im new to the forum and mt bike riding all together, so excuse my total lack of knowledge...

my gf and i had been talking about getting bikes to start riding around town and on a couple of the trails around (park bike trails), and she surprised me with a mongoose xr 200 for my bday today...anyway, just thought id see what you guys thought about this bike and if there's anything i should do to it to make sure its ready to ride?

thanks

Matt

Just have it checked out by a local shop and make sure that everything on it is tightened and adjusted correctly.

If this is the bike:

...maybe you should consider returning it and going to a bike shop and getting something better for the price...

My 2 cents.

im not going to take it back...i dont care about having the best bike in the world, and im not going to start riding all the time...we are just going to start riding a little each week...just to add something different to our exercise routine...

plus, my gf went and picked it out by herself for me....it would hurt her feelings if i took it back...so im not gonna do that...

snobby bike pricks annoy me...

Well that was pretty cool of your girlfriend...obviously you will most likely not try to return it, as it was a gift. However, as the previous poster implied, if you get even halfway-serious about MTB, you will probably need a different ride. But for now, enjoy the hell out of it and have fun. The suggestion to take it to a bike shop and have it checked out/tuned-up is a good one - sometimes the assembly quality can be quite poor, which could result in potential serious injury for you...

What did you think would be on a site called Bike Forums? Most of the riders here are gear heads. Your lucky you didn't go to the road forum.

He probably could have gotten away with it in the recumbent forum.

i think it's cool, her heart was in the right place, "buy my man a mountain bike"

my ex thought i was crazy with the $$$ i spent on parts, she didn't get it

I wouldn't return it... just don't take it off 5ft drops and you shouldn't have a problem lol

No, DO take it off 5ft drops. Break it. Now you have an excuse to get another one

haha I didn't think of it that way, thats a good idea! Get a good helmet and hit the rough stuff

It might last long enough to surprise all of us . Hope you enjoy it - - and I hope it gives you enough of a taste for the whole experience to keep on with it and looking forward to your next bike. welcome!

Take it to a local bike and shop and have them make sure everything is good, just like LowCel said.

Hey give your girl a high five. She did no harm in getting you that bike if it gets you riding. Whatever it takes. Soon you may find yourselves buying higher end bikes as the way of cycling life grows on you. Or you may keep what you have as the bike will suit your needs. As long as you are out riding thats cool. And yes I still rock my 1980 something Huffy Stone Mountain every now and then. Its got 2 wheels and gets me out pedaling, not as well as some other rides, but it is a riot. Don't worry about what you got now, start small and go from there.

Craig

I don't want to sound like a prick, but you could still return it. Return it, and get your girlfriend to choose you a bike at a bike shop for the same price

I love how it has the big Disk Brake sign on the wheel.

Keep the bike, and the girlfriend. That is a great thing she did for you. In a year or so if you really get into it, and that bike doesn't satisfy your needs, both you and her will realize it and upgrade. In the meantime, just get out and ride with her, she sounds like a winner.

I live in the Midwest (bear with me here) and my parents bought a small place in the mountains of Washington near the Canadian border. A few years back, I decided to go visit them and I mailed my $3500 completely custom Cannondale Super-V to them a week ahead of time so it would be there when I got there.

Well, I arrived a week later and my bike hadn't made it there yet. I waited 3 days and finally it showed up at the foot of their mountian driveway in a beat-up box that brought a tear to my eye. There were dents in the frame, the headshock was somehow knocked out of the frame, and you can imagine how the wheels fared.

I was all excited about riding and now I was crushed. My dad went up to his house and got out his Huffy mountain bike, air'd up the tires, and said "C'mon, get in the Bronco".

He drove me up to the very top of a mountain road and dumped me off to ride down it while he followed me down. Ya know at one point he clocked me at over 55mph on that poor little old Huffy. I will remember that ride for the rest of my life. What a thrill to get a bike like that up to 55-60 mph. My adrenaline was pumping for more reasons than one. (thinking about mechanical failure hehe)

My point is that I don't remember too many rides that I did on my Cannondale. All the trails that I took it on kinda meld together. The one trip I did on this Huffy will be forever burned into my happy memories. My dad went out of his way to put his bike in danger (he knows how hard I am on bikes) just so I could experience a thrill flying down a mountain road.

This guy is obviously just going to ride the bike on paths and light trails. The Mongoose given to him by his girlfriend will be adequate. (I would get it checked by a shop to make sure everything's tight, though) Props to your girlfriend for supporting your involvement in such a wonderful sport.