Mongoose Envoy Cargo Bike

I'll first hit the high points, then dive into packing, assembly and the problems I found.- The Envoy rides very well. Really well. It is lightweight and does not feel like what it is, which is a longtail tank. Its rattle-free except for the chain when you pick up and drop the bike... and for a 142-link chain that is as long as it is, some frame contact can't be helped.- This bike has a super-solid, sturdy frame. Its lightweight alloy (the fork is steel). Riding it I cannot feel any slop or flex, which you'd kind of expect on such a long wheelbase. You don't notice the length unless you try to thread thru something.- The seat is a gem. Probably the first time I will leave a factory seat on a bike without replacing it with something fancy. The rear handle is solid and a big help.- There are M5 bosses *everywhere* in the back half of the frame. On the rack top. On the rack sides. On the frame sides. On the lower rack. Everywhere. This thing was designed to let you figure out whatever custom solution fits your fancy.- The included bags are very nice. They hook on easily. They are heavily built. I do wish they were deeper than 6". Say 8" or even 10" (that'd be wider than the bottom rack butt I can devise a semi rigid bottom myself no problem). But still, at about 38 liters each before you start piling stuff on top, you have a decent cargo hauling solution literally out of the box thanks to these.- While the current tires seem perfectly adequate, the frame will allow larger tires. You should be able to do 2.5" without running into frame clearance issues in the rear (2.35's are stock). The rims are fairly narrow so proceed with due care.- The fenders are surprisingly robust. I would ordinarily chuck full coverage plastic fenders into the trash bin and replace with something 'better' but not this time.---I use bikes as a by-choice auto replacement. As such I wanted a dedicated cargo hauler for local shopping runs. One of my criteria was to NOT do a ground-up build or an expensive catalog buy: the bike will be sitting outside of stores for much of its life and I don't want to burst into tears if someone manages to steal it.Enter the Mongoose Envoy, whose retail price is roughly half of the next lowest-cost longtail cargo bike, and less than that if you count higher quality models. Mongoose has a reputation in the DIY ebike community or fantastic frames and basic, budget components that are typically replaced/upgraded. Also the Envoy was sold in Canada for about a year at a major retailer, with reviews of it out on the internet. So I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into. I expected a great design with basic components and good functionality.And that is what I got. Despite the issues I will detail below, this bike is a great value and highly recommended as an entry level cargo bike, or the basis for an experienced builder to upgrade.The bike came to me fast (Amazon Prime) and I found it well packaged. One corner of the box was torn up - right where the forks are - but the internal packing was good enough there was no damage. The bike was wrapped up pretty much everywhere in cardboard tubing which made for a bike that is completely unscratched (in the accompanying picture, I have removed about half of it). There was also enough styrofoam and plastic bumpers where needed to keep things from getting crunched.Part of the packing job involved zip ties tying everything to everything else, and the bike was a single, monolithic piece. I was very surprised to easily lift it all out of the box in its entirety without drama. Believe me that is seldom possible and speaks first to the bike being a lot lighter than you'd think, and also to the fact that someone thought thru this packing job. Once out of the box, there was so much cardboard tubing I thought it would take a long time to assemble the bike. In fact it took maybe 45 minutes, and that was so long because I did find problems that needed solutions (see below). As packing jobs go, I'd give it a 8.5 out of 10 with a 100% successful result.The two jobs that take the most effort in assembly are:1) the front forks - two cables were wrapped improperly - one shifter around the wrong side of the frame, and the front brake cable went inside of the fork instead of outside. Both of those took a little head scratching to deal with and if you just jump up and attach the handlebars you could potentially have to undo that and start over. So pay attention to this during assembly.2) the rear lower rack. I won't get into how they set this up for packing except to say on the surface it looks goofy and turns out is sort of genius. The lower deck is attached to the bike with four nut/washer/bolt combinations. Here I have a gripe: The bolts are M5 low profile hex head bolts that, strangely, have a Phillips head socket in their center. You find out why as there is nowhere near enough room to use a wrench on at least two of these bolts. Fine but... bikes have standard hardware for a reason. One of those standards is that all M5 bolts are socket caps (they need an Allen key aka hex key wrench). Socket caps would work great here. Why break that mold? Especially when you already use a zillion of them all over the bike? Probably to save the two cents it would have cost to include a hex key (anyone assembling a bike should have one anyway). So, when assembling... make sure you have a Phillips head screwdriver. I will replace these bolts with hex caps so if I am ever on the side of the road with a problem I have one tool that will work for everything.The next gripe is fairly serious... but can be dealt with either by the experienced home bike mechanic or the Local Bike Shop - the front brake on this bike does not work. I originally thought the caliper was broken (I edited this review as thats what it first said). So I replaced the brake caliper entirely. Once the caliper was off the bike I found it to be in working order. So the front brake was so maladjusted it did not work... as delivered it only barely touched the front rotor, and that was after pad adjustment. My best guess (since I already pulled the caliper off) was it was mounted on the adapter so badly (the cable pulled just fine) that it did not give any more but the barest contact to the front rotor. Needless to say this was extremely dangerous and not visible unless a pre-flight check is conducted or the new rider finds out the hard way.For the not so mechanically inclined, this is an instant full stop disaster requiring contact with Mongoose service or a trip to the local bike shop, where you have to ask them to work on a new bike you didn't buy from them.Next gripe: The front derailleur is completely out of adjustment. The bike comes in its lowest gear. Upshifting its click-stop shifters in front and its instantly clear the adjustments are totally out of whack. If the shifters were old-school friction you could just tap them a bit by feel to the spot they need to rest at (and this is what you have to do to get them to shift the chainrings at all) but modern shifters work on a click by click basis and these just don't. At present, riding on the largest chainring the front derailleur rubs the outside of the chain pretty much constantly. This is the sort of thing a local bike shop will take care of with a standard-issue new bike tuneup (its a simple adjustment if you know what you are doing). But someone at the Mongoose factory in China should have done this for the consumer who isn't ready for the bike to not work out of the box.Last gripe: Rear derailleur has exactly the same problem. Totally, badly out of adjustment. Clicks either don't shift or I need two to shift over a single cog in the rear. Or I need to finesse the shift manually to get it to move. Also, the rear derailleur cage is bent out of true just a bit - angles inward. the combination of these two things means the chain chatters and jumps while riding, and derails when you push the bike backwards. The cage issue could be from shipping or just a reflection of the quality of component used. Here again this is the sort of thing a Local Bike Shop is accustomed to dealing with on a tuneup. But for someone who thinks they will take the bike out of the box, assemble and ride it... not going to happen.Enough with the griping. Everything else about this bike is great. The stuff above is minor except for the broken front brake. Because of that failure on such a crucial safety component, and the fact that the un-adjusted derailleurs ruin the riding experience for a new buyer who doesn't have bicycle mechanic skills, I'm knocking off two stars.But bear in mind these items are easily fixable and then you have a 5-star value.

