Firefox Mountana 21-Speed 29er - Review

The Firefox Mountana 21-speed has the same frame as its single-speed version. This hardtail alloy frame is bulky and does feel heavy but considering it is a 29er MTB built for trails, the weight isn’t a setback. In fact the neatly welded tubes and a few chunky parts of the frame help absorb vibrations from the surface on rugged trails.The Zoom front suspension fork worked well on a flatter trail. The 6mm travel was enough during the test ride on less challenging trails with minimal bumps but surely isn’t built to take in those major drops on more competitive trails.

This 29er hardtail MTB comes with a 21-speed drivetrain. Shimano Tourney/Microshift at the front and rear as derailleurs help the rider through trails. Even though Tourney's are the most basic of Shimano's MTB line they solve the purpose when it comes to riding on easier flat trails. The 21-speed shifters were standard Shimano/Microshift ones and were easy to use and were in comfortable reach from the handlebar.

The Mountana 21-Speed which I test rode came in a full yellow as the primary colour with blue and red as the secondary colours. The graphics and the fonts used for both the designer shapes and the model/brand names were funky and gave a new and refreshing outlook to this 29er MTB. The matte finish paint job was top notch and enhances the aesthetic appeal of this bicycle.

The Mountana 21-speed's stopping power is taken care off by a pair of basic Power V-brakes. Even though these brakes weren’t bad they still didn’t solve the purpose of quick and precise braking on trails and muddy roads. For the price of this bicycle I did expect to see a pair of mechanical disc brakes to make it safer and enhance the performance when riding at top speeds on trails.The 64mm steel handlebar with a 3mm raise was the same as found on the single speed variant. They were far from being called a MTB handlebar. Lesser raise. Lengthier bar and more padding on the grips would have definitely increased the handling of this bicycle.

The Mountana 21-speed rolls on a pair of Compass 29” x 2.1” MTB tires. These tires were heavily treaded and well supported by a pair of alloy rims. Even though the specs provided from the brand says the tires are from Wanda what we saw where Compass tires which were great during the test ride on rough trails. The Firefox stock saddle was padded enough to keep you comfortable on rough surfaces. The overall ride quality was good on flat trails and on bad urban roads.