My son was able to adapt his riding to match the needs of the machine. My son is also still a child and I don’t want to torture him too much. We will definitely stick to mountain biking with his Trailcraft, but I am excited to get my son out on some decent snow rides. I am excited to take my son fat biking this coming winter and provide a complete review.
When break-in didn’t help, I installed Shimano SM-RT56 Disc Brake Rotors (6-Bolt, 160mm) and Shimano BR-M375 Disc Brake Calipers. Was tempted to go hydraulic, but didn’t want to spend the money for possible over-kill. My son was apprehensive to let loose with the rigid platform. He did say that he noticed a difference in the handling with the big tires and it felt kind of like his Kawasaki KLX 110.
Brands include Specialized, Mongoose, Polaris, Kona, Gravity, Kawasaki, Borealis and more! Manufacturers are creating frames out of tons of different materials including aluminum, carbon, titanium, bamboo, real steel, and Wal-Mart steel. Most fat-bikes that you will come across have a fully rigid frame. However fat bikes with front fork suspension and full-body suspension have started to emerge. Compared to bikes from other major brands like Specialized and Trek, the Mongoose Switchback Expert offers a pretty similar value.
Maximum tunability with 3 separate adjustments all with the flip of a chip. Pick and choose your wheel size, suspension progression, or rear center length for how you want the bike to ride. GT’s pedal-assist electric bikes are designed around going further and discovering new places.
Gradual climbing up our neighborhood trails was OK for a while. Eventually he would tire out and need the tow rope. 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.
Luckily, we have tow ropes to mitigate the complaints. My son has grown to like down hill riding better than cross country. When we climb he lets the complaining mongoose bicycle come flying out. Mongoose utilizes house branded parts to cover contact points like the grips, pedals and seat.
Mongoose has given the “go-ahead” to do a long term review to assess the handling and function of the Argus once winter comes. So if you’re curious about how the bike performs in the snow, stay tuned….. Since our founding BMX has been the cornerstone of who we are.
I don’t know of many that go smaller from there either. Hopefully some training will allow him to be able to climb on his own for some of the ride. Sticking to flat nordic type trails for fat biking in the snow might be our best bet. 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. There is a low level shimano hydraulic disc brake kit that is SO NICE compared to mongoose dirt bike the cable disc brakes.
The drive train is setup for either snow or sand riding and my son seemed to ride comfortably. Mongoose made a sound decision considering the weight that a child must pedal. Having a wider gear range makes for a versatile bike that can conquer the terrain. Shifting worked out of the box and functioned well.