MONGOOSE TEOCALI PRO TEST

On May 1, 2017

MONGOOSE TEOCALI PRO

From BMX to MTB, Mongoose does it all

In the early ’80s, BMX racing was all the rage, and a Mongoose BMX bike with MotoMag One wheels, invented by Skip Hess, was one of the coolest bikes you could own. Heck, even the pro team from the iconic BMX film Rad was sponsored by Mongoose. In the late ’80s, mountain bike racing started growing in popularity, and famous racer John Tomac started racking up wins on his signature-edition Mongoose frame. Today, Mongoose bikes can be spotted in your local big-box store with shocks and pegs for 129 bucks. That said, however, Mongoose has deep roots in building high-performance race machines, and its Teocali models are no blue-light special. Considering Mongoose’s long history, we decided to hop aboard the Teocali just to see how rad we could get.

WHO IS IT MADE FOR?

The Teocali Pro aims to please the all-mountain crowd looking to tackle rough trails, whether they’re pointing up or down. This Mongoose isn’t a budget bike at $3500, but it packs a nice com- ponent package. Riders from the BMX days may feel nostalgic hopping aboard a Mongoose again. Newer riders will appreciate the Teocali’s modern parts and find it more than capable of shredding their local trails. Overall, the Teocali proves that not all Mongoose bikes belong in a big-box store. The Teocali is a true mountain bike made to stand toe to toe with all the rest.

M4Mongoose3 The cockpit: Up front, the Teocali has a respectable handle- bar width at 760 millimeters. However, the stem length at 80 millimeters seems a little too long for a bike in this category. Our testers agreed a shorter stem would liven up this bike’s performance.

WHAT IS IT MADE FROM?

Mongoose built the Teocali with a respectable component list that invests money where it counts. The Teocali’s aluminum frame has a Horst Link design with 160 millimeters of travel and pairs it with a Manitou rear shock. Up front is a Manitou Mattoc Pro fork with 160 millimeters of travel, along with a Mongoose- branded cockpit. The Teocali sports a Shimano SLX drivetrain with an 11-speed XT rear derailleur and an XT double-ring crankset. Mongoose used SLX brakes and added an X-Fusion dropper post so riders could keep their center of gravity low. The bike rolls on a pair of Sun Ringle Charger wheels wrapped with Schwalbe Hans Dampf tires and has a clean look thanks to its internally routed derailleur and dropper post.

WHICH COMPONENTS STAND OUT?

M4Mongoose6 The linkage: Mongoose designed the Teocali’s suspension linkage around a Horst link design with 6-inches of travel. This linkage paired with a Manitou McLeod King Can shock gives riders a plush ride over any terrain.

M4Mongoose4 Twenty-two-speed: The Teocali comes ready to rip with a double-ring Shimano XT crankset and an 11-speed cassette. The XT rear derailleur features a clutch to prevent unwanted chain movement, and the SLX front derailleur shifted smoothly.

M4Mongoose7 Stopping power: Shimano’s SLX brakes bring good stopping power and affordability to the table. Our test riders had no issues with these brakes during our time aboard the Teocali.

Suspension plays a big role in the performance of a bike, so companies often have to choose wisely when it comes to spec’ing a fork and shock. For the Teocali, Mongoose chose Manitou’s Mattoc Pro fork and a McLeod King Can shock. Together, these parts work in harmony and provide riders with great adjustability. The McLeod King Can shock is designed with a four-position external IPA (Incremental Platform Adjust) adjustment lever that can tune the shock with a plush and linear feel for all-mountain riding or with a much stiffer platform for trail and cross-country riding. The Mattoc fork is highly adjustable with external adjustments for compression, bottom out and rebound.

HOW DOES IT PERFORM?

Setting Sag:

The Teocali’s suspension took our test riders a few rides to dial it just right. We first set the sag at 30 percent for both the fork and shock, then adjusted the McLeod’s rebound in a centered position and turned the IPA lever two clicks. We centered the rebound knob on the Mattoc fork, as well as the high-speed compression lever. We then adjusted our fork’s HBO (Hydraulic Bottom Out) knob on the trail and found it felt best with just a few clicks from open. We left the IPA lever on our shock alone unless we had to tackle a super-steep climb or a gnarly descent.

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Moving Out:

Considering that Mongoose places the Teocali in the all-mountain category, a few of our test riders were surprised that Mongoose spec’d an 80-millimeter stem. These days, a stem of that length is often reserved for the cross-country crowd. Our test riders thought that a 60-millimeter stem would better suit the Teocali and give it a more lively feel. They also agreed a slightly wider handlebar would positively affect the bike’s handling. That said, however, the Teocali’s geometry was well suited for everyday trail riding and provided us with confidence out on the trails.

Climbing:

The Mongoose Teocali is a 6-inch-travel bike that likes going down the mountain more than it likes going up; how- ever, it’s no slouch on the climbs. We adjusted the IPA lever on our rear shock three to four clicks out, depending on the type of climb we were doing and found the Teocali was more than willing to earn its descent. On technical climbs, we liked the suspension a little more active to help maintain traction over rocks and roots, while smooth fire roads called for the suspension to be stiffer so we could charge them out of the saddle.

Cornering:

The Teocali held traction through corners well, and its dropper seatpost allowed our test riders to get their center of gravity low. The long stem, however, slowed down our bike’s handling and made it less snappy than other bikes in its category. Its active suspension helped glue the Hans Dampf tires to the ground, resulting in a reassuring feel when leaning the bike over hard in a turn.

Descending:

M4Mongooseintro Send it: This all-mountain machine is built for ripping down trails and catching some sweet hang time. Our test riders looked for every opportunity to rocket the Teocali into the air.

The Teocali descends confidently when the saddle is dropped and the suspension is set wide open. We found this bike could tackle jumps and drops with an almost bottomless feel. Cruising straight down a technical trail is the Teocali’s favorite thing to do. Curvy descents and switchbacks forced our riders to fight the bike a bit, but once the trails straightened out again, the Teocali was ready to tear down the mountain.

Braking:

M4Mongoose8 Soak it up: The Teocali’s suspension soaked up rockier trails with ease and allowed our test riders to push a little harder down gnarly trails.

Shimano’s SLX brakes offer great bang for the buck. They require very little maintenance to function properly and pro- vide good performance out on the trails. The SLX brakes aboard our Teocali had enough power to keep us safely in control, and the one-finger levers provided all of our test riders with a comfortable feel.

TRICKS, UPGRADES OR TIPS?

The Teocali has a respectable build kit, but a shorter stem is a mandatory upgrade if you want to liven up the bike’s performance. Spending time getting the suspension dialed in just right will also uncork the performance possibilities of the Teocali. Due to the many controls, the Teocali has lots of cables near the head tube area that bounced around when we were heading down the trails. We used zip-ties to help secure the cables and shortened the dropper post cable to minimize clutter.

BUYING ADVICE

Riders looking for an all-mountain machine with 6 inches of plush travel may find the Teocali suits their needs. The price is a bit tough to swallow for a bike that sports an aluminum frame and mid-level components, but the Teocali comes with a suspension design that works well and proved reliable for our testers. Mongoose has years of experience making high-performance bikes in every category—from dirt jumping to downhill. As for riders who think Mongoose is just a big-box store brand, that is simply not true. The Mongoose Teocali is as much a true mountain bike as all the rest, and with a few minor tweaks, it could be a fun bike for many years to come.

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