Mongoose 'Wing' series differences?

[Rural QLD CC]

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 ****
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

 

[Westie]

Rural QLD CC wrote:
> 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>
> 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.)

 

[MrBonk]

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 protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Rural QLD CC wrote:
> > 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>
> > 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.)
>
>

 

[Westie]

MrBonk wrote:
> 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.)

 

[MrBonk]

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 protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> MrBonk wrote:
> > 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.)
>
>

 

[Joel Crum]

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

> 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.

 

[MattB]

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

 

[MrBonk]

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

 

[[email protected]]

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

 

[Joel Crum]

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

> 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.