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Product Details
Mongoose Impasse Dual Full Suspension Bicycle (29-Inch)
From Mongoose
List Price:$319.99
Price:$291.43
& eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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3 new or used available from $276.43
Average customer review:
(27 customer reviews)
Product Description
The Mongoose Impasse is the ultimate 29er at an affordable
price. Equipped with an aluminum full-suspension frame, this trail-capable bike
offers a smooth and controlled ride featuring an Element front fork, Shimano
gearing, SRAM twist shifters, and front & rear disc brakes.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #14661 in Sports & Outdoors
Size: 29-Inch
Color: Silver
Brand: Mongoose
Model: R2780
Released on: 2012-01-25
Number of items: 1
Dimensions: 15.00" h x 15.00" w x 20.00" l,
44.00 pounds
Features
Aluminum suspension frame maximizes comfort &
performance
Element Suspension fork smoothes the bumps and increases
control
21 speed Shimano rear derailleur with SRAM twist shifters
changes gears easily
Alloy wheels with quick release front
Alloy front & rear disc brakes
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
91 of 92 people found the following review helpful.
Nice Mountian Bike for the Money.
By Mark42
I bought the Mongoose Impasse because it fit my budget for a
full suspension 29'er mountain bike. I felt the bike was a bit of a gamble,
because detail specs and reviews are just not available. But I was feeling
adventurous and ordered one.
First, the bike was rather poorly packed in the Mongoose
factory box. No Styrofoam packing was in the box to protect delicate pieces
like the rear derailleur, or the wheel hubs. The bike came partially assembled
with the front wheel tie wrapped to the frame. Just a little bubble wrap, and a
few plastic protectors for the hubs that were broken and laying in the bottom
of the box. As a result, the rear derailleur and mounting point were badly bent
in shipping by Fed Ex. So I removed the derailleur, straightened it out, and
also straightened the mounting point (near the axle drop outs). Took about an
hour to get the parts back in proper alignment.
Second, the Owners Manual covers ALL Mongoose
"department store" bikes, so be patient to find the section specific
to the feature on your model (aka Threadless stem vs classic Quill Stem
adjustment). I would have liked a shorter owners manual with more info specific
to this model.
After assembly (which is not really difficult assuming there
are no damaged parts), be prepared to adjust the disk brakes. They should not
drag, and are easy to adjust if you follow the manual. Just be sure to spin the
wheels and ensure that the disk is centered in the caliper. I also had to spend
a little time making adjustments to the rear derailleur to make it shift
properly (although this was probably a result of the shipping damage). If you
are unsure about being able to do this sort of work, just take it to a local
bike shop and they will set it up properly for you.
Now the riding. It rides well. The 29'er tires make riding
on rough surfaces easier. Even riding grassy fields is easier than with my
26" wheel mountain bike. The seat is surprisingly comfortable. The bike is
not too heavy, especially considering its size. Weight is kept down with the
use of alloy parts. Besides the frame being aluminum (not including the 'chain
stay' aka rear fork which are steel), the handle bars, thread-less stem, seat
post, crank arms, yoke of the front fork, and calipers are all aluminum too.
The brake levers are aluminum and plastic, and that is just junk I will replace
with a quality all alloy set of levers. Levers are cheap, so it surprising that
they would cut corners on the levers.
The front fork absorbs bumps, but has no hydraulic or
pneumatic dampening, its basically a simple spring tube that is adequate for
light off roading. The rear shock feels to be just a spring with no dampening
also. Although it is easily adjusted to stiffen or lighten the spring pre-load
(I stiffened it up). All in all, the suspension works well to smooth out ruts
and pot holes in rural and country roads, as well as gravel and dirt roads.
This is what I use it for and it works well for this sort of riding. Much nicer
ride than my hard tail mountain bike. Suspension is rather stiff at first, but
after a few hours of riding, it gets smoother and the fork gets less
"sticky".
