so i bought this mongoose from this guy for 75 bucks. its a ummm vadium?
i think its a cheap bike. but oh well
anyways. heres my question
its got element racing front suspension. and it seems very loose. is there a way to tighten them?


Also. its got quick release front wheel and bike seat. but not the rear wheel. is there a way i can make it rear release? orrrrr do i need a whole new rear wheel to do that??
Cole

How, exactly, is the fork "loose?"...........As for the rear axle, you'll need a different type of axle to make it a quick release. It has to be hollow, so a QR skewer can go through it-

its not the forks that are loose, ... like it doesnt take much for the suspension to go down. i was hoping for a way to make it stiffer.

I'm not familiar with that particular fork, but if there's no adjustment knob(s) at the top of the fork crown, there's probably no way to adjust the stiffness other than perhaps to rebuild the fork, which is likely not cost-feasible or maybe not even possible. You might consider a suspension-corrected rigid fork-

I acquired a similar bike (mongoose) and the front suspension (element racing) feels too soft. Trying to find out if it can be adjusted, but having no luck. I took the cap off on one side and looking down it appeared to have something down there that looked like it may be allen head or phillips head, but could not tell. Still looking for advice.

Element Racing forks I have seen have been very basic, I wouldn't expect them to be adjustable or rebuildable. It's possible you could fit a spacer on the spring to increase preload, it's also possible the spring has broken or sagged and there's not much you can do about that. I tend to fit rigid forks to my cheap mountain bikes, they're lighter and they steer better, but if you want more suspension than a wide front tire provides you might find something worthwhile second hand.

replace the fork with an SR Suntour or even a RockShox Reba or Recon fork... Bolany Forks are improving, but i'm not sure they are up to snuff yet..
Element forks weigh a lot, and do little, other than bounce and bottom out repeatedly.
if the bike has rear suspension, find a Rockshox Classic, or a Fox Vanilla, in the 6.25" or 6.5" length, and install it.
the rear shock that comes on a mongoose is nothing more than a spring on a guide shaft.... the fork is similarly cheap in design... Us bike mechanics call that type of suspension "A Pogo Stick".