Are upgrades worth it on a budget Walmart mountain bike?

[@Celexanomnom]

It’s so hard to believe that when I was a kid, mongoose was a top of the line pro brand and is now considered a cheap Walmart bike. Same with diamond back. I had a diamond back mtb hard tail when I was a kid and was the envy of the block.

[@EvansMTBSaga]

I know right. Even further back, Schwinn was a top American brand

[@mitch9309]

@@EvansMTBSaga diamondback is still very reputable and makes great bikes?

[@JustG38]

I still love a mongoose, I recently spent over £1k upgrading one, it's my "sleeper" bike... I can enjoy having something nice without drawing to much attention.

[@TheMattzki]

I remember when i first saw schwinn and diamonback in the uk in the 90's some of the bmx stuff was epic

[@seal9737]

Both are still good brands but they get a bad rap because they sell really cheap bikes to companies like Walmart.

[@mtbberta7872]

Actually made the hard tail appealing. Little crazy on the geo though! I bet a non-mullet 130mm fork would have been nice for it though! Keep up the work dude!

[@Ferrari255GTO]

I really wouldn't trust that head angle on a regular-ish bike.

[@nawaal4452]

True! a nice 100-120mm would have been good enough

[@EJ-V8Bikes]

Wow! Wow! Wow! Hands down the BEST MTB upgrade video I've ever seen! The fast paced punchy style, the detailed explanation for what you did, why you did it, the cost and your overall opinion of each upgrade - so much dang value for your viewers in a single video! Can't wait for the next one! Thanks!!

[@ezra9940]

l

[@dglip]

Its cool seeing your videos get better and better.. Especially your comfortability in front of the camera and speaking more normal. Great work man. Good video!

[@DonnieBlaze28]

What does "speaking more normal" mean?

[@T800-p7p]

im so confused that wt r u doing in weeks. you were turning ardor into ardor plus extreme ultimate ultra saga edition🤣. that frame is heaaavyy. happy 5k and wolftick hits 10k. you guys are awesome

[@johnnydoe66]

Tip for removing over spray, use Easy-Off oven cleaner. Spray on, but only leave on for less than a minute, and then wipe off and rinse with water. It may require several applications, but a company I use to work for used this technique to remove old painted on logos from their vans.

[@LeaveNoTrashBehind]

I've modified my Schwinn Walmart MTB, and it's incredible feels like one of those expensive bikes. Plus it's so much lighter now.

[@mateozanchetta2897]

Thats the second time I watch one of your Videos and the second time I loved it

[@jensensalvatori8450]

Might be the first MTB video I’ve ever watched that didn’t start with a rhetorical “whats up guys”. Huge props to you Evan you’ve earned a sub.

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Haha thanks Jensen. I started doing that way early on but no one likes that. Just cut right to the action!

[@kevinhodgins9071]

I loved the extreme build! You are a crazy man. Missed the mullet wig and cutoff denim shorts for the test ride😂! I was surprised how close the geo is of this bike compared to Nucleus 27 and was also surprised they both have 135mm rear spacing. Would be an interesting head to head comparison with smaller travel front fork or non mullet. Liked the cameo of the baby saga squad member. Amazing content and love how you pickup used quality parts to keep things more budget friendly

[@dexter1962]

I love the way you mix it up,always behind the 🎱 🏁

[@nickparki]

Great video hay! I think behind the 8 ball means the opposite of what you mean though! Have a nice day :)

[@memememe843]

This is becoming a favorite channel for me. Muchas gracias for the original and fun content.

[@WOLFTICKVIDEOS]

Great video man! Loved The Tick grinding away🤣. That bike looked crazy slack. We don't plan on going mullet, but we definitely plan on upgrading ours soon.

[@ForEverMTB]

Best 11:40 minutes that I spend today on KZbin. Bye the way I am TK MX I just changed the name of my channel because before I was into tech but now it is only for MTB😅. Great videos as always bro... Keep it up

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Haha whats up TK. Glad you told me about the username change!!

[@MTBScotland]

BB come in both 68 and 73mm on MTB hence the spacers and you would use a lockring wrench to remove the ring on the BB which can be bought for about £5. That's cheap BB's for you.

[@ryandubs7826]

I really dislike the attitudes these days to standard bikes - bikes that get people back and forth to work or for a quick ride around the block. Apparently you just absolutely need a $400 - $1000 bike and anything else is just trash.

[@KyleSantisi]

Bikes get up to 15 grand now a days………..

