Very shoddy and poorly designed bike. 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, Mongoose Montana Mens Mountain Bike 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.
Injury waiting to happen. I purchaced this bike ( not from Amazon ) but from a well known outdoor store that puts all their bikes together for their customers ( it’s what they do ) so when I picked this one out and the back tire kept catching on the rear brakes I questioned it. The guy at the store ajusted the spokes for me and make a few other minor adjustments and I tried it out. Good to go. Every bike needs some tweeking. SO I took it home it happened again, I fixed it myself, kept happening. Then the front tire started to do the same thing, and when I figured it was all adjusted this time I took it down my street ( no switching gear when it happend, and it was in the proper gear) the chain fell off, and then I fell off cause yeah…. no bike is worth this much aggrevation! No bike should have any issues right out of the store, especailly when they have people just for bikes! Compaired to a wal-mart like store where some joe shmoe puts it together for you. If your looking for a starter bike, a low budget mountain bike…KEEP LOOKING! This thing can’t roll on a sidewalk with out throwing you forget a trail! You know what they say, you get what you pay for….which is why I kept the reciept! Keep looking, it’s not made well at all!
Can’t say enough bad things about this bike.. 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.