them straightened at a bike store for now.

I contacted Amazon and was told that I can bring the bike to get repaired and that Amazon will pay the bill. I have not done this yet because I have not had the time. (The reason I ordered a bike on line in the first place was to save time.)

My son loved the bike initially. We rode some trails and the bike performed okay. The front suspension is an improvement over a static front fork, however do not expect high end (or even mid range) performance. It is a kids bike at a low price. A good starter off road bike to get a kid interested. My son lost some of his enthusiasm since the bike needs repairs. Once fixed I am sure all will be well.

At this point I feel it may have been easier to buy a bike locally. The $20-$30 lower price from Amazon does not replace the care I would have received from a local shop.

Update: I received two replacement wheels from Pacific Cycle the week after I wrote this review. The note on the packing slip says that the original wheels were no longer available so they sent a replacement set. Well the original wheels were black and silver, these are all bare aluminum. No big deal, but the kicker is this: The new wheels have loose spokes and are not ready to go either.

So off to the bike shop; After enduring some insults about buying a "toy" bike from Amazon from the rude store clerk I was told they would have it done in about a week. Two weeks later they finally installed the wheels, cable, and made the proper adjustments. So now I will take Amazon up on their offer to pay to get the bike fixed. I am submitting my $53.50 repair bill (kind of expensive for a $157 bike). But the end results was that the bike needed the following repairs $15.00 to install a new set of wheels on the bike, $5.00 to true the wheels, $15.00 to adjust the brakes, $15.00 to adjust the gear selectors, $3.50 tax.

So at this point I am out about $210+ and I have a $157 bike with different color than original wheels. Total time since purchase to owning a good usable bike: about two months.

I will update this again if and when i receive my refund of $53.50 from Amazon.

Update: I received my refund. I also learned more about this bike. This is a cheap "department store" type bike. Not a real mountain bike. Good for the neighborhood, terrible for trails and mountain bike riding. Apparently Mongoose just puts stickers on another company's bike that's cheaply made in China.

In my opinion, Mongoose is ruining their fine reputation for well engineered bikes by cheapening their product with this marketing ploy. I pulled the Mongoose stickers off the bike, gave it away, and bought my Son a real all mountain bike from Nashbar.com.

I bought this as a birthday gift for my son. I discovered that both rims were warped after I assembled the bike. The packaging showed signs of abuse. Although the warping was not severe, it prevented me from being able to set the brakes correctly. I contacted Amazon and their solution was that I disassemble the bike and send it back. What a hassle. A better solution: purchase a bike from a local retailer rather than from Amazon.
I do give the bike manual high marks. I've done my own bike maintenance for some time and this manual was fairly detailed on bike assembly and tuning in comparison to what I've received in the past. Unfortunately no detail on how to true a rim. Outside of the rim problem, the bike appears to be a good value.

My 10 year old boy picked this bike out because it was blue. It isn't a bad bike but it had and has some problems. First the wheels were out of round and wobbled. I managed to straighten them our enough so they would not rub on the brakes by adjusting the spokes. they are still out of round but not too bad. Second the click shifter isn't quite right its not always in the right gear and makes noise. I adjusted it but cant get it quite right. He loves the bike, but the bike should work better.

made in china ...cheap materials / build quality.....we knew this purchasing the bike , do to the price point , but our son is rough with stuff so we figure no matter what we bought it's only going to last 2 years . he is happy with it though !

Looked around online. This was a good choice. Went together easily and adjusted easily. Very good price/value. Good Quality. Didn't disappoint (it was his BIG birthday present).

Pro: Has a kickstand
Con: No lugs for a water bottle

AWESOME BIKE: I was able to assemble this bike in 30 min, everything went together easy. The colors are really cool for a 9yr old, my son loves the bike. He was inbetween a 20 in and 24in, this bike is just a little big for him this year but with the seat all the way down he rides it with ease. As we all know kids continue to grow. Perfect bike for a 9 yr old.

This bike is relatively light, of good quality, and looks great. I am glad we bought it.

I purchased a 24 inch boys Mongoose bike from E toys for my Grandson's 10th Birthday.Great bike! Great gift! Great Service! need I say more. I would buy from E -toys again and again. The color was an awesome blue. Easy to put together He was riding the bike in ten minutes after we opened the box.