Mongoose Salvo Adult Mountain Bike, 27.5-29-Inch Wheels, Mens Frame Sizes, Multiple Colors

This review is for the Mongoose Salvo mountain bike, size large frame.I purchased this bike to commute to lunch during work hours and for the occasional off-road riding.The bike comes in a large box with a few parts requiring install such as: handle bars, front wheel, reflectors, seat and pedal wheels. Everything is wrapped and protected for shipping. It did not come with assembly instructions but did come with a nice owner’s manual. Installing the parts without assembly instructions was fairly intuitive. The package did not come with tools for the install. You will need a decent assortment of allen wrenches and a ¾” wrench to install the pedals. It took me a little over an hour to unbox and assemble. The allen screws appear to have lock-tite on them from the factory, that is a nice touch ensuring they won’t unscrew.I am 6’-2” tall and weigh 180 pounds. The large frame fit me perfect. I would say a shorter person could fit on the large frame as well as the seat is lots of room for adjustment. The bike is fairly light which makes it nice to pick up and maneuver if need be.I have never owned a geared mountain bike so the shifting gears depending on the terrain slope was new to me. Be careful when continually downshifting the gear for uphill riding, the chain will shift off the gears. This happened to me and it took some work to get the chain back on the gears. Proper understanding of the shifting and realizing there is second lever for upshifting will eliminate your chain and gear problems.Overall the bike rides and feels great. It is very sturdy and the shocks really do a good job dampening the rough terrain. The front and center shocks are all adjustable to your liking. I see myself riding this bike for years to come. The front and rear brakes have some serious stopping power I might add.I purchased the black color which has a semi-matte finish. It's sleek and a really good looking bike.

Cons:- Shifter keeps getting stuck in 1st gear. I have verified that the rear derailleur is not the problem. Loosening the 4 screws on the back of the shifter appears to unstick the shifter cable.- Rear axle/hub is bent. This causes the rear cassette to wobble enough to make it very difficult to index the gears.- Rear shock does not fully lock out, causing sag/flex while road riding.- Front and rear shocks are not plushMinor annoyances:- Seat/saddle is uncomfortable (very little padding)- Knobby tires make rear brake rotor vibrate during right turns at certain road speeds- Front chainring with 30 teeth is geared a bit too low for me. Great for advanced trails, but not great for road riding.- Bike is advertised as internally routed cables, yet rear brake cable is externally routed. Why? Interestingly, there are holes for internally routing a dropper post cable.Pros:- Tires have excellent grip- Brakes work really well- Nice black color- Reasonably light weight

Shipping was fast, but the box definitely incurred a lot of bumps and bruises. I was pleased to see I wasn't missing any components as there were a couple of holes in the box itself. The frame did sustain a few scratches in the same area. Wasn't happy about that, but they are minor and I am sure I will put on way more after riding it on the trails.It looked like a good base frame bike to buy and then maybe add some upgrades, but I don't want to change a thing! Quality components give it a smooth ride. Gears/shifters are responsive and handle well. Aggressive tread also helps with climbing rough terrain. I haven't been able to take it on speedy downhills yet, but so far it feels very stable for what I have done.Assembly wasn't difficult, but do follow the instruction manual. It gets a little confusing because the manual refers to some parts that do not come with the bike (not needed), so that can be a little confusing. I am a fairly handy person and I did not have any troubles with assembly. You will need a couple of tools. I used my Allen Wrench set and a adjustable wrench. Very excited to hit some more trails!

A very competent all around MTB. The SRAM SX Eagle 1x12 drivetrain on this bike is unheard of in this price range. Add a dropper seat post to it and you can hang with the big boys on the trails. I only gave it 4 stars because the rear derailleur and hanger were so bent out of the box that it was in the rear spokes. Easy fix but I could not ride it until it was repaired.

This was the second “higher end” Mongoose mountain bike that I have purchased and I could not be happier with this brand. I ride these bikes all the time on the trails in Arizona and have had nothing but great experience. This model is good for just about anything that you throw at it. It has mid range SRAM and Shimano brakes and shifters, and the rear shock works very well once you dial it in by setting the pressure. I do wish that the front shock was an air shock as well, but this one works fine and you can replace it if you really want to. It’s not a heavy bike at all, but I could see some people that put high value on bike weight having a potential concern with this. Regardless, I have nothing but positive things to say about this bike and I recommend it for anyone from street riders to trail/mountain bikers.