[@jerryx2000]

Man I am happy you are a fan of the Yari. I love my eBike Yari too. There are so many idiots dissing the Yari on youtube.

[@jessiedamon676]

they always tell me at bike shops theses arent worth fixing this is awesome thanks!!! your bad ass

[@WOLFTICKVIDEOS]

Hey Evan, congrats on 5k or 5000k depending on who's doing the math😂🎉🎆.

[@michaelparker5478]

5000k thousand

[@WOLFTICKVIDEOS]

@@michaelparker5478 🤣👍

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Thanks guys! I acquired a broken frame and had intended on that being my 5k bike but it came up too fast lol. Can't complain!

[@WOLFTICKVIDEOS]

@@EvansMTBSaga We have been there🤣. Definitely a nice problem to have👍.

[@eugene44569]

I make a lot of comments on your videos and who usually replies to those comments. And who made this comment

[@larryisaak6431]

This was another awesome video 👍

[@bobbyhempel1513]

That's probably one of the best Walmart mountain bikes I've seen component wise.

[@chickensendies]

Ohhhhh baby! Now that is an ardor build man! This really is a terrific bike for the price!

[@mrupholsteryman]

I was contemplating a similar build. Thanks for showing what this would end up doing. I'm about your height and have a bike too tall for me. If anyone is into a 20.5 Specialized FSR comp... I am asking 400 for it. Shifts nice...but I need longer legs. I have an older 17inch hardtail original rigid fork (now suspension) and MacGyver'd 1x drivetrain. And a cracked headtube.... My thoughts were to either have the crack rewelded or to upgrade to a larger than 26 wheel. My 17" hard tail cost less brand new than the Walmart bike does now...😞 I'm either getting "old" with my back in the day talk....or things have just gotten more expensive. New subscriber here! 😇😎😀

[@InsanercYT]

sounds cool!

[@brv002]

A huuuuge 👍 for holding your baby while making a KZbin video!

[@jamieh4814]

awesome build. i wouldn’t have thought about the mullet possibility so thanks for giving that a test. i also appreciate the reference to the “mishap” with your rear wheel😆.

[@1991SuperTrain]

I purchased the Mongoose X1. The first thing I upgraded were the pedals and MAXXIS tires. Holly cow, that alone made a huge difference updating the rear then front suspension next, but I ride the Hell out of the bike and it takes some extreme punishment on Texas Hill country trails. It’s absolutely Great Fun and definitely holds its own!

[@adamneulander]

Jeez he just keeps the content coming gotta appreciate the grind man!

[@SpicySpokes]

Hello, Idea for pressing in the headcups without specialtool... Maybe try to fix the Bike in a middle high position and then put the steerertube parallel down to your workbench and then, with some wood between, hammer the cups in. Other way, if your vice is big enough, use this for pressing in. Good luck next time from Germany

[@TheCaptainsCog]

5,000K!!!! 😂 nice man. That was an epic front end flop during the disassembly! You didn't mention that I mullet'd my AL Comp. It works on that bike since the HT isn't so slack to begin with.

[@fplalex_thekid7725]

Been here since 100 sub's keep grinding away ❤️💗 your videos you deserve so many more sub's Congratulations on the 5k 🔥👊

[@NathanMorgan1976]

That headset cup installation is class

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Nice profile picture! Based

[@delyrium_]

This vids are so damn funny...this ain't nothing to do with UPGRADE...this is REPLACEMENT of all components of the bike, except the frame 😂😂 nice "upgrade" 🤣🤣 you guys are so funny...

[@lagvin719ify]

I made the same changes on a 2001 Mongoose rockadile 26" stock bike before. It did well

[@s14tat]

I was one of the rare few that voted a more conventional build, but the bike does look sick and makes for great content.

[@EvansMTBSaga]

I think mullet makes a lot of sense with this bike because of the stack height. I'm going to throw on the Manitou markhor 120mm for a more reasonable build

[@BMOutdoorz]

I think it had 100mm my Walmart bikes can be changed easily because they are not made for a certain travel really

[@s14tat]

@Dawson that is only if you want to retain the factory geometry. If you want to be more rad, you can run same travel with 29er front or over fork and still run a 29er front.

[@kult9569]

this is amazing! dude how does a comparison between the ardor and nucleus sound for a video idea? they're both hardtails with huge potential due to their frames' aggressive geometry, and a comparison between the two i.e. the pros and cons of each bike out of the box would be an entertaining watch. it could be a way to really emphasise how quickly walmart are catching up to the modern standard for mountain biking too

[@rondice36]

As always Evan another awesome video. Keep up the good work.

