Mango is a Northern Ireland-based company that has earned a reputation for its super-colourful, eyeball-burning steel fixies and singlespeeds.

But Mango also makes the OG 2X road bike, which is not only available in flat-bar and riser-bar versions, but also the drop-bar version I've tested here.

The flat-bar OG starts at £529.99, with the drop-bar version starting at £579.99.

You can also choose different wheel and tyre options (and colours), and I upgraded to the Vision Team 30 wheels with 28mm tyres from Vee Tire Co to bring the final price up to £670.

Mango OG 2X details and specifications

Whereas most road bikes at this price have aluminium frames, Mango has gone seriously old-school, plumping for a hand-built chromoly steel frame and fork.

There are no radical tube profiles anywhere, just straight, slimline tubes and an equally svelte and straight fork. The TIG-welding is extremely neatly done too, especially given the Mango’s modest price.

As mentioned, you can customise the design and I went for a comparatively muted single-colour finish, though if you want clashing frame, fork and rim colours, you can unleash your inner artist and customise away. But do think about it first…

The OG 2X features an eight-speed Shimano Claris drivetrain and deep-drop rim brakes from Tektro.

Mango has gone the whole way, speccing the Claris compact crankset, which looks the part and works well, and the wide-ranging 11-34t cassette, which I always like to see because you can never have a bottom gear that’s too low.

The compact Shimano Claris crankset, combined with an 11-34t cassette, provides a wide range of gears. Russell Burton / Our Media

Yes, there will be bigger jumps between gears, especially on an eight-speed groupset, but I think that's a price worth paying for more range on a bike such as this.

The wheels are also better than you might expect on a £670 bike. The upgraded Vision T30 wheels roll beautifully smoothly, though I did have an issue with them on my initial ride.

This was a four-hour outing in continual rain, a situation in which you want your brakes to work perfectly.

But the Vision’s braking surfaces have an ‘aesthetic coating’ that ‘will change during use’ – yep, when the anodising is worn out, the brakes will actually work. I had to ride these in exactly as you would a set of disc brakes.

Mango’s own-brand saddle proved comfortable. Russell Burton / Our Media

Whereas I’d usually recommend an upgrade to cartridge brake blocks after the non-cartridge brake blocks wear out, I’d probably swap them sooner rather than later for a set of SwissStop BXP or similar wet-weather-specific pads.

I had no such criticism of the tyres, which are made by the Vee Tire Co with design input from Mango.

These 28mm tyres come up a little narrow, but it had little obvious impact on the Mango’s comfort or grip.

They have a more-or-less smooth central strip, with raised bumps on the shoulders to give you grip on grit and light gravel. It’s a very effective combination.

Mango OG 2X geometry

	S	M	L	XL
Seat angle (degrees)	75	75	75	75
Head angle (degrees)	73	73	73	74
Chainstay (mm)	400	400	400	405
Seat tube (mm)	525	555	595	625
Top tube (mm)	535	556	589	592
Fork offset (mm)	40	40	40	45
Wheelbase (mm)	981	995	1,028	1,029

Mango OG 2X performance

The Mango OG 2X is a fast and lively steel ride with well-chosen components. Russell Burton / Our Media

The Mango’s ride is a great balance of zinginess and comfort. Slim steel does its usual job of smoothing out poor road surfaces.

The frame geometry is racier and more aggressive than that of similar bikes at this price, such as Boardman’s SLR 8.6, with a slightly longer top tube, steeper head tube, and shorter chainstays and wheelbase.

The 28mm Vee tyres are smooth in the middle with more grip at the sides. Russell Burton / Our Media

This makes for a lively handling frame, though that’s tempered by a short riser stem.

If you really want to speed up the handling, a shallower stem would lower the riding position, which would make this bike feel pretty racy.

Swap the stem to make the bike feel even racier. Russell Burton / Our Media

As is stands, the Mango makes an excellent fitness machine or fast commuter bike, where it’s helped by good mudguard clearance, front and rear mudguard mounts, plus rear rack mounts that usefully have separate fittings for the rack’s lower struts.

One somewhat surprising feature is the lack of bottle bosses on the down tube.

It’s not a game-changer because there are loads of inexpensive and effective aftermarket options from the likes of Topeak, BBB and SKS, but the absence is slightly disappointing.

Mango OG 2X bottom line

The Mango OG 2X is a great road bike for the price.

The frame is a joy to ride and the low bottom gear is a smart spec choice.

I’d have appreciated down-tube bottle bosses but, along with those unnecessarily anodised braking tracks on the upgraded wheels, that’s one of the very few negatives on a zesty steel bike with a performance that belies its budget price.

Also consider...

A little less

Mango Single Speed Level 2
£590

This is one of Mango’s many stripped-back fixies. The Level 2 has a double-butted chromoly steel frame, a Miche Primato chainset and Gipiemme Pista rims with flop-flop hubs, so you can run it fixed or freewheel.

Even less

Mango OG 1x
£530

Mango made its name with its minimalist fixies and singlespeeds. This has a step up to an FSA Vero 1x chainset but, thanks to the 11-34 chainset, you’ll have a pretty wide range of gears.

Product

Brand	mango
Price	670.00 GBP
Weight	11.9800, KILOGRAM (M) -

Features

Fork	Steel, 1 1/8in straight steerer
br_stem	Unbranded alloy 31.8mm
br_chain	Shimano HG40 eight-speed
br_frame	TIG-welded chromoly steel
Tyres	Veetire Rolldiac, 700x28c
br_brakes	Tektro R315 deep-drop rim callipers
br_cranks	Shimano Claris 50/34, 170mm
br_saddle	Mango
br_wheels	Vision Team 30 Comp
br_headset	Ergotec A118AK Aheadset
br_shifter	Shimano Claris
br_cassette	Shimano Claris 11-34
br_seatpost	Mango 27.2mm alloy
br_handlebar	Unbranded alloy 31.8mm
br_bottomBracket	Shimano RS500
br_availableSizes	S, M, L, XL
br_rearDerailleur	Shimano Claris