Quite a while back the wife and I picked up two cheap, identical 18 speed mountain bikes from the evil empire. I wore out the crank bearings on mine in very short order and she didn't ride hers much at all. Due to a lack of interest she gave me hers and I've been riding it more and more frequently with the improving weather. I recently picked up a 16" bike for my son to replace his 12" that he quickly outgrew and now we're riding quite a bit.
In short, the bikes the wife and I picked up were turds but they were very cheap. The brakes and derailleur are shot so I have to frequently adjust the brake cables and I don't even shift the gears on the cassette, I just flip back and forth between low and med. on the crank. The front shocks are an exercise in futility, at this point I'd prefer rigid.
I don't do any serious trail riding though I do jump curbs and such so a pure road bike won't cut it.
We're Costco members and I've been scoping out their mountain bike (the one that's on display), the NorthRock XC6 but it's a bit pricey.
I found this on craigslist:
It looks to be close enough to what I'm looking for to serve my purposes. Ideally I'd like to have a rigid frame, maybe 3 speeds and brakes that don't need constant attention.
Opinions on the Mongoose?
Any recommendations within a $150 price cap?
I'm not averse to buying new but I won't buy new from a specialized bike shop strictly because I'm not that level of rider. I ride through town early in the morning and I go for rides with the kids at the local park.
I know it sounds crazy, and I grew up riding them, but department store mountain bikes really are junk. At least in 2013 they are not worth buying, new or used. I would recommend scoping out the local craigslist for a used mainstream bike store brand. Some decent names to look for are: Trek, Cannondale, Fuji, Giant, Jamis, Specialized, and GT.
If you're looking at a bike with Shimano mountain bike components (the majority of the market for what you're looking for) you want to look for a "model" on the derailers other than just "Shimano." This will indicated the quality level within Shimano's range of parts. Most should say Altus, Alivio, or Acera. Any of these are fine for what you're doing. Avoid bikes where the derailers either don't have a model name, or the model name is "tourney."
Something like this:
http://peoria.craigslist.org/bik/3697320050.html
is going to far outlast a Wal-mart bike you could buy new for that money.
I fear that mongoose is just a different walmart bike. They used to be quality, but at some point decided to go walmart witht he brand. Not sure that ever reversed. Given that you don't want the shocks and such, I'd pass.
Maybe see if you can get just the cannondale at your price - http://peoria.craigslist.org/bik/3770318445.html. Full rigid hybrid that will be WAY better than any department store bike.
The above Trek would also be good for your price point.
Please, don't do it.
CL is your friend, get a real (used) bike.
Motiv/Mongoose/New Schwinn/Magna/Huffy will get you hurt and/or break often.
The Northrocks we (ugh, yeah, we) have at Costco are a good step up from the previously mentioned bikes, and alleviate some of the worries of buying used.
Plus, we're idiots and will take them back for whatever reason you come up with if you break or don't like them, so the price aspect is pretty much moot, you can get it back whenever.
Again, CL and local MTB boards can yield some good deals on quality items.
Would you guys recommend disc brakes or rim squeezers?
I'm 5'8" and 175lbs. so I don't need a big, heavy duty frame or anything.
I've gained some size since the layoff due to higher caloric intake and more frequent lifting. It's a good weight for me, I'm still lean but I don't feel as depleted as I did when I got down to 165.
That Trek looks like a pretty nice bike, as does the Cannondale.
Don't worry about the type of brake, just get a bike from a reputable brand and it will have decent brakes. For light recreational use rim brakes are probably more trouble/expense than they're worth. My 10+ year old Cannondale mountain bike has rim brakes with no-name pads and even wet those brakes are up to anything short or serious downhill work. Cheap discs are definitely worse than good rim brakes.
ShadowSix wrote: For light recreational use rim brakes are probably more trouble/expense than they're worth.
I assume you meant disc here? If so, I agree.