[@colewhiteway6421]

When you were hitting the spindle with the hammer I thought men at work was about to start playing land down under

[@mattpfeifer9302]

Well done with the walgoose. Talk about polishing a turd to a brilliant luster.

[@professorneturman2249]

My Walmart Snarl was $1780 . Changed everything except for the bars, frame, shifter and Derailleur. Rock Shok, Fulcrum, BB7, Jagwire, Michelin, Thudbuster, Velo, Ergon Raceface,..

[@Iheartdgd]

Damn, this thing actually looks sick. Damn they even gave it a tapered head tube, right on mongoose

[@BMOutdoorz]

Wow 62.5! I know downhill bikes that are in the 63 and 64s but never heard one in the 62s

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Haha right! Budget grim donut! I was for sure nervous to hit the drop and kept checking the welds

[@mtbboy1993]

My Geometron G1 is. 👌 Love the steering, my bike has 515mm reach for size large, meant for my height, at 181 cm it fits perfectly. It can be set up as downhill bike or enduro bike, takes dual crown, and also mullet setup, can change seat stay and chainstay chips. Most adjustable bike on the market in this category but costly. But great quality, it smade in Germany properly so no tolerance and alignment issues. 👌

[@TheButlerNZ]

Cheap headset press.... 2 cube cut from a bit of 2x4 wood... Get a bit of threaded rod (cheap from any engineering place... (I fix water blasters and I have that laying around)... go big... as thick as your little finger width at least. Drill (as square as possible) through to width (4") of both cubes of wood. Put on piece top and bottom of the headset with one cup in place.... put the threaded rod through... screw it together (ok so you'll need 2 nuts and 2 washers to stop the nuts digging in. For best results... make one out of a bit of alloy rod (bigger than the ID of the cups and make a couple of steps (like an ice cream cone in an old 80's video game) so you can do all sizes of cones.... you can throw a socket on the threaded rod INSIDE the stem at the other end to help align it to the centre... Warning... Hitting cups into the frame with a hammer will usually just end in hilarity for onlookers but not you!.

[@stevenminor2241]

VERY EDUCATIONAL UP GRADE

[@JD96893]

what the hell is going on at 1:53 lol. Also i love how you are just casually recording the vid while holding a baby.

[@kaine880]

dudes head is green screen lol

[@coreyfellows1945]

Paint thinner and paper towels will remove any kind of spray paint off of anything quite easily . Just a heads up

[@NonLegitNation2]

frame geometry is the one big thing to be careful with when upgrading the fork on a bike. Most everywhere you look they'll say isn't recommended to go above 20mm over what the bike was designed for because as you mentioned, you change the geometry too much and your libel to snap the head tube right off.

[@Crowfist]

Lolol libel is a word but the one you need is LIABLE

[@NonLegitNation2]

@@Crowfist lol yeah sometimes words are hard 🤣

[@the_blair_bike_project]

I'm on the fence with your videos. I don't like the music or you trying to be funny, but i like the content and your level of detail. I like that you talk throughout videos as I'm often listening rather than continually watching (ie cooking dinner etc). Would like you do a wheel building series. Talk about spokes, lacing pattern, hubs we can buy.on amazon, ebay or ali

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Appreciate the feedback. What music genre do you like? I'm open to suggestions. I think a wheel building series would be awesome. Maybe I'll finally buy a truing stand for that video!

[@the_blair_bike_project]

@@EvansMTBSaga intro/outro music fine, but not throughout. Talk/narrate or sound the parts clanking or dirt under tire. Too many content creators use music to excess and it becomes rinse/rebeat after a while. Look to the guys at gmbn. They let their personality and knowledge shine. They use music but usually sparingly or low low volume. Just my opinion. I'm 50 and maybe that influences it. 😜

[@dylan-5287]

Damn you really pimped this bike out! I was not very impressed with the stock bike, like yeah its a step in the right direction but still years behind most non Walmart bikes. Now it's looking sweet with the upgrades. Honestly looks like a really fun hardtail. That said, nothing beats the Mythique, for the price at least haha! Might want to reduce that yari to 130 or 120mm. That is a concern about the stress being put on the headtube and it'll bring the geometry a bit back in line while still keeping the advantages.

