130mm forks. Solid feel to frame. Stable geometry with short chainstays. OEM hydraulic brakes. Comfy WTB seat. Looks good in dark blue.

OEM stem & bars slightly heavy.

For the last 3 years it's been used by a friend. The bike is still in good condition (wheels included), with minor replacements and servicing for the usual drivetrain and braking stuff. Apart from changing to a shorter stem it's pretty close to original.
Mongoose's Amasa model has been discontinued as of 2010 (an up-spec Tyax currently suffices in place of the comp).
The boxy frame still looks modern despite what is now considered a high standover height for the top tube. Short 420mm chainstays make this bike very adjustable for front to rear balance, popping the front up off drops is a cinch. Rides light and fast - yet feels secure. Have to give it a 5 as it goes even better than the sum of it's parts. Still a fun bike to ride.

Similar Products Used:

Other hardtails.

* Great Components for the price
* Excellent brakes
* Sharp, quick handling
* Long-travel fork

* Hate the SRAM shifters - they're bizarre

Only had the bike for a week and am totally in love with it. Great singletracking bike, fast handling makes directional changes effortless, and love the long-travel fork with lockout, so that when you get back on the road, you just flick a switch and lock the fork out.

Video of first day out with the bike:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tadnkat/3767517311/

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* Giant Butte (heavily, heavily customized)
* GT Aggressor

great components, good responsivness

disc breaks squeal, too noisy

For the price you can't beat the components on this bike...you'll pay $100 or $200 more and not get what this bike comes with. I researched plenty before buying this bike and I was looking at the Specialized RockHopper $200 more for Disc Brakes and $100 more without...with the same rear derailuer and front suspension....I haven't bought a bike in ten years and I'm very happy with my purchase!

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gt pantera

ProMax hydraulic disc, rotors: 180mm front, 160mm rear work really well and have great feel to them. I think the greatest strength of the bike is the SRAM X.5 shifters, this is the first time i have had SRAM shifters and i can't believe how quickly you can pop through the gears. Bike has a great feel to it, you can really feel the trail and it responds well.

Why are the handle bars so wide?! The bars are seriously too wide and you will worry about it on tight trials. Front shocks have a lot of rebound and the bike is a little front heavy.

Great first bike and a great price. It can handle more than what i can handle on the desert trails. You get what you pay for in the front shocks; they have a lot of rebound and bounce around when you haul through fast rocky sections, but they keep you from breaking your wrists on those hard drops you never see coming. If you can't afford a high end bike give this bike a try, your gonna have a lot of fun on it and when you buy your next bike you'll know exactly what you want to buy and what components you like and don't like

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None, this is my first hardtail.

Great Bike

None

I bought is Jan 2008 and love it. I am a weekend warrior, and it takes all the Rocky trails of south texas with no problem. Climbs great, the fork takes the down hills easily. No problems or adjustments needed. For the average rider, which most of us are - won't by more bike than you need!

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Cannondale Delta V700

every think these r the best

the forksm are good but u need to service them onece a year if u ride hard

its a really good bike 4 jumps and downhilling its great 4 a learner!!!!!!!!

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giant upland,o6 pump720

EVERY THING

Not much only that the forks are a bit spingy and have chucked me over a few times before

Great bike would buy again

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Avanti Barracuda

Super strong frame, Sram 27 speed drivetrain, Kenda Nevegal tires, Hayes Sole Hydraulic Disc Brakes, 130mm Manitou Splice Comp. This bike flys downhill.

Tall steep top tube angle,Got to lay on the bars going up hill. Heavy.

I bought a 2006 model.
The 2007 has a lockout fork and Mechanical Disc Brakes.
The best under $500 bike I could find.
Great Beginners bike. Top of the line components. Easy to assemble, come mostly preassembled from Mongoose. Fun hardtail

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Gt, Trek, Marin, Gary Fisher, Giantall in same price range
$599 or less.

Excellent ride quality, awesome gearing and very responsive feel. I don't do jumping or extreme downhilling and this suits me perfectly. The solid feel fills you with confidence and had me going downhill off-road much faster than I used to. I also don't plan on carrying it that often, so the frame weight doesn't bother me.

Make sure the supplier sets it up properly and then double check they have done it. Only niggles were because EvansCycles didn't tighten things up properly. Jury still out on the Handlebars, I'll stick with them for a while, gear shifters take a little getting used to

Fantastic value for the parts on it, especially if you can get it online for under 400 quid like I did.

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Kona Cinder Cone, Specialized Hardrock 2003

Quality of the components for the price is excellent. Overall feel of the ride very good. Bought largely because bike mag gave it mega-review for quality & value for money. Anticipated problems with Manitou forks but none experienced - no bottoming out or weird noises (like some reveiws have mentioned) and I do ride quite hard. I do hard XC and this bike seems to be perfect for the job although it does feel quite 'large'. Very impressive bike but a few niggles.

XL frame (i'm 6'4") is quite heavy.
Brake levers too close to handlebars - wind them out only to have them wind themselves back in during the rides. Don't know how to get them to stay 'out'...
Crank came undone and whole lot nearly fell off! First ride after bike shop PDI'ed it and crank undid itself repeatedly. Fixed now.
Hayes-sole brake-pad adjuster on rear caliper fell apart. Adjuster would not adjust pad - just went round and round then came off. Bike shop getting new caliper (sometime).
Pedals aren't the best - have upgraded to SPDs.

A great bike for the money - still like it better than rival £500 bikes like Giant XTC4, GT Avalanche 1.0 disc and Claud Butler cape wrath. Had a few initial problems which were an unexpected hassle but overall it's fantastic.