source: decline Magazine May 2006



Roots, that’s all we should have to say about Mongoose. They’ve been making bikes and parts longer than most of us have been on this planet – from their first product, the original MotoMag wheel that every BMXer in the mid-1970s drooled over, to their latest additions to the line-up, the EC-X and EC-D. These two bikes are the signature rides of Eric Carter, who has too many race titles to list, so it’s about time he had his own line of bikes from Mongoose. They did it up right, too; the EC-X is an exact replica of what EC rode across the finish line at Mammoth when he won the mountaincross national title this past year.



THE TECHNOLOGY

Mongoose uses 6061 aluminum to build the frame of the EC-X, tossing in some well placed gussets and making sure to include replaceable 135mm quick-release dropouts. Mongoose also applies their proprietary FreeDrive suspension system to the frame with a “floating” bottom bracket. What FreeDrive does is isolate the bottom bracket from the main triangle and rear swingarm. By “floating” the BB, FreeDrive gives you a suspension that is, in theory, unaffected by pedaling and braking. The result is a bike that sprints with minimal movement and responds to stutter bumps with no pedal feedback. This is also the same suspension design used on the EC-D downhill frame but in a much larger scale. Travel is adjustable on the EC-X with two settings at 71mm or 76mm. Now you may be thinking that’s a bit short, but remember this is a slalom and mountaincross race bike with acceleration being the major focus in design.

Parts spec on the bike puts the rider in some pretty good company with the likes of a RockShox Revelation 426 fork featuring Motion Control Damping with external Floodgate to control the platform blow off. The rear end is handled by the RockShox MC3.1 custom rear shock with the same settings as the fork to nicely balance out the feel. The drivetrain is also brought to you by SRAM with their X-9 shifter/derailleur combo and Truvativ Holzfeller cranks utilizing the Howitzer external BB. Not that you’ll want to slow down, but in case you do the Avid Juicy 7’s with 160mm rotors will surely stop you in a hurry. Mongoose throws a Holzfeller stem/bar combo in the mix and an SDG I-Beam post and Bel-Air ST seat. If it wasn’t already outfitted with enough top-of-the-line parts they kicked in an MRP System 3 slalom guide, too. The EC-X also rolls on a set of 26’s branded with the Sun Ringle SOS name, too bad their not spinners. If all that wasn’t enough to pull you in, the ‘Goose comes stock with a diamond plate chainstay guard ala 909 style.



THE RIDE

“The Goose is loose!” – actually it was pretty tight, but we couldn’t help yelling it at the trails when riding this bike. It pedals well, corners like it is on rails, and can rip over jumps without a problem. As soon as we sat on the bike we could tell Mongoose had put something good together. The bike feels comfortable and well balanced from the first few turns. Kenda Nevegal tires with their Stick-E rubber may be a big help, but the bike has a very comfortable feel that lets you dive hard into corners. When the bike brakes loose there isn’t much of a warning but you have to push really hard for this to happen and it was always in the same predictable spot.



Geometry: The EC-X comes in two sizes to keep things simple. You can choose between the S/M with a 21.3-inch top tube or the M/L with a 22.2-inch top tube. The head angle sits at a slack 68.5 degrees to keep the bike stable at speed – remember this is a race bike. The seat angle comes in at 72 degrees and the chainstays sit right around 16.8 inches. This sounds a bit long, and the rear end will feel long on tight, slower trails or turns, but when you get the bike up to speed it feels nimble. The bottom bracket height is dependent on the fork travel and suspension setting, but at either setting the bike is agile and corners well, so you really can’t go wrong.



Pin It: Just like EC, this bike is a pinner. It is designed to be ridden with stiff suspension and sprints with almost no pedal induced movement thanks to the FreeDrive suspension design. Even under hard acceleration out of a turn or from gate snaps the EC-X barely has any suspension movement, yet it’s supple enough to pick up the imperfections in a berm and keep the tires glued to the ground. Granted these imperfections can’t be too large since the bike has only 76mm of rear wheel travel, but for most well-groomed mountaincross, slalom courses, or dirt jumps this isn’t an issue.



Jumping: Continuing with its comfortable feel, taking the EC-X to the dirt jumps for the first time wasn’t much of a surprise. The bike has a very well-balanced feel in the air and preloading the suspension up the face of jumps feels very fluid and instinctive. What’s nice about the short travel design is how it pumps through tight rhythm sections like a hardtail but still has the ability to smooth out a miscalculated landing or a rough berm.



Setup: After quite a bit of time on the bike, we found that we liked to match the two rear travel options to the terrain. We matched the 76mm rear travel with the fork travel set around the 115mm mark, using the U-Turn travel adjuster on the Revelution fork. This balances the head angle and bottom bracket height and works better on rougher terrain and weathered jumps. If you drop the rear end of the bike to the 71mm of travel, you’ll want to drop the fork travel as well. We found it to feel comparable when the fork was set around the 100mm mark. With the help of the lower bottom bracket height, this setting is ideal for smoother courses or ones with tight turns.



OVERVIEW

When you say Mongoose to most riders this day and age you usually get two opinions depending on the age of the person. The young guys seem to think of department store bikes while the older guys remember bikes like the Supergoose, Decade and California Pro. These are the bikes that made Mongoose a big name in the 70’s and 80’s (being the bike sponsor for Bart Taylor in the movie RAD didn’t hurt either) but their following dropped off for quite a few years with the core riders. Now Mongoose is getting back on track with bikes like the EC-X. There aren’t too many bikes on the market you can pull straight out of the box and put on the start line in a pro slalom or mountaincross race, but Mongoose managed to do it and for only $2,500. You can expect to see this bike on the amateur podium this season due to the affordable price for how well it handles. Don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled for the EC-X underneath both Needles and EC during the pro finals, too.



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