This is where the Freedrive gubbinses comes in. That gives the kind of initially-rearward suspension action that leads to impressive small-bump sensitivity and pedalling stability (because bumps come from the front and the rider’s weight doesn’t) but ordinarily would lead to lots of chain growth, unpleasant pedal feedback and chain tension effects. As far as the back wheel can tell, the Freedrive design is a single high pivot swingarm – the rear axle arcs around the pivot you can see right in the middle of the bike. Out back is where things get really interesting. The top tube is a perfectly ordinary round tube, with the very abbreviated seat tube held up by a selection of square-section struts. The down tube has a flared round-to-square cross-section, with a gusset-supported headtube (that takes an integrated headset) at one end and a forged piece that carries two of the suspension pivots at the back end. All the tubing is 6061 aluminium with various interestingly-shaped bits to accommodate the suspension design. It’s not conventionally attractive, but it’s got a purposeful sort of stance about it. Some people seemed to think that it’s ugly, which is going a bit far. The Teocali is certainly a distinctive-looking beast. But while it’s very similar it’s not the same in a couple of important ways. The “Freedrive” suspension design, found on three trail-oriented Teocalis (of which the Super is the top of the range) and two longer-travel freeride ones, is a reinterpretation of GT’s I-Drive (for which Pacific owns the patent). Previous Mongoose FS designs have been nothing out of the ordinary, but the Teocali is something different. It’s now owned by Pacific (which also owns GT) and does a range of good-value mountain bikes. Mongoose is a brand that’s been around for years, but it’s been through quite a few pairs of hands and been repositioned all over the shop.

Mongoose bmx frame gusset on bottom