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 mongoose fat tire bike 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.
There is also a steel version sold at a slightly lower cost. Get special offers, exclusive product news, and event info straight to your inbox. Luckily, we have tow ropes to mitigate the complaints. mongoose bmx bike Fat tires tend to make riding very stable. A Sunrace cassette and KMC chain round out the drive train. A cycling community enthusiastic about mountain biking and all things related.
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.
Really, this frame is most likely a back up bike for a family of enthusiasts that want their child to join the fat biking they do in the winter. While the Mongoose Argus Trail is trail worthy, there are other bikes that do trail riding better. As you can imagine, a bike with a heavy frame and gigantic tires isn’t exactly a speed demon. If you’re looking for a fast ride, you’ll want to look elsewhere.
The traits of handling and stability will most certainly transition to snow riding as well. Riding the Beast is certainly a no-frills affair. It is a single speed bike with 26″ wheels and cruiser brakes. It didn’t take long to adjust to the old school breaking system, but I’ll admit there was a moment of panic before it dawned on me how the brakes worked. There is a low level shimano hydraulic disc brake kit that is SO NICE compared to the cable disc brakes.
They actually look like they’ve come off a small car and on more than one occasion I had someone stop me to take a look at them. Those tires provide a bit of a floaty ride but they also allow this bike to simply roll over just about any obstacle. They’re designed to roll through snow and sand without any problems and I’d say they perform surprisingly well. I can’t attest to how well it rides in the snow (It’s still quite warm here in Austin), but I did ride through sand and deep sawdust, without missing a beat. Those big tires practically ignore rocks and logs on the trail too and they still manage to transition back to the road without too much of problem.
The stock brakes kinda suck too so I was thinking about upgrading to Shimano hydraulic brakes in the future. Kristen is a USA Cycling certified coach and loves to share her passion for biking with other families. Blair is a bike geek, mechanic, and mountain bike junkie.
After an hour or so I found myself getting very uncomfortable in the saddle, even while wearing padded shorts. I’m over 6’2″ in height and often felt kind of cramped, even with the seat extended to its highest point. Clearly Mongoose didn’t have high performance in mind when they built the Beast, they were simply looking to create a bike that is fun to ride. If that was indeed their aim from the outset, I’d say they succeeded. While riding the Beast I found myself pleasantly surprised with how enjoyable it was to roll down a trail with relative ease. I’m sure that on more than one occasion I pedaled along with a goofy grin on my face as my big, oversized tires crushed everything that dared to get in their way.
Kid sized fat bike frames are rare so taking him out this winter will be a unique experience. With that said, it was fun seeing my son experience something truly different on the dirt. Despite these issues though, I did find myself enjoying the Beast far more than I would have expected. Sure, its big, heavy and ponderous and yes it lacks any kind of amenities that I’m use to on a bike. But in spite of all of that, it is still fun to ride, and isn’t that one cycling should be all about? Sometimes in our rush to get the lightest, fastest and most tricked out bikes, we forget how important it is to enjoy riding just for the sake of riding.
My son moved downhill pretty quick, but not as rapidly as on his Trailcraft. He managed to get through the rocky, technical sections of our local test run and did have a smile on his face. It is still a rigid bike and that shows in the speeds and ability to descend. As you can imagine, my 70-pound child really struggles pushing 50% of his body weight uphill with the Argus. The Trax tow rope was an absolute must with this bike. Mongoose’s website just says “aluminum” for their unbranded brakes.