A decent set of V-brakes will handle most anything you'd want to tackle on an entry to mid level bike, for sure go with V's if you have the choice over cantis.
That being said, I loooooove a good set of hydraulic discs...
but my riding - or more importantly, what I ride on/over/down/above - as clumsy and hackish as it may be, is a ways beyond the scope covered by this thread, so ignoring me on this portion is probably for the best.
In reply to SnowMongoose:
Sorry, yes, I meant to say that DISC brakes are more trouble and expense that they are worth for the light recreational user.
+1 to stay away from discs if you are buying a cheap bike (I just learned this lesson on a ~$1000 bike). Rim brakes will be plenty.
Just keep an eye on CL. You can snag the equivalent of a $500 bike for $100 which would suit your needs well.
I got this thing for $free. I abused it for like ~500 miles on singletrack, then threw some cyclecross tires on it for the fun of it.
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a216/ProDarwin/1d93c9f3.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a216/ProDarwin/AF8B0281-3DDD-483E-BC84-221F30F3829D-9913-0000104893994BE5_zps44fc9ae4.jpg
Ha, ProDarwin's bike is EXACTLY what I would recommend. Good name-brand, rigid frame, simple v-brakes, big enough tires that when you try to loft the front wheel over a curb and come a couple inches short you don't blow an inner-tube (ask me how I know), and, in the second photo, dirty enough to deter casual theft!
EDIT: Oh, and becuase I don't think we were explicit about the bike in the photo, DO NOT BUY IT! It is a Wal-Mart bike, it will be heavy and break, and that POS has a lot of parts to break. There are still a few decent bikes sold under the mongoose brand out there, but 99% of the mongeese you see on CL are Wal-Mart junk. Same story for Diamondback and Schwinn IIRC.
Thanks for the info!
Pro Darwin, that is a sweet looking bike. Like Shadow Six said, that's pretty much what I'm looking for.
I think you've got it, but feel free to put any links or photos of bikes you're looking at up here and we'll try to give you an educated guess.
I picked up a mongoose last summer from Wally-World. Front suspension only, disc brakes etc. They used good stuff in the bearings and forks it looks like.
I ride mine hard..... well as hard as a 37 year old overweight dude can. The trails by work I try to hittwice a week are harsh. Really harsh on the bike, not so much on me.
To me, it has been well worth the $120 I talked them down to (scratch and dent price).
This is the one I got (swapped seats after purchase) with 29" wheels and discs:
I have a schwin mountian bike that came from Target in the early 2000s. It had a fairly respectable aluminum frame with cheap components. As the cheap components broke I replaced them with high quality components, nearly all of which came from eBay, some used, some new. At this piont all thats left of the original bike is the frame and handle bars. The two biggest individual improvements were wheels and forks. Good platform pedals were helpful too, but with size 13 feet that just comes with the territory.
Unfortunately the quality of the bikes that I've seen in Target and Wally World today makes the stuff from even ten years ago look positively mil-spec in comparison. eBay isn't as helpful as it was ten years ago either.
I have a Dawes Haymaker 1500 that I like quite a bit. Bought it (barely) used for $300 and it has some nice componentry. Yes it's more than your budget, but I think spending a little more can get you a lot more bike.
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/dawes/hay1500.htm
If you buy a department store bike, take it immediately to a bike shop. They will fix it and adjust it right. This will increase the life of the bike drastically.
Also, think about Dicks sportting goods. They have some nice bikes sometimes. I got my Dad a good "northface" bike (I think GIANT made them) for $200.00 it has hayes discs, Rock Shox front fork and it is a 27 speed. All good stuff.
I disagree on all of the comments about Disc brakes. I would NEVER go back. Bent rim doesn't bother disc brakes. Dirt and mud doesn't bother disc brakes. An out of adjustment brake pad doesn't pop my tire.
All the disc brakes are simple and easy to work on. Just make sure you get a brand that you can get replacement pads for. Disc brakes are easier to set-up and maintain as well.
