Spotted: Prototype Mongoose Slopestyle Bike - Crankworx Rotorua

Mar 27, 2015
by Mike Kazimer  
Greg Watts slopestyle prototype

A little over a year after signing to the Mongoose team, Greg Watts recently received a prototype slopestyle bike that was designed with his input. The aluminum bike's geometry is similar to that of the GT Distortion bike Greg had previously been riding (GT and Mongoose are owned by the same parent company), but the top tube has been lengthened, and the head tube angle has been steepened slightly. The bike uses a simple single pivot suspension design, with the shock running through a split in seat tube. The position of the rear shock mount has been changed to allow a longer stroke shock to be run, which helps create a more progressive feel and keeps the bike from blowing through its 110mm of travel too quickly. For his 170lb weight, Greg runs 190 psi in his Marzocchi Rocco Air shock. Up front he's running a Marzocchi Slope air fork that has 35mm stanchions and a 20mm thru axle.


Greg Watts slopestyle prototype
Greg Watts Mongoose slopestyle prototype

The new bike's raw aluminum frame and beefy welds give it a tough look, a machine that's ready for the punishment that slopestyle riding can deliver. The location and size of the main pivot will likely change for the next version in order to create better clearance on the drive side for running a chainguide.


Greg Watts slopestyle prototype
Greg Watts slopestyle prototype

Three cogs are installed on the freehub, but there's no shifter to be found. Having three cogs mounted up allows Greg to choose the best gearing for a course, and adjust accordingly by dialing in the Shimano Saint derailleur's limit screw.


Greg Watts slopestyle prototype

Some slopestyle riders choose to forgo running a front brake, but Greg is running Shimano Zee brakes front and rear, with the hose for the front brake routed through the headset top cap and out the bottom of the steerer tube.

Posted In:
Reviews and Tech First Looks Crankworx Slopestyle Mongoose


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116 Comments
  • 222 14
 boy, will there be a line at the walmart bike department when this baby hits the shelves!
  • 21 28
flag TreyDownhill (Mar 27, 2015 at 19:03) (Below Threshold)
 hahahaha!!!! So true
  • 61 15
 Still nicer than your bike @keystonebikes
  • 62 12
 YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!
  • 26 2
 how did the-mnt-life365 find out about my NEXT?
  • 13 3
 lol just a guess in all honesty
  • 18 1
 i love a good "your bike sucks" joke. no offense taken mnt life.
  • 23 0
 Salute thank you for being cool otherwise that comment would have probably resulted in another 2 day ban for me lol
  • 6 1
 nice. Smile
  • 10 0
 i wonder if we will be able to get it preassembled site to store? ok im done.
  • 2 0
 @keystonebikes SHOTS FIRED
  • 8 1
 2 day ban? Wow. I've said some DUMB shit on this site and never been banned... hats off to you bro
  • 2 1
 I have said some really stupid things. Like really offensive stupid stuff and only have gotten my comment deleted (real deleted, not under the line)
  • 3 8
flag freeride-forever (Mar 28, 2015 at 16:35) (Below Threshold)
 Wow, 2 day ban? I don't think that's ever happed to me (not in here every day though). I've had people message me privately to inquire about how my account hasn't been deleted, I've been blocked from posting on articles written by specific people (that dopey twat ambatt after I tol' her what's what) & been warned by a mod after I think they misinterpreted something I wrote as deliberate trolling, which it wasn't & never really is. I'm just a peckerhead.

So that bike looks more like a typical trail bike yeah? Props on Greg for running it so if he keeps it that way. Naturally I can do without the dorky derailleur but I think it tits that it boasts a front brake. All ya gotta do is run the bitch through the steerer. That's how I rock & now ya got a front brake. It's not like it adds that much weight.

If ya wanna do it right Mon' put the pivot on the BB & ditch the derailleur.
  • 5 7
 Ya my last ban was for using racial slurs on forums when I compared my ability to cut grass to that of someone of the Hispanic decendence.... and lol did you just call Amanda batty a twat lol lol
  • 1 0
 That top tube looks like it's designed to crush nuts
  • 98 21
 My 13 year old blind sister welded up a nicer looking slope frame in shop class last week
  • 27 4
 You should put her to then. Not everyday you can buy a properly welded frame from a blind 8 year old!!!
  • 24 3
 Really,nothing wrong with the welds on this frame. Sure they're not the absolute perfect, but they're relatively clean and structurally sound.
  • 10 16
flag mnorris122 (Mar 27, 2015 at 20:10) (Below Threshold)
 It is a proto, but still, those welds are UGLY
  • 22 1
 I don't think those are that ugly of welds. You are welding aluminum, and wanting it to be strong enough for a slopestyle bike, so big beefy welds are needed.
  • 24 1
 Sorry but being a welder and having welded bikes I can say they are by no means perfect and I've seen much worse. But I would love to see you welding critics out there even melt and join a thin wall tubeset to a bb Ora headtube.
  • 9 0
 Yeah, welder here too. Those welds wouldn't win a contest but they're more than acceptable. Also, pretty sure op's comment wasn't about the welds but the frame itself.
  • 18 0
 @vppfreedom
Does your sister work in Taiwan?
  • 4 0
 Remember, its a prototype, not alot of attention goes into finishing touches.
  • 1 0
 @VPPFREEDOM, pic?