The bike came in a huge box which was easy to open. I highly suggest that you have a bike technician put it together properly. The bike could have been 5 stars but the gear indicator on the shifter came out of the shifter housing because whoever in the factory tightened the rear portion of the bike right on top of the shift cable, which made the bike incapable of shifting. Aside from that the bike is awesome and it hauls everything I need to and fro to work. The handlebars alone is an awesome reason to buy the bike, It's spacious and you can attach lights , cellphone and cup holders without impeding the handling. The bike technician was blown away by the amount of features the bike comes with for the price. One could easily pay 2x the amount for same thing from other brands. If you're thinking about putting a electric mid drive in it , it's possible but I am going to pass on that because I feel no need for any assistance up and down hills. Don't second guess this bike buy it before the price increases again!

6 days ship time. Packed well with no damage. The whole bike with all included items weighs 52 lbs. With the heavy 9 lb saddle bags removed it is down to 43 lbs. Saddle bags are narrow at 5-6" and the zipper slot does not open very wide. Rain flaps fly out like wings over 20. Will hold flat items ok. Anything larger than a helmet or more than one paper grocery bag will struggle to go in. Graphics are surface mounted adhesive stickers. Paint is a shade darker and slightly more green than the gray shown in photos and looks black unless in bright light. Many of the specifications listed here and on the Mongoose site are not as shipped causing a good deal of grief in ordering upgrade parts because I went off the specs rather than measuring the bike itself. The front brake rotor is actually 180mm rather than 160mm. Both rotors were bent causing difficulty getting brakes adjusted. They were able to be bent back to true by hand. The rear freewheel goes to 34t not 40t while actual front is 42/32/22. The bottom bracket is 73mm - not 68mm and the seatpost is 27.2, not 31.6. See corrected spec chart in photos. Anything with bearings on this bike are lower quality. The front hub would not turn by hand until adjusted. The headset top and bottom bearings had large chunks of aluminum shavings stuck in them and would not turn smoothly until the bearings were removed, cleaned and greased. The seat tube is too large for the post and will not tighten properly without a great deal of palm-denting force. I was tired of having the seat swivel on me during riding and bought a bolt-on seat collar to fix the issue. The lower rack assembly is not easily removable without also removing the chain which goes thru it and has no master link. Watch for cable pinch when you install it. The stem is ok and bars are ergonomically comfortable but the stem plate is wider than the raised and knurled area on the bars presenting only a small area for them to bind. The kickstand is too narrow to hold bike with a load or on an angle and the chain slaps it over bumps. I bought the Ursus Jumbo to replace it which doesn't fit the frame mount well. After trying both would just get a heavy single left side model. Would be nice if they left more fork stack or used an adjustable stem for a higher riding position which is common for this class of bike. This review is for the smaller of the two sizes which is listed as S/M. It is a large bike with a substantial stand-over due to the sloping top tube and taller tires. It is closer to medium than small and difficult to get a leg over with cargo on the back if you are on the smaller end of the listed human sizes. Cables were all attached out of the box and adjusted close to working position saving some time. Seat is very comfortable when adjusted to more upright bar position. Installed a suspension post, then decided it wasn't necessary because of saddle comfort. The front fender will rattle badly. You can fix it by gluing a small bit of foam or adhesive rubber bumpers (the kind for doors and drawers) between it and the fork legs. Gears and shifters work fine and the range will take me and a 50lb load either up 12% grades or to 20mph on the flat with ease. Have had a need for customer service for a few issues. Email is very slow. Call back on phone takes a few days. Be persistent.