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Mongoose 'Wing' series differences?

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01 / Original postMongoose 'Wing' series differences?Rural QLD CC · 4 May 2004 02 / This pagePosts 1–10Page 1 of 1 · chronological order 03 / Latest replyPost #10Joel Crum · 6 May 2004

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Original section
Mountain Bikes
Published
4 May 2004
Last activity
6 May 2004
Original author
Rural QLD CC
Posts
10
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Topics
Disc brakesAluminium framesCantilever and V-brakesRear derailleurs

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  1. Original post
    Rural QLD CC
    Archived post
    #1

    Greetings,
    I'd like to pose a question re the Mongoose 'Wing' series
    mountain bikes. I'm considering either the Wing Comp or the Wing Elite, but
    I'm not sure if the Elite is worth the extra money. I only had a couple of
    requirements in choosing a bike........I wanted alloy frame (so it's lighter
    to throw in and out of the car), suspension (to stop my bum getting bashed
    half way up my back) and dual lever gears (not sure what the tech term for
    these is.....the ones with one lever for up and a different lever for down).
    These 2 mongoose bikes are within the price range I'm prepared to part with
    and I think they'll stand up to any of the treatment I'm likely to throw at
    them. My riding will be restricted to a couple of paved bike paths and the
    few rocky/gravel/dirt/sandy paths that are available along the length of
    said paved paths. Some are steep downhill paths (steep enough that my [censored]
    Malvern Star mountain bike brakes couldn't stop my descent without nearly
    breaking my fingers trying to pull the levers hard enough.....), but are
    short.....mostly, they're paths that run from the footpath/bikepath to the
    start of the sand at the beach edge and are only a couple of hundred metres
    long at most.

    Just in case these models aren't available outside Australia, I'll post the
    details of the 2:

    Wing Comp:
    http://www.mongoosebikes.com.au/products.php/command/viewproduct/productserial/36/categoryserial/22
    - 7005 alloy main frame with 4 bar linkage rear suspension and Cr-Mo rear
    triangle
    - AQ-head system with zero stack 1-1/8" headset
    - MOZO USA R-150 forks and RS200 coil over rear shock
    - Shimano EF-29 21 speed shifters with Altus rear derailleur
    - Shimano TY40 crank set
    - ProMax alloy linear pull brakes
    - Alex SCE-17 rims with alloy double sealed hubs (cassette rear)

    Wing Elite:
    http://www.mongoosebikes.com.au/products.php/command/viewproduct/productserial/37/categoryserial/22
    - 7005 alloy main frame with 4 bar linkage rear suspension and Cr-Mo rear
    triangle
    - RST Gila T4 fork, RST-22 coil over rear shock with hydraulic damping
    - Shimano EF-29 24 speed shifters and Shimano Acera derailleurs
    - Truvati X-flow crankset
    - Tektro IO floating caliper mech. disc brakes
    - Alex DM-18 double wall rims with Formula cassette rear hub
    - Hutchison Mosquito tyres

    The difference in price is AUD$200. I realise the Elite has disc brakes
    (which I'm quite sure I don't need at this point), but with that aside, is
    the price difference worth it? At some point I'd like to do some 'real'
    off-road riding, so I'm wondering if the Elite will serve me better when I
    decide to do that.

    Thanks,
    Brenton

    Report
  2. Westie
    Archived post
    #2
    Rural QLD CC said:

    Greetings,
    I'd like to pose a question re the Mongoose 'Wing'
    series mountain bikes. I'm considering either the Wing Comp or the
    Wing Elite, but I'm not sure if the Elite is worth the extra money.


    <snip>

    Quoted message said:

    The difference in price is AUD$200. I realise the Elite has disc
    brakes (which I'm quite sure I don't need at this point), but with
    that aside, is the price difference worth it? At some point I'd like
    to do some 'real' off-road riding, so I'm wondering if the Elite will
    serve me better when I decide to do that.

