Since i rode this bike for awhile I decided I should post a review for all you people considering buying this bike. This was not my bike and not all the parts were stock. I tested this bike on pretty much every type of terrain possible. From long xc climbs to dusty socal dh trails to bmx dirt jumps to non stop velocity, bullet, kamakazie, shock treatment and chainsmoke runs at mammoth and even a little bit of skatepark. First I'll start off with the setup I was running.
Frame: 2007 mongoose black diamond triple [stock]
Shock: fox dhx 4.0 air [stock]
Fork: marzocchi 66sl ata [stock]
Wheelset: azonic outlaws
Brakes: avid juicy 7 [stock] switched to shimano xt 4 pistons
Cranks: fsa gravity external bearing [stock]
Chainguide: Mrp system 3 with fsa bash [stock]
Bars: azonic ultracross
Stem: easton havoc [stock]
Drivetrain: sram x-9 [stock]
Seat: marzocchi freeride
Pedals: demolition bmx
Tires: michelin dh32 front, maxxis minion dhr rear
Frame: The frame is a good design, there is almost no brake jack and it pedals great, almost no pedal bob. This design doesn't absorb rocks and holes as well as others but this isn't a full out dh bike. My only compaint is that the bearing pivots started ovalizing and it only got worse, by the time I was done at mammoth and was ready to give the bike back the swingarm had over 3/8 of a inch of play and felt like the swingarm might fall off. Mongoose has fixed this problem for 2008 though.
Suspension: Up front it had a marzocchi 66sl ata, the fork felt pretty good but had a little bit of stiction. Setup was a little more complicated than a coil fork but after it was setup and the seals oiled it performed really well. My only compaint was that the travel adjust feature kept winding down in the travel every run, this was especially annoying when doing runs at mammoth, duct taping the lever was a simple fix that worked well. The rear suspension was controlled by a fox dhx 4.0. Again this took a little while to set up but after that is worked okay, it absorbed jumps and drops great but it did'nt do as well as a coil shock on absorbing rocks and holes. But the shock did pedal really good.
Braking: The brakes that came stock were avid juicy 7s, they worked ok on all around riding but were kinda noisy and i experienced some heat fade on longer runs because I'm kind of a big guy. For that reason they went and I put on my set of shimano xt 4 pistons which are my favorite set of brakes.
Pedaling: This bike was a great pedaler, it was almost bob free and the light weight just made it easer. The travel adjust on the fork was great for when the climbing got steeper. The only thing that would have been nice is a full length seatube so you can get full saddle extension.
Decending: This bike was a pretty good decender, it loved ripping fast smooth singletrack. Dont fool yourself into thinkingf this is a full out dh bike though, it does't do as well in all out dh sections but that is to be expected. It does handle steep chutes and lower speed rock sections great.
Cornering: It was a very good cornering bike, the bottom bracket was fairly low so it would hold a line well in the corners, the only problem is the frame was a little flexy on the off camber sections but other than that is cornered really well, most people will probably not even notice the flex.
Jumping: The bike was really good jumper, it popped off lips with ease and was really flickable in the air. I even surprised myself by taking it off some steep bmx type dirt jumps. This is probably the best jumping long travel bike I have ever ridden.
In all this bike is a great all around bike. Attached is a pic of how I was running the bike.
Frame: 2007 mongoose black diamond triple [stock]
Shock: fox dhx 4.0 air [stock]
Fork: marzocchi 66sl ata [stock]
Wheelset: azonic outlaws
Brakes: avid juicy 7 [stock] switched to shimano xt 4 pistons
Cranks: fsa gravity external bearing [stock]
Chainguide: Mrp system 3 with fsa bash [stock]
Bars: azonic ultracross
Stem: easton havoc [stock]
Drivetrain: sram x-9 [stock]
Seat: marzocchi freeride
Pedals: demolition bmx
Tires: michelin dh32 front, maxxis minion dhr rear
Frame: The frame is a good design, there is almost no brake jack and it pedals great, almost no pedal bob. This design doesn't absorb rocks and holes as well as others but this isn't a full out dh bike. My only compaint is that the bearing pivots started ovalizing and it only got worse, by the time I was done at mammoth and was ready to give the bike back the swingarm had over 3/8 of a inch of play and felt like the swingarm might fall off. Mongoose has fixed this problem for 2008 though.
Suspension: Up front it had a marzocchi 66sl ata, the fork felt pretty good but had a little bit of stiction. Setup was a little more complicated than a coil fork but after it was setup and the seals oiled it performed really well. My only compaint was that the travel adjust feature kept winding down in the travel every run, this was especially annoying when doing runs at mammoth, duct taping the lever was a simple fix that worked well. The rear suspension was controlled by a fox dhx 4.0. Again this took a little while to set up but after that is worked okay, it absorbed jumps and drops great but it did'nt do as well as a coil shock on absorbing rocks and holes. But the shock did pedal really good.
Braking: The brakes that came stock were avid juicy 7s, they worked ok on all around riding but were kinda noisy and i experienced some heat fade on longer runs because I'm kind of a big guy. For that reason they went and I put on my set of shimano xt 4 pistons which are my favorite set of brakes.
Pedaling: This bike was a great pedaler, it was almost bob free and the light weight just made it easer. The travel adjust on the fork was great for when the climbing got steeper. The only thing that would have been nice is a full length seatube so you can get full saddle extension.
Decending: This bike was a pretty good decender, it loved ripping fast smooth singletrack. Dont fool yourself into thinkingf this is a full out dh bike though, it does't do as well in all out dh sections but that is to be expected. It does handle steep chutes and lower speed rock sections great.
Cornering: It was a very good cornering bike, the bottom bracket was fairly low so it would hold a line well in the corners, the only problem is the frame was a little flexy on the off camber sections but other than that is cornered really well, most people will probably not even notice the flex.
Jumping: The bike was really good jumper, it popped off lips with ease and was really flickable in the air. I even surprised myself by taking it off some steep bmx type dirt jumps. This is probably the best jumping long travel bike I have ever ridden.
In all this bike is a great all around bike. Attached is a pic of how I was running the bike.
