excuse my ignorance but...Mongoose

[Rick]

whats wrong with the Mongoose brand, I have notice lots of
sarcasm here...

 

[Luigi De Guzman]

On Fri, 9 Jul 2004 10:38:37 -0400, "rick" <rick @ nowhere.com> wrote:

>whats wrong with the Mongoose brand, I have notice lots of
>sarcasm here...

Back in the day--'80s?--Mongoose was a well-regarded bike
manufacturer. I remember their BMX stuff when I was a kid.

But, as with many manufacturers, they fell on hard times and
went bankrupt and were bought out by Pacific Cycle, which is
a "department store" bicycle manufacturing conglomerate.

These days, "Mongoose" bicycles sold under that name in
places like Wal*Mart have NOTHING to do with the well-
regarded quality cycles of the past; they are cheaply made,
cheaply assembled, poorly-adjusted, and generally a bad buy
for the cycling dollar.

-Luigi

 

[Elwood Blues]

Nothing wrong with Mongoose if you are just a casual rider
and don't care to fit in with the bicyclist cliq scene. If
you buy one from a dept store, check it carefully when you
get it home and adjust the seat and bars for your liking and
make sure the gears/brakes are operating property. Walmart
has a good return policy if you buy one you don't like or is
poorly adjusted including giving your money totally back
(try that with a 1,000 Trek from a bike store 14 days after
you buy it). The Walmart where I live at has a dedicated
bicycle technician who they pay $9 an hour. ****'s Sporting
Goods also usually has a dedicated bicycle technican who can
do repairs and adjust the bike for you on the spot. If you
know what you are doing a little bit, a department store
bicycle will give you very bit of the exercise and fun of a
ovepriced $1,000 Trek.

I just rode a department store Mongoose hybrid from Columbia
SC to Gaffney, SC and return with 214 miles ridden including
a 90 day ride just this week over 3 days averaging 14mph
carrying a 40 pound load on a rear steel rack.

--
Elwood Blues

 

[Kantspel]

Luigi de Guzman wrote:
> On Fri, 9 Jul 2004 10:38:37 -0400, "rick" <rick @
> nowhere.com> wrote:
>
>
>>whats wrong with the Mongoose brand, I have notice lots of
>>sarcasm here...
>
>
> Back in the day--'80s?--Mongoose was a well-regarded bike
> manufacturer. I remember their BMX stuff when I was a kid.
>
> But, as with many manufacturers, they fell on hard times
> and went bankrupt and were bought out by Pacific Cycle,
> which is a "department store" bicycle manufacturing
> conglomerate.
>
> These days, "Mongoose" bicycles sold under that name in
> places like Wal*Mart have NOTHING to do with the well-
> regarded quality cycles of the past; they are cheaply
> made, cheaply assembled, poorly-adjusted, and generally a
> bad buy for the cycling dollar.
>
> -Luigi

BUT, mongoose does make decent bikes too, so to joe blow
consumer it can be confusing.

 

[Badger_south]

On Fri, 9 Jul 2004 11:41:51 -0400, "Elwood Blues"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Nothing wrong with Mongoose if you are just a casual rider
>and don't care to fit in with the bicyclist cliq scene. If
>you buy one from a dept store, check it carefully when you
>get it home and adjust the seat and bars for your liking
>and make sure the gears/brakes are operating property.
>Walmart has a good return policy if you buy one you don't
>like or is poorly adjusted including giving your money
>totally back (try that with a 1,000 Trek from a bike store
>14 days after you buy it). The Walmart where I live at has
>a dedicated bicycle technician who they pay $9 an hour.
>****'s Sporting Goods also usually has a dedicated bicycle
>technican who can do repairs and adjust the bike for you on
>the spot. If you know what you are doing a little bit, a
>department store bicycle will give you very bit of the
>exercise and fun of a ovepriced $1,000 Trek.
>
>I just rode a department store Mongoose hybrid from
>Columbia SC to Gaffney, SC and return with 214 miles
>ridden including a 90 day ride just this week over 3
>days averaging 14mph carrying a 40 pound load on a rear
>steel rack.

Yeah, but see my thread last month or so on the special mid
bike hinge. (it's a feature!).

If you did a 90 day ride in a week, then dude, you've got
some 'magic' goin' for ya that we mortals can't tap into.

My recommendation - don't go there. Spend 300 bucks and get
a hardtail, no suspension frame at a LBS.

To the OP, report back in 6 months and let us know how it's
going. In a 8 months to a year (and right around 1000 miles)
of moderate to hard riding you'll have a broken bike you
can't repair. A LBS hardtail no-susp. bike will still be
going strong in 10 years, and will still be upgradeable.

-Badger

 

[Luigi De Guzman]

On Fri, 09 Jul 2004 12:42:06 -0400, Badger_South <[email protected]>
wrote:

>If you did a 90 day ride in a week, then dude, you've got
>some 'magic' goin' for ya that we mortals can't tap into.

Three letters my friend: E.P.O.

-Luigi

 

[Kaputnik]

"Elwood Blues" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Nothing wrong with Mongoose if you are just a casual rider
> and don't care to fit in with the bicyclist cliq scene. If
> you buy one from a dept store, check it carefully when you
> get it home and adjust the seat and bars for your liking
> and make sure the gears/brakes are operating property.

Aren't the Mongeese that you find in department stores a
different line from the ones that you can still find in bike
shops? Same manufacturer, yes, but different bikes.

I've seen a couple of local bike shops with Mongoose bikes,
and they seem a cut above the one or two I've seen at
WalMart. Not just better assembly, but better components.

 

[S O R N I]

Kaputnik wrote:
> "Elwood Blues" <[email protected]> wrote in
> message
> news:<[email protected]>...
>> Nothing wrong with Mongoose if you are just a casual
>> rider and don't care to fit in with the bicyclist cliq
>> scene. If you buy one from a dept store, check it
>> carefully when you get it home and adjust the seat and
>> bars for your liking and make sure the gears/brakes are
>> operating property.
>
> Aren't the Mongeese that you find in department stores a
> different line from the ones that you can still find in
> bike shops? Same manufacturer, yes, but different bikes.

My understanding was that there's "Mongoose" (heavy dept.
store death traps) and "Mongoose Pro" (LBS-quality bikes
with decent components).

Bill "wouldn't swear to it, however" S.

 

[Gooserider]

"Luigi de Guzman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Fri, 9 Jul 2004 10:38:37 -0400, "rick" <rick @
> nowhere.com> wrote:
>
> >whats wrong with the Mongoose brand, I have notice lots
> >of sarcasm
here...
>
> Back in the day--'80s?--Mongoose was a well-regarded bike
> manufacturer. I remember their BMX stuff when I was a kid.
>
> But, as with many manufacturers, they fell on hard times
> and went bankrupt and were bought out by Pacific Cycle,
> which is a "department store" bicycle manufacturing
> conglomerate.
>
> These days, "Mongoose" bicycles sold under that name in
> places like Wal*Mart have NOTHING to do with the well-
> regarded quality cycles of the past; they are cheaply
> made, cheaply assembled, poorly-adjusted, and generally a
> bad buy for the cycling dollar.
>

I owned a 1994 Mongoose Rockadile until a couple of months
ago. It was beautiful, with a polished aluminum frame. I was
sloppy on my maintenance, and the headset got loose. The
head tube cracked. My fault. Anyway, it seemed that no
sooner did I buy my 'goose then WalGeese appeared. Used to
tick me off when people asked if I got it at WalMart. Now I
own a Schwinn Peloton, and Schwinns are at WalMart. Nobody's
asked me if I bought my road bike at Walmart, though. LOL