The bike came in today and your reviews are spot on. Love the bike, Large frame fits my 5'10 body perfectly and feels like it would accommodate a taller person, or shorter if you use a shorter seat post. Low limit on my seat is just right. Very fast, haven't felt this good on a bike in years and I used to do serious trail riding in BC. Brakes could be better, maybe not broken in yet. I put on some all metal Tektro levers, some improvement there though the stock ones look like they work. Brakes could be upgraded but the Jak brakes are fine for now. Shipping box from Mendham was damaged, but a bent rotor was the only casualty. Which led me to discover that a different rotor with more surface area helps a lot. Anyway for this price you're getting a helluva cool bike. Handles great, shifting is almost perfect out of the box, shocks work great and it looks so good. It's a legit dirt machine. Thanks Kev Central, because thanks to your channel I found this amazing bike. Also the tires are nice and fat, and this bike is so light. Love it.🔥Update: I emailed Mendham about the shipping damage, they responded promptly and said they would send out a new brake rotor to replace the bent one. Great bike, get one while you can. Mendham has other bikes I'd like to see tested here as well.
On this bike, if you don't want to faff about with trying to run hydraulic hoses all over the place, consider getting a cable-actuated hydraulic system. Juin tech are pretty good for the price (I run a set on my gravel bike/commuter) and they work brilliantly.
The kind of information you are giving us is wonderful. The are tons of people that would rather go this route and upgrade the bike little by little and it is so helpful to have these kind of specs to pull from when picking a bike or upgrades. Here in canada there is a 528$ hyper viking trail 29" full suspension bike with a tapered head tube. Would love to see you get one of these and dissect it. Be careful which one you get as the are a few different versions of this bike named the same thing. You have to find Ithe one with the tapered head tube. It has slightly better geometry than the mongoose imo.
I seen evidence that you can wrap an aluminum frame in carbon fiber/epoxy & make it alot stronger....It's obviously going to be heavier but probably still lighter & stronger than a steel frame, except for maybe the rear dropouts. But I was thinking, you could aluminum rivet in diy aluminum torque plates to the rear dropouts & wrap them in place. So the CF & epoxy is jointing the torque plates to the chain & seat stays. At $250 I'd like to experiment with wrapping the frame for an ebike or motorized bicycle conversion. Also would like to carbon wrap a felt faker gas bike frame or phatmoto frame....Seen some pictures of 200 lbs hanging from a piece of aluminum tube that was sagging under the 200lb stress...They then wrapped same tube in carbon fiber. Which had 0 sag under 200 lb of stress.
Great video as usual and I love that bike. I'm getting one. Do you think the brake levers should be upgraded? One review said the housing was plastic so I ordered some all metal Tektro levers. Update, got it. Tektro levers feel great, also getting the calipers adjusted perfectly helps. I've seen some cable actuated hydraulic calipers for under 40. Brakes could be better but it's a minor thing and this bike is an animal. Love the handling.
Brakes are definitely one of the first things you should consider upgrading. microShift make an excellent pair of levers for the money and will mate up with the rest of the drivetrain.
Kev would you consider making a video even if you've already have replacing mechanical disc brakes upgrading mechanical disc brakes are all disc brakes compatible with brake adapters
Acolyte derailleur shifts flawlessly a 10 speed Advent X 11-48T cassette using the Advent X Trail Pro shifter. Acolyte has the same pull ratio as Advent, Advent X and Shimano 9-11 speed derailleurs. Acolyte weighs 15g more than Advent X and is less than half the cost.
Heyy could you please review the Univega 700c Maxima sport, I know its not a mountain bike but I would really appreciate it if you reviewed that bike, thank you!
I have a pair of tyres with the exact same tread pattern, soft compound and very rubbery feel, but no KENDA logo. Came on a $200 Chinese bike I recently bought. Could they be the same?
Univega definitely didn't invent the MTB. They sold imported from Japan bikes starting around 1983-4, a couple years after Specialized started importing their Stumpjumpers from Japan. There is a lot of debate about who invented the mountain bike and I am not making any claims as to the absolute first one, but builders like Joe Breeze, Tom Ritchey, and others were building bikes in the late 70's. Joe Breeze usually gets the credit as first. Again, that's all up for debate.
@@aaronbehindbars Sweet! I didn't know that. definitely the first mountain bike I ever saw though, 83 sounds about right, a buddy of mine had one, it was pretty nice for the times, but most of us were still in our BMX phase.
King of the budget bike reviews!!!
The bike came in today and your reviews are spot on. Love the bike, Large frame fits my 5'10 body perfectly and feels like it would accommodate a taller person, or shorter if you use a shorter seat post. Low limit on my seat is just right. Very fast, haven't felt this good on a bike in years and I used to do serious trail riding in BC. Brakes could be better, maybe not broken in yet. I put on some all metal Tektro levers, some improvement there though the stock ones look like they work. Brakes could be upgraded but the Jak brakes are fine for now. Shipping box from Mendham was damaged, but a bent rotor was the only casualty. Which led me to discover that a different rotor with more surface area helps a lot. Anyway for this price you're getting a helluva cool bike. Handles great, shifting is almost perfect out of the box, shocks work great and it looks so good. It's a legit dirt machine. Thanks Kev Central, because thanks to your channel I found this amazing bike. Also the tires are nice and fat, and this bike is so light. Love it.🔥Update: I emailed Mendham about the shipping damage, they responded promptly and said they would send out a new brake rotor to replace the bent one. Great bike, get one while you can. Mendham has other bikes I'd like to see tested here as well.