Rob R.
The_Jed wrote:
I don't do any serious trail riding though I do jump curbs and such so a pure road bike won't cut it.
Really? And as kids we all jumped curbs regularly with our road bikes. Sure, the 10 speeds with their high pressure skinny tires wouldn't survive it. They'd blow out running over a quarter if the edges were still serrated. But the english 3-speeds and fat tired things all jumped curbs regularly without any trouble.
I'm not a big fan of bicycle suspensions. Unless you spend some serious coin, they wear fast and create weakness and play. Fat tires and good seat are better, imo.
I won't disagree that lots of the things sold at Walmart and Target just look like bicycles, without actually being worth a darn, but there are some good things tucked in there. Especially at Target. Look with care, read the online reviews. You can very definately find some good bikes and good deals there, as long as you aren't expecting race quality.
DaveEstey wrote:
I have a Dawes Haymaker 1500 that I like quite a bit. Bought it (barely) used for $300 and it has some nice componentry. Yes it's more than your budget, but I think spending a little more can get you a lot more bike.
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/dawes/hay1500.htm
Wow, not sure the OP wants to spend that kind of dough or needs this much capability, but that is A LOT of bike for $400 (not to mention the $300 you spent) have you done much trail work with it?
I'd suggest that anyone looking to spend $100-200 on a bicycle go ride a used bike-store-brand bike before making a decision. You might be surprised. I have bought and ridden both as an adult and I was shocked at the difference (being from the country I didn't even realize there were special stores just for bikes until I was in college.) If you are going to go the department store route you should check out the spring-cleaning garage sales. Lots of people buy dept. store bikes, let them collect dust in the garage for 5 years, then sell them virtually-unused at a yard sale for 15 or 20 bucks.
foxtrapper wrote:
The_Jed wrote:
I don't do any serious trail riding though I do jump curbs and such so a pure road bike won't cut it.
Really? And as kids we all jumped curbs regularly with our road bikes. Sure, the 10 speeds with their high pressure skinny tires wouldn't survive it. They'd blow out running over a quarter if the edges were still serrated. But the english 3-speeds and fat tired things all jumped curbs regularly without any trouble.
I'm not a big fan of bicycle suspensions. Unless you spend some serious coin, they wear fast and create weakness and play. Fat tires and good seat are better, imo.
I won't disagree that lots of the things sold at Walmart and Target just look like bicycles, without actually being worth a darn, but there are some good things tucked in there. Especially at Target. Look with care, read the online reviews. You can very definately find some good bikes and good deals there, as long as you aren't expecting race quality.
Sorry, this is what I meant by "road bike".
I think there's been some market segmentation since foxtrapper's childhood. 
+1 on the "no suspension" sentiment though, a rigid mountain bike with 2+ inch tires is all the suspension you need for paved/smooth trails and roads.
The_Jed wrote:
Sorry, this is what I meant by "road bike".
I figured that's what you meant. Just trying to remind you that there's quite a bit in between the two extremes. That you don't need a true mountain bike to handle the likes of curb hopping.
Yeah, for better or worse the entry-level mountain bike and the "hybrid" (check out the Cannondale that DILYSI Dave posted above) have pretty much supplanted the relaxed-geometry 3-speed of the '50's, '60's, and '70's as the basic bike people buy for general use. I think that sort of bike might be making a comeback (most of the big companies are making something in that vein now, at least according to their websites), but they are still fairly sparse on the used market. I for one think fenders and chain-guards are a no-brainer and really hope that they make a successful comeback.
On a semi-related note: when we say "jump curbs," do we mean "ride off curbs to the street below" or "wheelie a few inches to get the front wheel over the curb then ride UP over the curb?" Option one is accomplish-able with the right technique even on fairly serious road bikes, option two requires some tire girth so that you don't pinch flat or bend a wheel on those occasions when your wheelie is a little too early or a little too short.