Of the bike. Blank Stare
  • 49 1
 That's an expensive chain tensioner...
  • 50 5
 Bet it lasts longer than a Yeti.
  • 19 0
 ooooohhhh shots fired!
  • 26 0
 more like snowballs fired. hah. hah hah.
  • 2 18
flag AlexArmanetti (Mar 27, 2015 at 23:52) (Below Threshold)
 At least it's better than a Trek...
  • 3 1
 or an airborne
  • 2 2
 At least Yeti Cycles hasn't lowered them self to selling in commercial stores and producing below par bikes.
  • 4 0
 @dylandasilva ...... Yet.
  • 19 5
 i like it.
  • 9 0
 Greg Watts can ride a "Walmart" bike way better than anyone who has commented on this thread can ride anything...he's tha man!
  • 9 3
 To me that looks absolutely hideous, I don't really know why, maybe all the mismatched colors of the components. Also I really dislike the hole for the shock in the seat tube. Of course it may be a really good slopestyle bike I just don't like the aesthetics.
  • 12 3
 All the mismatched components?
Like what?
The red bars?
Red grips?
Red hubs?
Red post?
Red seat logo?
Red chainring bolts?
Red stem?
Red pedals?
  • 4 5
 You realize that by saying that you dislike the "hole in the seat tube" you are saying that you don't like the new yt carbon slope bike and the pslope aswell correct?
  • 1 0
 @The-mnt-life365 I think its just because its a proto and its raw so its stands out more. zinks YT is a sleek looking matte black so it doesn't really stand out much and same with the p slope. but that's just my opinion.
  • 1 0
 Okay @kubaner, I stand corrected, I suppose I just don't like red components on the whole.@The-mnt-life365, you are correct in saying i do not like the p slope, however, I would make an exception for the YT because I like the rest of the bike so much.
  • 1 0
 Prototypes will look like prototypes, and that's fine by me.
  • 15 8
 Looks like something I welded together in my dad's shop when I first started learning to weld.
  • 8 2
 when i saw this on the front page i thought it was going to be a protoype from 10 years ago haha
  • 3 0
 anyone know why most full sus dj`s and slopestyle bikes dont have a bottom bracket pivot like a ns soda slope or killswitch? I mean most are gonna run single speed so I would think bottom bracket pivot would be best since you dont need a chain tensioner
  • 4 1
 some do some dont. its expensive to get everything to play nice down there. gettting a strong clamp around a bb gets bulky. and pedal bob gets very noticable too. there's still hope though. that carbon yt proto has a concentric bb pivot. personally id like to see a concentric pivot on a 7" freeride bike. imagine not having to worry about derailleur adjustments or even ripping the damn thing off on your huck bike.
  • 1 1
 Personally I would run a derailleur on a slopestyle bike. I'm running a 36:11 gearing on my DJ bike which gives me a good speed but it's a struggle to ride to any non flat place with that. On the tech side, you need chain growth to reduce chain slaps and the chance of having it thrown down from the cog after a big hit (in case of running a derailleur of course).
  • 1 0
 And you get a lot more suspension layout options by running a non bb concentric main pivot.
  • 3 0
 on a bike with fs concentric bb pivot, you have no chainslap, no need for a chainguide, no concern of chaingrowth, and no chance of throwing the chain off the cog. you get to have the all the benifits of a full sus mtb with the low maintenance of a bmx.
  • 1 0
 Yes if you're going with a single speed setup. I was talking about the case with derailleurs, which most pros tend to run.
  • 3 2
 i agree, but i wonder if most people (pros and ams) run derailleurs for ss and dj simply because that is what is available. now im not saying we should all ditch gears and go singlespeed, but for disciplines like FR, DJ, SS, and even DH (depending on course) there is a place for a simple single pivot concentric bb for singlespeed.
  • 2 0
 Rotec rl9 and others
  • 1 0
 Well I guess pros get what they want (talking about slopestyle and dh), and us mere mortals can only buy the mass produced versions of their frames.
Btw as you can see YT chose to go with the bb concentric version and I think canyon will too
  • 1 1
 Don't let the neg props get you down @keystonebikes, not everyone is a conformist. I've been single speed on all my bikes including the dh for three years now. Works great and super fun.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/11029270
  • 9 2
 man he is always riding the ugliest bikes
  • 7 5
 that seat tube is stressing me out!! I wanted to find some clever way of countering the poor-welding comments... but damn!! It looks like he snapped the tube on the 2nd last run, so they ripped out a traffic sign pole, cut it to almost the right size, squeezed some alien blood on it to burn a hole for the rear shock to go through, then spackled solder everywhere and frosted the tube on the frame like layers of a birthday cake. Didn't anyone at Mongoose's eyes start burning at the sight of this travesty of craftspersonship?? The odd thing is I own a Mongoose, and peeps have actually commented on the spectacular soldering job on the frame... it's friggin art man! Wa happen?
  • 10 7
 Someone ones trying to be WAKI and failing
  • 2 0
 good or not that's subjective..people are free to say "this product is bla bla bla bla"
so, maybe you have to start to build your own frame so you can say it "my frame is so sick" etc etc...