The SRAM shifters are acceptable. Do wish a better shifter
by Shimano had been used.
I was surprised at how well the disk brakes work. They
really pull hard and are not even broken in yet!
The Shimano rear derailleur changes the gears quickly and
once adjusted, is nice and quiet (no clicking). It is the Shamano Tourney TX
(RD-TX 35). A nice entry level derailleur, made from aluminum castings and
steel stampings.
Wheel hubs are by Wheel Master, model Quando (I believe they
have sealed bearings). Didn't find any name or label on the rims, but the spec
sheet I got from Mongoose lists it as a no-name Chinese manufacturer. The rims
are a double wall rim, so they should take some pounding. Spokes are painted
steel.
The Crank is by ProWheel. Alloy arms, square taper B.B. and
riveted steel chain rings. Probably model MA-A443+ painted all black. Prowheel
makes quality budget priced parts that are competition for Shimano parts. With
the square taper Bottom Bracket, its easy to upgrade or change the chain rings
to other sizes.
Didn't care for all the stickers and labels all over the
frame. The frame is busy enough as it is with its suspension design, and cables
run all over. I removed all decals. Now its nice and clean, and doesn't look
like it came from a department store.
Bottom line is its a competent light to medium duty full
suspension 29'er mountain bike. It has many features that can not be had for
even a few hundred dollars more on other brands. The nice parts are the full
suspension, disk brakes, and 29'er wheels/tires. The down side is the poor
factory packing, and time to adjust/set up/fine tune the shifters and brakes,
and a few cheap parts. But when its setup right, its loads of fun to ride.
Update 6/20/2012. Have about 50 miles on the bike now. Its
great for riding the bike/horse trails in my town. I don't beat on it, just
ride it easy on dirt trails, along the abandoned train tracks, etc. The brakes
are holding up OK, but I have to admit the brake shoes are about the size of a
dime! How they stop the bike is beyond me. Had problems with front brake, ended
up calling support and they were GREAT! sent a new rotor (old one was bent and
wobbled causing problems adjusting brake). So don't even worry about getting parts,
as support is really fantastic. No arguments, just tell them the problem, and
they send you a new part, no questions asked.
I noticed that putting the tire pressure up to about 50 psi
makes the bike roll easier, and cuts down on the tire drag. The max pressure
listed on the tire sidewall is 65 psi, with a recommended pressure of 40 psi. I
think 40 is too low, and my 180 lbs body needs a little more pressure make them
firmer. Let the suspension absorb the bumps, not the tire.
Last ride was about 2 hours. Bike did well, only real
complaint is I can't figure out where to mount a water bottle holder. LOL!
I see the price just dropped about 20 bucks. Buy one before
they are gone.
BTW, the bike uses all metric fasteners. A set of metric
Allen wrenches will let you adjust and replace most parts on the bike like
brakes, handlebars, etc.
UPDATE 09/11/2012.
Have been riding the Impasse for hours at a time a few times
a week and realized that a few upgrades would make for a really great 29'er.
Two weak spots are the fork and rear shock. This is common for suspension bikes
in this price range. Both are just spring units with no dampening, and at slow
speeds, this is fine. As I started riding faster and longer, the bouncy nature
of the suspension was a determent and uncomfortable. So a RockShox XC 28 fork
w/oil dampening, preload and rebound adjustments, and lockout was added. Also
added a Kind Shock KS291 rear shock with oil dampening, rebound and preload
adjustments. These two items made a huge difference in the way the bike rides.
Its smoother, and I feel in more control in rough conditions. And my back
really likes it! Combined cost of those two upgrades was about $190.
A nice inexpensive upgrade that makes a big difference is to
replace the brake levers with Avid FR-5 Bicycle Brake Lever Set all alloy brake
lever assemblies. Often available for under $10, so shop around. Then for less
than $20, a 205mm front rotor and adapter can be added to maximize braking. I
can ride an Endo for a few feet with this brake setup, and its using the
original Zoom caliper!
