Mango Bikes launch £399 Black Series 18-speed road bike

Mango Bikes recently unveiled their first geared road bike, an 18-speed model with a steel frame and £399 price tag, building on the success of their original singlespeed model that was first launched in 2012 when the company founded.

The company came into being when two university housemates saw an opportunity to produce smart looking and fully customisable singlespeed bicycles that would offer students a low-cost form of transport for getting to campus and around town. The singlespeed model, featuring a steel frame and fully customisable build, has gone on to be hugely popular across the country, and beyond... Mango Bikes are now even available in Dubai.

“Since launching two years ago we've seen quick growth in the single speed and fixed gear market particularly online and we're now building and dispatching thousands of bikes a year to all over the UK and Europe,” says Mangos’ Jezz Skelton. “We've built a reputation for quality, simplicity, style and great value aiming our bikes at young professionals, students, lifestyle riders and entry level road cyclists, in fact we now see lots of experienced cyclists coming to us for something reliable, durable and which is a great sign”

Following the success of this singlespeed bike, they’ve recently launched the Black Series 18-speed road bike. It’s available in two versions, the commuter with flat bars costing £399, and a drop bar road bike costing £449, which is pictured here.

You can buy this bike here

The new frame is based on the singlespeed, with the same steel tubeset and similar steel fork. There are mudguard mounts and space for wide tyres, the bikes come fitted with 25mm tyres as standard, and all gear and brake cables are externally routed. There are three sizes to choose from, small, medium and large. The bike is equipped with a MicroShift R9 groupset and Chasewood cranks and sealed bearing hubs, laced to deep section double wall aluminium rims.

The Black Series 18-speed road bike looks a good entry-level road bike then, as a first bike for someone just getting into road cycling, or as a good step up from a singlespeed or fixie, if that was your first introduction to cycling, as it has been for a good many cyclists. 

The geometry is intended to be relaxed and stable to suit a beginner or someone getting more seriously into road cycling, and equally someone who wants a nice riding bike fro the daily commute to the office or university. They’ve specced comfortable 25mm tyres, smart leather saddles and nicely shaped dropped handlebars, and 27.2mm seatposts for a bit more comfort.

“Our 18spd Road/Commuter bike is now available opening us up to a wider market and we have lots more models in prototype, planned to roll out in the not too distant future," adds Jezz.

Read about our first hands on opinion of this bike here

What really sets Mango out is the ability to fully customise the appearance of the bicycle, using their slick bike builder app on their website. Most parts of the bicycle are available in a swathe of colours, including the frame, fork, rims, tyres, saddle, pedals and more. That means you could build a potentially very unique road bike that is sure to stand out from the crowd.

Once your design has been finalised, the bike is handmade to order and delivered in 5-7 working days. Take a closer look at www.mangobikes.co.uk

We're getting a bike in to test so we can see how it performs, so watch out for that soon.