The Ozark trail spikey pedals,They are absolutely amazing. Grip for days and boosts your confidence
Are they steel? Are they heavy?
@@ProWhiteAntiJew aluminum. Light.
I should have my Univega Rover next week Monday. Looking forward to your upcoming Q&A video on that bike.
On this bike, if you don't want to faff about with trying to run hydraulic hoses all over the place, consider getting a cable-actuated hydraulic system. Juin tech are pretty good for the price (I run a set on my gravel bike/commuter) and they work brilliantly.
That is a great bike for the money for sure. A couple of upgrades and you are set.
Thanks Kev for taking your time to do these, I always learn from your videos.
The kind of information you are giving us is wonderful. The are tons of people that would rather go this route and upgrade the bike little by little and it is so helpful to have these kind of specs to pull from when picking a bike or upgrades. Here in canada there is a 528$ hyper viking trail 29" full suspension bike with a tapered head tube. Would love to see you get one of these and dissect it. Be careful which one you get as the are a few different versions of this bike named the same thing. You have to find Ithe one with the tapered head tube. It has slightly better geometry than the mongoose imo.
Another great vid Kev...keep it up.
I seen evidence that you can wrap an aluminum frame in carbon fiber/epoxy & make it alot stronger....It's obviously going to be heavier but probably still lighter & stronger than a steel frame, except for maybe the rear dropouts.
But I was thinking, you could aluminum rivet in diy aluminum torque plates to the rear dropouts & wrap them in place. So the CF & epoxy is jointing the torque plates to the chain & seat stays. At $250 I'd like to experiment with wrapping the frame for an ebike or motorized bicycle conversion.
Also would like to carbon wrap a felt faker gas bike frame or phatmoto frame....Seen some pictures of 200 lbs hanging from a piece of aluminum tube that was sagging under the 200lb stress...They then wrapped same tube in carbon fiber. Which had 0 sag under 200 lb of stress.
Great video as usual and I love that bike. I'm getting one. Do you think the brake levers should be upgraded? One review said the housing was plastic so I ordered some all metal Tektro levers. Update, got it. Tektro levers feel great, also getting the calipers adjusted perfectly helps. I've seen some cable actuated hydraulic calipers for under 40. Brakes could be better but it's a minor thing and this bike is an animal. Love the handling.
My review said the housing is plastic. It’s more likely abs. Metal couldn’t hurt
…and thanks!
Brakes are definitely one of the first things you should consider upgrading. microShift make an excellent pair of levers for the money and will mate up with the rest of the drivetrain.
Thanks dude, my Thruster Retrograde will be here tomorrow. Thanks for the tipoff to that website.
Professor Kev is willing ready and Able to help you with your cycling needs!
😂
Kev would you consider making a video even if you've already have replacing mechanical disc brakes upgrading mechanical disc brakes are all disc brakes compatible with brake adapters
Im getting the sport .. cant wait ..
If you want the seat to go lower, you can trim it shorter, or buy a second post that’s already shorter.
😉
Can you comment on sizing of the bikes ?? How tall are you ?? The medium seemed good size ??
5’10”. Medium fit well
Acolyte derailleur shifts flawlessly a 10 speed Advent X 11-48T cassette using the Advent X Trail Pro shifter. Acolyte has the same pull ratio as Advent, Advent X and Shimano 9-11 speed derailleurs. Acolyte weighs 15g more than Advent X and is less than half the cost.
Can you review the Mendham Bikes 27.5" VALKYRIE STEP OVER | ELECTRIC MOUNTAIN BIKE for $299 ASAP !!!
Hmmm. Haven’t thought about that one. I can tell you by looking at it that I wouldn’t want it for MTB trails. Around town it should be fine
Heyy could you please review the Univega 700c Maxima sport, I know its not a mountain bike but I would really appreciate it if you reviewed that bike, thank you!
I have a pair of tyres with the exact same tread pattern, soft compound and very rubbery feel, but no KENDA logo. Came on a $200 Chinese bike I recently bought. Could they be the same?
Very likely
How would you compare this to the Ozark, about the same price
The OT Ridge is ~$150 more, so I would take this over the two of that price difference is an issue for me.
Have you seen the crazy deals on Yamaha ebikes?
I’ve seen an eMtB at the trail with a Yamaha mid drive. Didn’t get to ride it
😊
A decent fork would easily get you under 30 lbs.
27lbs is possible
Due to the changes in just brakes over the years 💥💥🍔🍻🐿️
Univega... Nice! I haven't seen one of those since the 80s, I think they may have invented the mountain bike
Univega definitely didn't invent the MTB. They sold imported from Japan bikes starting around 1983-4, a couple years after Specialized started importing their Stumpjumpers from Japan. There is a lot of debate about who invented the mountain bike and I am not making any claims as to the absolute first one, but builders like Joe Breeze, Tom Ritchey, and others were building bikes in the late 70's. Joe Breeze usually gets the credit as first. Again, that's all up for debate.
@@aaronbehindbars Sweet! I didn't know that. definitely the first mountain bike I ever saw though, 83 sounds about right, a buddy of mine had one, it was pretty nice for the times, but most of us were still in our BMX phase.
31 pounds is very heavy for a rigid CC bike.
RU serious. WTF! XC is what you think of. If you want it less weight just make it less weight. Easily done going tubeless and a lighter fork.