Making all these upgrades will make the bike competitive
with the $900 and up bikes. With these mods, the bike now weighs 38 lbs! (about
5 lbs loss!).
24 of 26 people found the following review helpful.
My new mountain bike
By Carol
I just recieved my new Mongoose Impasse 29" mountain
bike.
I haven't riden it yet due to illnes but I'm anxious. It was
easy to assemble for someone handy with a few tools. It required a metric
wrench, metric hex "allen" wrench and a screwdriver.
There was no recomended rider height for this bike so I took
a chance. If your jeans are over 32" long you'll be OK, I'm a little short
but I'm keeping it. All the faux componants are there for a $1000+ bike and
they look good.
I'm a little sensitive to false advertising so when I
noticed the "ALUMINUM MONGOOSE" sticker attached to the
"STEEL" rear suspension fork it set off my BS detector. The front
fork is also steel which might be understandable for strength. The steel
kickstand should have been aluminum even though it's not part of the frame. The
seatpost,rims, stem and handlebars are aluminum. Overall my bike and I could
stand to loose a few pounds but we'll work on that together. One of the plastic
brake lever adjusting screw holes is striped out and I'm in the process of
trying to get them to send me a replacement. So far no responce. I'm not
sending the bike back for a minor defect.
I'll let you know how it works as soon as I get back on the
road.
Carl
Update
After a few miles on the Mongoose Impasse I'm satisfied with
the value. Everything works as advertised.It has a very soft smooth ride and at
the same time it feels tight and responsive. My previous suspension bike had a
tendancy to bounce and jiggle around a little. This one just absorbs the bump
and dosen't oscillate. I didn't even try the seat it came with. I bought a
split gel padded one while I was waiting for shipping. Customer service at
Mongoose was very good to deal with. They are sending me a replacement brake
lever no charge and offered to take the bike back if I felt it was too tall. I
declined. The frame it self isn't a tall frame but the 29" tires make it
stand high. With that in mind I'm changing the steering stem to a adjustable
one that will help my riding position. Also the kick stand is just wrong for
the bike, It's too short and easily bent backwards alowing the bike to fall
over if it's bumped or not parked just right. I understand "REAL"
mountain bikes don't use kickstands and they are just thrown down anyplace by
"REAL" mountain bikers. For the rest of us civilized city folks who
eat with a knife and fork the kickstand is a usefull accessory. I may call
Mongoose and ask for a replacement.
22 of 25 people found the following review helpful.
Completely unusable for real riding.
By A. Whalen
I went from an old entry-level GT (Aggressor 2.0) with
aluminum hard tail frame, caliper brakes, etc. Gears were getting worn. This
was on sale around Black Friday so I sprung for it rather than having a new
gear set installed. WOOPSE!
The old bike has a LOT of mileage and a LOT of thrashing on
it. Warp in the front wheel, bull bars, scratches, dirt, everything is worn.
Last couple of years I've primarily just used it for taking the kids for rides
in a trailer. But it's an old trooper.
This Mongoose is just an embarrassment to itself. Let me
enumerate the unfortunately lengthy list of things that are wrong right out of
the box, and some inherent design flaws:
1. One of the tire tubes (rear, as it turns out) was leaky
from new. A 3-mile ride and the tire is down when I pumped it up just before I
left. (Fixable, but should not be the case.)
2. The front brake caliper's inner brake pad rubs against
the rotor when the axle is properly seated in the fork. (Fixable, but should
not be the case.) (Update: Adjusted the inner brake pad, cable tension, but it
appears the front rotor is warped as well, it squeals in cycle with the front
wheel rotation while riding.)
3. The crank shaft squeaks and creaks, sounds like dry or
just bad bearings.
4. The derailleur is either mismatched or improperly
adjusted; the chain derailed three times during my inaugural ride. (Update:
further riding indicates that the gears just don't shift quickly/smoothly
relative to better sets. Adjusting cable tension helped only incrementally but
still could no solidly land a gear, especially when moving across several
sprockets quickly.)