but for me new products always interesting...
  • 3 0
 I was a kid in the 80's. Get off my lawn Smile Mongoose, Diamond Back and Redland were the top BMX bikes then. I had so many different. We would trade frames with each other like.we were trading candy.
  • 3 0
 REDLINE! Damn you auto correct
  • 1 0
 lots of hate to go around these days-maybe those who despise the Mongoose brand are but spoiled brats, as they call them, and were born with a silver spoon-no? great update & thanks for the info pinkbike.
  • 2 0
 So much hate for Mongoose around here. So they may have made some questionable business decisions and changed drastically over the years BUT add GT, SE, Redline, Schwinn, DB, and Haro and we're talking about pioneers of a sport. Give 'em a break, choose the model wisely, and don't buy from the department store lines. Didn't they all achieve the capitalist goal of building and selling a company from a sport that didn't even exist 40yrs ago? Don't hate the player, hate the game.
  • 8 2
 2003? Is that you?
  • 2 0
 Throwback to the ages of Rominuk, Bender and Monster Ts.
  • 8 3
 sick mongoose, really nice design.
  • 6 1
 Thanks everyone for the ridiculous comments. Made me laugh.
  • 2 0
 I like it a lot!! if you don't want it I'll take it!!
btw the two cogs at each side of the one with the chain on look the same size to me. could it be like a way to keep the chain in the mid cog?
  • 6 2
 Ok,Mongoose.....you at least have my attention now.
  • 4 1
 It's not the welds that are bad, it's the frame design and geometry that just look cheap but that's just my opinion.
  • 4 0
 GREG WATTS=BETTER THAN YOU!!
  • 2 0
 Early 80's Mongoose BMX were beautiful - still have a minty Supergoose frame from '83 that I'll have to build up for the kids at some point.
  • 4 2
 Could be better looking, but welds are not terrible. And even if a weld looks pretty there is no guarantee its good.
  • 3 0
 it's obvious just looking at it, that bike = fun
  • 1 0
 Not in production yet and it's already dated. Lower standover, bb pivot and horizontal/sliding drop outs and we're getting somewhere.
  • 1 1
 Does anyone else notice that he's trying it hide the drive side in the one pic,and I also see the top of what looks to be a guide. Im wondering if there is some prototyping going on there
  • 3 1
 Im sorry about your luck bud
  • 2 0
 Are there not four gears?!
  • 1 2
 i'd rather put a couple of powerlinks in iline in the chain to adjust it in case you need a smaller or bigger cog. there shouldn't be so much chaingrowth fron the location of the pivot that would be a problem.
  • 1 0
 I also count 4 cogs not 3
  • 2 0
 they've just removed cogs from a cassette, replacing them with spacers.. the smallest cog is kept in order to attach the end cap.
  • 2 0
 must have taken the design team years to come up with that.
  • 2 0
 Looks like they abandoned the freedrive system
  • 1 0
 Does anyone else get the impression that some kid raided the sticker bin at the LBS and got "sponsored"?
  • 2 0
 Everyone's a critic.... Go ride
  • 2 0
 You know what they say about polished turds...
  • 2 0
 props to 20mm thru axle : )
  • 4 3
 What happened to their dh bikes? and where's Romo?
  • 1 0
 DJ'ing in Kelowna...
  • 1 0
 And chilling wearing Sandals sleeping until 2:00pm while still in his parents basement.
  • 1 0
 At least the cable routing is sorted!
  • 1 0
 Looks like an orafice with a banana
  • 1 0
 That fork looks great. Clean. Looking for a new fork for my STP... hmmm.
  • 1 0
 sexiest bike at Crankworx
  • 1 0
 Well at least the components look nice...
  • 2 1
 All you guys have no girlfriends
  • 2 0
 Kona approves.
  • 1 0
 Looks abit old school, not a fan personally
  • 1 0
 Can I buy this bike at Canadian Tire
  • 1 0
 What a turd
  • 2 2
 THE NUGGET HAS RETURNED
  • 1 0
 Awesome. We've had two Nuggets. Still have one of them. Great bike. I wish the nugget had the longer shock and better leverage ratio like this proto
  • 1 1
 Snap.
  • 1 3
 Am i the only one who thinks this bike is ugly?
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