Fat bikes are heavy and not ideal for every day riding. That isn’t to say the ride was all sunshine and roses. There were a couple of aspects of the Beast that made it a challenge to ride for extended periods of time. For instance, I wasn’t overly fond of the stock seat that comes with the bike.
Likewise, this isn’t the most agile of bikes either. Those big tires won’t turn on a dime and they certainly wont take the sharpest of corners. But then again, when they are capable of simply rolling over just about anything that gets in their way, the point is mostly moot anyway. The most notable feature on the Beast, at least from a visual stand point, are the massive 4-1/4″ tires.
Shifting worked out of the box and functioned well. To be honest, I don’t think my son has ever used a front derailleur until now. One-by systems have all but taken over the mountain bike market. I have a 7 speed Shimano thumb shifter and aluminum mountain bike pedals on the way.
If their is a more aptly named bike on the market today, I don’t know what it could possibly be. The Beast is big and bulky and its fat tires definitely make it a stand out from nearly any other bike you’ll come across on the road or the trail. When fully assembled, including kickstand and old-school chain guard, the bike tips the scales at about 48 pounds (22 kg). So much so, that I don’t believe that my current road bike and mountain bike weigh that much combined.
Mechanical disc brakes make use of 160 mm rotors. If you were wanting to replace the rigid fork with a suspension fork, then you would probably be hard pressed to find a mongoose bmx bike fat fork that would fit. The bike has a 1 1/8th straight headtube. The stock seat was very narrow and hard. That is the seat I bought to replace the stock torture device.
The Beast is built like a tank and its steel frame feels incredibly solid. That means it can survive just about any road or trail conditions that you can throw at it. In my time with the bike I didn’t get the sense that it was in danger of falling apart or that Mongoose had cut corners on mongoose mountain bikes its construction. The rigid frame works well for snow and sand riding but loses ability in comparison to a suspended mountain bike. The Argus just so happens to be capable enough for trail riding too. I am excited to take my son fat biking this coming winter and provide a complete review.
Kristen (mom), Blair (dad), and Parker (kiddo). We started Rascal Rides when Parker was born and we didn’t want to give up our passion for biking. Over the years, we’ve mongoose bmx bike tested hundreds of kids bikes, helmets, bike trailers, and more. The components all functioned well with minimal adjustments needed and served their individual duties.
Very few bike companies build 24-inch fat bikes. I don’t know of many that go smaller from there either. In addition, with 24-inch wheels, my son’s bikes are getting big enough that I am able to ride them without damaging anything. I’m not taking them off jumps or going for sustained rides, but just trying to get the feel and experience of the machine.