5. The gears are either misadjusted or mismatched and could
not be shifted when under load; the chain could not slip even when the
derailleur was tugging at it. Only shiftable under light load or freewheeling.
If you either do any real riding or have to haul along 80+ pounds of trailer
and children, don't plan on shifting while climbing.
6. Gears are mismatched to bike/wheel size. The climbing
gear (first) is clearly in a ratio designed for a 24" or at most 26"
bike. It's utterly useless. Of course, on my old (26") bike I could go up
seriously steep climbs with the trailer attached, this thing was just utterly
hopeless. I would not even attempt to take a real ride (i.e., trail or
mountain) with this thing. Overall, please understand the gearing is a total
mess, a colossal catastrophe on this bike. It's not "designed"; it's
a set of mismatched, cheap components welded/bolted together without any
overall rhyme or reason.
7. This is a mere matter of preference / performance, but
the bike is VERY heavy. At 46 pounds, it's a full 10 pounds heavier than my
Aggressor, even though it's supposed to also have a welded aluminum frame. I'd
not be surprised if the frame only has one aluminum pipe and the rest is made
out of chro-moly (and filled with lead?).
In general, if you're a light/occasional, casual rider, you
could order this, take it to a bike shop for a full tune-up, and be OK. Even as
a casual rider, you won't want this thing if you're in an area with a lot of
hills/mountains. As a serious or semi-serious rider, this thing is a pretender.
It LOOKS cool and the feature list SOUNDS good, but in practice, it's just...
well, it's what you'd expect for <$300. Garbage. It's a mess of low-quality
frame and assembly and mis-matched components that end up in a disastrous
riding experience.
I will readily admit, I probably had too high
hopes/expectations. GT bikes (as with many other high-end manufacturers) are
high quality, great bikes. I've had three GTs and loved them all so for my
purposes, I'll likely just fork out what I have to to either replace the
complete gear set on my old frame or just get a new GT. As I said, if you
aren't a 'serious' rider and live in a relatively flat area, this bike may be
OK for you with some adjustments. But for anyone who puts any real load on the
bike, really rides, what you pay is what you get. Just take my review as a
cautionary tale - caveat emptor - for folks who might, as I was, think: maybe
you really CAN get a steal, get all the features and functions of a high-end bike
for an entry-level price!
No. You cannot.
UPDATE:
After a couple more rides it is clear that this thing is
just very heavy and geared improperly. I can't get nearly as much torque in
first gear with this thing - maybe half as much.
Also, the frame ends up being about 16" (center of
crankshaft to top of seat tube). I have the seat extended to its absolute
maximum height and it's still about an inch and a half shorter than it should
be for proper posture. I'm only 5'11 and with the seat at maximum height, my
knee is still bent when the pedal is fully extended. You can see how
downward-sloped the top tube is. If you're 5'10 or shorter this should be fine
but it's simply not big enough for anyone my height or taller.
The lack of lockout on the front and rear suspension is a
killer. With 29" tires and spongy suspension it obviously soaks up rocks
and roots really nicely as long as the trail is relatively flat. But when you
need to climb a hill, the efficiency on this bike is just abysmal. True torture!
No need to put yourself through it. Rather than upgrading all of the components
as an earlier reviewer recommended, you could just buy an entry-level hardtail
Specialized or GT for $100 more.
Update 2:
Note that the frame has a 16" (small) seat tube and
that there are no size options available. I am 5' 11" and cannot get the
seat high enough for a proper riding posture. This bike is not made for riders
over 5' 9" or so unless you don't mind a very inefficient posture (I.e.,
seat is too low relative to handle bar, leg is not fully extended on power
stroke, have about 4-5" of stand-over room). Just another way it has
proven an ill match for me...
See all 27 customer reviews...