    What's the retail price? You told us the difference, but not the actual
    price.

    Biggest problem that you've got here is that a full suspension bike in this
    price range is not very good value for money if you want it to last more
    than a few months. Not only is the suspension of a low quality and inferior
    performance, all the other components are low quality and low performance
    too. Before you know it the brakes will be impossible to adjust, things
    will break and fall off, wheels will go out of true, bearings will go wobbly
    and the gear changing will give you continual headaches.

    Do one of two things:
    First; save more money and buy a better quality full suspension bike.

    Or two; I would suggest that you look at a hardtail bike at the same price.
    Without the cost of the rear suspension you get much better components. For
    the riding that you are doing you may not really need full suspension
    anyway.

    It would pay to have a look at secondhand bikes too. There are good buys to
    be found.
    --
    Westie
    (Replace 'invalid' with 'yahoo' when replying.)

    Report
  3. MrBonk
    Archived post
    #3

    In Aussie dollars, the Comp is $600 and the Elite is $800. That's just my
    local price.....haven't phoned any of the major metro shops to find out
    their price yet.

    MrBonk
    www.mrbonk.com

    "Westie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    Rural QLD CC said:

    Greetings,
    I'd like to pose a question re the Mongoose 'Wing'
    series mountain bikes. I'm considering either the Wing Comp or the
    Wing Elite, but I'm not sure if the Elite is worth the extra money.


    <snip>

    Quoted message said:

    The difference in price is AUD$200. I realise the Elite has disc
    brakes (which I'm quite sure I don't need at this point), but with
    that aside, is the price difference worth it? At some point I'd like
    to do some 'real' off-road riding, so I'm wondering if the Elite will
    serve me better when I decide to do that.

    What's the retail price? You told us the difference, but not the actual
    price.

    Biggest problem that you've got here is that a full suspension bike in


    this

    Quoted message said:

    price range is not very good value for money if you want it to last more
    than a few months. Not only is the suspension of a low quality and


    inferior

    Quoted message said:

    performance, all the other components are low quality and low performance
    too. Before you know it the brakes will be impossible to adjust, things
    will break and fall off, wheels will go out of true, bearings will go


    wobbly

    Quoted message said:

    and the gear changing will give you continual headaches.

    Do one of two things:
    First; save more money and buy a better quality full suspension bike.

    Or two; I would suggest that you look at a hardtail bike at the same


    price.

    Quoted message said:

    Without the cost of the rear suspension you get much better components.


    For

    Quoted message said:

    the riding that you are doing you may not really need full suspension
    anyway.

    It would pay to have a look at secondhand bikes too. There are good buys


    to

    Quoted message said:

    be found.
    --
    Westie
    (Replace 'invalid' with 'yahoo' when replying.)

    Report
  4. Westie
    Archived post
    #4
    MrBonk said:

    In Aussie dollars, the Comp is $600 and the Elite is $800. That's
    just my local price.....haven't phoned any of the major metro shops
    to find out their price yet.

    Yep. That confirms it. At that price range you're simply not going to get a
    full suspension bike that will hold together or even work very well while it
    holds together.
    Forget the full sus at that price and go for a decent hardtail. Start by
    having a look at reputable brands like, to name a few, GT, Giant,
    Specialized, Jamis, Trek, or Haro. Much better value to be had for the hard
    earned dollar. Some places might even have specials on last years models
    too. They can be a good buy because you get a good bike much cheaper just
    because the shop wants to make room for the new models.
    --
    Westie
    (Replace 'invalid' with 'yahoo' when replying.)

    Report
  5. MrBonk
    Archived post
    #5

    Ok, so to get a full suspension bike that works well while it holds
    together, what sort of price range am I looking at?

    MrBonk
    www.mrbonk.com

    "Westie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    MrBonk said:

    In Aussie dollars, the Comp is $600 and the Elite is $800. That's
    just my local price.....haven't phoned any of the major metro shops
    to find out their price yet.

