Having recieved the bike as a gift, I had no say whether I wanted this bike or not, but i'm glad I got it.  I'm not sure of other versions, but mine is a mens' (adult 14 and up) two-tone silver/purple with 26" wheels.  The front wheel is quick-release.  The frame, designed by Mongoose (obviously), is aluminum alloy adding... or decreasing the lightness of the bike, weighing 45.lbs which helps if you're just riding on the road or going off the road.  From the top of the bikes frame to the ground is 29 inches.
  The front end:  The front fork is Element Racing with an aluminum alloy crown.  There are addon places on both the front and rear for fenders.  The handlebars are Threadless Ahead steel Mongoose diamond stem with grip-shifters, the bike being a 21 speed. The shifters are Shimano Revo RS-41.  The handlebar grips are a little uncomfortable, hurting the hands.  Nothing a pair of biking gloves can't handle.  The brakes are normal rubber drum linear pull breaks.  Easy to adjust by adjusting the... adjusters on the grippers.
  The Main Frame:  The frame, again, is aluminum alloy.  It has a place, near the front wheel, for one bottle holder, which is very close to the front wheel.  It may even scrape against the bottle when going over some bumps, depending on the holder and bottle.  There isn't much room for anything else; bags, extra bottle holders, and whatnot, unless you build a silly bike trailer.  Meh heh he.  The seat is just uncomfortable, but easy to adjust.  It is also quick-release.  If planning on going on long trips, get a new seat.  The bum will numb if you don't.  Another area of caution are the crank-arms. They're made of aluminum and aren't that great.  My pedal was bent while riding and messed up the thread on the crank arm, eventually it wore away most of the aluminum threading leaving the crank arm useless.  I'd advise getting stronger crank arms.  Also to be noted that to remove the crank arms, you need a crankpuller (I had to use a crowbar with my legs pushing against the frame to get the left crank arm off).
  Suspension:  The bike has dual-suspension (DV-7 shock, racing element fork).  The front shock seems to be a little weak, bottoming out when hitting rocks (oops), potholes and various other obsticles.  Unfortunately, on mine it is not adjustable.  The 'rear' (kind of the middle) suspension is adjustable and works great.  For street riding, the suspension is great.  For off-road, watch out for big rocks.
 The hindquarters:  The derailers are Shimano C-050 Rapid Reverse.  The rear triangle is made of steel.
 All in all, I like this bike.  It's a good bike.  It likes me.  There are, however better bikes out not for the same price i'm sure.  I'd probably get one of those since these are no longer sold.

Recommended: Yes