[@StayinVEX]

I remeber getting a daimondback when i was a kid, we lived in a gated community and i was asked "can i ride your bike please?" By every second kid i rode past lol.

[@blacklegsan9918]

Learn a lot from ur vid love it !

[@Spark_MTB_BMX_Coaching]

Evan, your videos are so good! Keep up the great work.

[@MrUltrabyte]

Nice Video and cool bike 🚵‍♀️

[@Badhagis]

A bit like putting Lambo parts on a Camry, but I like your energy !!

[@ianferch7970]

To answer the question it’s no if you buy the parts retail, only worth it if friends give you parts or bought very cheap used. Were those original rotors both 160mm? If so I would have increased the size of the front unless your goal was to turn it into a skid machine.

[@tassiepinnere]

I only just realised. Congrats on the baby! For a year ago

[@goodpools]

2:16 long bolt and 13mm big nut from Home Depot, 2 small spacers, 2 big spacers, and 1 very big spacer (or you can use that red bb tool you have) and you got yourself a super affordable headset cup press!

[@n-squaredmtb3746]

That dry bottom bracket install hurt my soul.

[@Pikmin012]

editing your talking head onto pre-recorded footage is trippy

[@EvansMTBSaga]

It was hilarious when I did it 😂

[@wagerxop5738]

My bros will love to see this as they have a very expensive upgraded schhwin bike

[@SekritKomrade]

Running the 140 on a 27.5 wheel is perfect. the Mullet takes it into the unsafe territory (although the Robot welds looks pretty fantastic on these)

[@MTBAlex]

Cool man. Not a big fan of the mullet, but it doesn't look that bad. Now, when you mentioned the afterward angles, yeah, ur right. Maybe if the 29 for was 120mm... I got some parts for mine, but not going to spend too much at the moment. Well I guess the most expensive could be the fork.

[@aaronchrisinco4371]

Love the vid, like here in the Philippines we start with a budget bike then swap good or high end parts little by little then the last thing to change is the frame

[@Iseekoutthetrails]

This Hobby Is Definitely Expensive. The Bike Looks Nice.

[@nathansbikeapedia6204]

Great video!! I see that you aren’t repping Seth’s Jersey anymore….are you coming out with one soon?

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Haha I just didn't do laundry. But I am making a custom prototype jersey and shorts very soon, but not just my channel logo. We'll see how everyone reacts to it

[@liamcollinsDH]

Only part you need for it now is a better frame

[@brian1675]

If you have a old steel frame or an aluminum frame you can cut a piece off it and then use an angle grinder cut it on all four sides and make a free headset tool it takes about 20 minutes

[@154Jamesp]

Cool vid. I subscribed!

[@johnbehneman1546]

Thank you so much. I learned so much.

[@Christophe_L]

Extra slack hardtails make sense because the HA steepens as they compress, unlike full suss.

[@simonm1447]

For pressing in the new headset you can use 2 big washers (like they are used on construction sites) and a bolt with 2 nuts, it's essentially the same principle like the special tool made for this job but cheap and good enough for occasional use.

[@johndef5075]

I use mine to press bb30 bearings in too.

[@rehmsmeyer]

Name a better bike manufacturer than Mongoose... I'l wait.

[@coreyfellows1945]

Radio flyer tricycle

[@eugene44569]

I saw you mentioned mtb savant in your video description. I'm also sad mtb savant and trail features quit uploading

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Yeah both guys are so capable of making a really high quality mtb video and pretty much going viral with it.

[@upstatecre8]

Thank you for that money savings tip on the rear hub change out! I hadn’t thought of that and I don’t know why. I’m asking this question out of lack of time to search out your channel but have you done a video on how to do that? I know it’s pretty simple but a simpleton like me would love to see something like that. Thanks again for the money saving tip. Those hubs are like $60 on Amazon versus spending $100-$200+ on another wheel!

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Glad to help! I've never done a tutorial on wheel building, but each time I lace a wheel, I pull up this video - kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKbGh596mpeiepo and follow the pattern. It's pretty fun!

[@upstatecre8]

@@EvansMTBSaga I am 48 years old and I have gone the easy way and just bought the wheel. It’s time to learn this and save some money

[@BikeDrFrankenstein]

Awesome video! Keep up the good work

[@jontaylor4511]

you can make a headset cup remover by hacksawing a pipe and splaying the ends out

[@iasha740]

With a 29er on front i would go 120mil suspension on front trying to goal for a 64-65 head angle because that head angle is too insane. For the most part great job!