    Yep. That confirms it. At that price range you're simply not going to get


    a

    Quoted message said:

    full suspension bike that will hold together or even work very well while


    it

    Quoted message said:

    holds together.
    Forget the full sus at that price and go for a decent hardtail. Start by
    having a look at reputable brands like, to name a few, GT, Giant,
    Specialized, Jamis, Trek, or Haro. Much better value to be had for the


    hard

    Quoted message said:

    earned dollar. Some places might even have specials on last years models
    too. They can be a good buy because you get a good bike much cheaper just
    because the shop wants to make room for the new models.
    --
    Westie
    (Replace 'invalid' with 'yahoo' when replying.)

    Report
  6. Joel Crum
    Archived post
    #6

    "MrBonk" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:c7als4$19jcj$1@ID-
    184392.news.uni-berlin.de:

    Quoted message said:

    Ok, so to get a full suspension bike that works well while it holds
    together, what sort of price range am I looking at?

    If you stay in the 800-dollar price range but buy used you can get a really
    top quality full suspension bike. That's how I got my current ride, and
    I'm very happy with it.

    --
    - Joel C.

    Report
  7. MattB
    Archived post
    #7
    Joel Crum said:

    "MrBonk" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:c7als4$19jcj$1@ID-
    184392.news.uni-berlin.de:

    Quoted message said:

    Ok, so to get a full suspension bike that works well while it holds
    together, what sort of price range am I looking at?

    If you stay in the 800-dollar price range but buy used you can get a
    really top quality full suspension bike. That's how I got my
    current ride, and I'm very happy with it.

    Aussie dollars?
    MrBonk, you may need to double that figure for a used FS taking the exchange
    rate into account. You may also want to have someone more experienced look
    it over (like a pro mechanic) as there's more that could go wrong on a FS
    that may not be visually obvious to you.

    Matt

    Report
  8. MrBonk
    Archived post
    #8

    Ok, thanks all for the advice. I'll check out what's around on ebay and in
    my local area, although I'm quite certain there won't be anything in that
    range at my local dealers. Time for a trip to some city shops!

    MrBonk
    www.mrbonk.com

    "MattB" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
    news:[email hidden]...

    Quoted message said:
    Joel Crum said:

    "MrBonk" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:c7als4$19jcj$1@ID-
    184392.news.uni-berlin.de:

    Quoted message said:

    Ok, so to get a full suspension bike that works well while it holds
    together, what sort of price range am I looking at?

    If you stay in the 800-dollar price range but buy used you can get a
    really top quality full suspension bike. That's how I got my
    current ride, and I'm very happy with it.

    Aussie dollars?
    MrBonk, you may need to double that figure for a used FS taking the


    exchange

    Quoted message said:

    rate into account. You may also want to have someone more experienced look
    it over (like a pro mechanic) as there's more that could go wrong on a FS
    that may not be visually obvious to you.

    Matt

    Report
  9. Email address hidden
    Archived post
    #9

    Mongoose Pro is the right word. I test road
    them both along with GT i Drive pricepoint. All for a friend / owner of
    a LBS that doesn't ride. I came out liking the Pro.

    I MTB 2004

    Report
  10. Joel Crum
    Archived post
    #10

    "MattB" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:c7br99$1tur6$1@ID-
    86156.news.uni-berlin.de:

    Quoted message said:

    Aussie dollars?

    I purchased my bike in American dollars. Yesterday the exchange rate was 1
    USD to .733703 AUD, so my 800 dollar figure translates to 1,090 AUD. But I
    didn't shop around, and I'm guessing things are a little cheaper over-all
    in Australia.

    I whole heartedly concur with the "get a pro to look at it" advice. I
    didn't and the front shock turned out to have a broken spring.
    Fortunately, that's only a 38USD repair.

    --
    - Joel C.

    Report

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