[@bladesandbows1521]

Hi, I'm an extreme novice but I had an 1500 e bike that got stolen and I can't financially afford to replace it so I am doing what you are doing here except I am not putting premium parts back on... just slight upgrades in most pieces but big upgrades in others ie Brakes, wheels, shocks. I have a question though... my replacement handlebar stem and or rise constantly develops a slight wobble buy if I attempt to tighten it, it doesn't seem to move... is it possible for this original frame to be such a piece of shit that I am spreading or stretching the stem tube ( Where the handle bar stem goes) when I try to tighten it? And please forgive my lack of knowledge of the terms. I don't know if I'm using the right term. It's, but I'm sure you get the idea.

[@clarklynch13]

Great build. I just love how your head isn’t actually on your body 😂

[@Jim-lv6jc]

So you are doing the reverse of a mullet. Which is short at the front and long at the back

[@armandojuan64]

When you buy a big box bike , you are basically buying a frame ............ and that is it . They should sell the frames separately so you could go and build a bike .

[@ThePedro8-25-78]

Instead of greasing the derailleur n the hangar you can put a dab of blue locktite on the threads and that will help the metals not seizing and offer some insurance on the derailleur mount bolt not backing out on you!!!

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Oh yeah good idea! I'll do that next time for sure

[@jeffreydzialo]

Reach decreases when you increase fork travel. You probably should have just gone up by 10mm travel max, or kept it the same to not influence seat angle or bb height.

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Agreed! Everything about this build was over the top. I'm filming my next video right now with very sensible budget parts and still going mullet 👍🏽

[@rdpurdom]

With the retail giant’s hometown being Bentonville Arkansas, the self proclaimed Mountain Bike Capital of the World, through in great part to the efforts and financial support of WalMart itself, one would think that WalMart would offer a relatively good mountain bike that can actually be ridden off road and in trails! I’m sure they have ample resources and available experts available.

[@PeterKornum]

why not drill out the frame cable holders, so you can get one complete cable all the way thru? much easier to keep clean...

[@cwlli]

I think the reason the headset did not go in was due to mongoose oversight. You measured 55mm, where's 56 is the most common standard. The paint clearly shows that it is not a perfect circle, which will likely lead to creaking down the line. Mongoose should have machined down all the surfaces (or better- not painted them) after painting the bike. You could probably get your local machining shop to make the hole the correct size if you do get issues later on!

[@tac6044]

Of course that bike will ride great now.

[@erikb4697]

Anyone notice whats going on at 1:55? Looks like his head was greenscreened on

[@sanabibimtb]

Great video! Very informative and entertaining thank you for video and I’ll be looking forward to seeing you soon Goodbye and good luck 🤞

[@dariens1168]

2:23 that’s good editing

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Haha you're sharp for picking that up. I was sick and re-edited that shot, but I liked me holding the frame so that's why the floating head is there

[@baseballislife2436]

Me trying to learn to mtb on a Walmart bike and so jealous of these peoples bikes

[@eugene44569]

This is now the 5th most viewed video on your channel. Nice

[@EvansMTBSaga]

Yeah! And in a short amount of time. How come I didn't see you on Cure Cycling's livestream Q&A the other day?

[@PmatWolf]

Its looks superb with all the mods mate really does, so whats the result in the way it rides ?

[@coreybeck7148]

Vitus Nucleus for life!!!! LOL, Nice vid!

[@Yesthatisme14]

Ragley/Nukeproof is better

[@glenaucoin9842]

learned something that i do normally has a name - mullet bike 29 front , 26 rear

[@HarryASMR]

dude the amount of effort you put into these videos is insane! 🤯 subscribed :)

[@RCKING1]

overall you clapped the geo. you should use a 20mm shorter travel fork if increasing front wheel size. you also used to be of an offset on the fork .

[@jeffreytan2948]

I think that was a success

[@jaken792]

It’s crazy that I thought mongooses were the best growing up. Now I realize how broke my family was.

[@EvansMTBSaga]

They used to be good back in the day

[@brianewing5530]

It's hard to find a new frame with this geometry for less than this whole bike. You can make a legit argument for buying this just for the frame alone. Mongoose and Walmart will not be able to keep this thing in stock.

[@charlieboy7502]

You're right they had 2 where I live rushed back and their gone. 33 minutes is all it took to get back.

[@oftankoftan]

2:15 you can make your own press tool with a threaded rod and some nuts and spacers. suuuuuper easy