Bicycle detailing - 1985 Mongoose Expert

damaged442

damaged442

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Apr 10, 2013
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OK, so I have always had a soft spot for BMX bikes from the 80s, specifically old Mongoose looptails. When I was 8, I got a 1983 Mongoose Californian for Christmas, which I actually still own and ride from time to time. It's always been maintained, so I just hit it with some Collinite Metal Wax and she still shines like a champ.

After a Craiglist score, I recently acquired a mostly original 1985 Mongoose Expert that I want to clean up and give to my son. She is a bit pitted and rusty in some spots. If I have to strip the whole bike and send it to get rechromed, so be it, but I wanted to ask around here to see if there are any ways to potentially avoid that.

So far, I have attempted some Metal Wax and a terry towel, then some extra fine steel wool. It looks a little better, but figured I would ask around here to see what any of you may have done of if anyone has tackled a similar project.

I have read in some other vintage BMX forums that disassembly and soaking in a weak acid like citric acid, acetic acid or oxalic acid can help clean things up a bit.

What say you, purveyors of knowledge?
 
Ahhhhhhh. Mongoose! I used to race BMX with a Hutch Pro Racer back in the day. I think you're on the right track. I would use the 0000 steel wool and lube it with a Meguiar's Chrome wheel cleaner. I transformed a 2006 Harley Road King with 0000 steel wool and a hydrochloric acid type product. Just watch it on bare/raw aluminum.
 
Perhaps not what you are looking for but I bought a 2016 Fit Bike Co Benny 2 and no longer miss the old geometry at all.

That said a soak will be ok but the pitting is a little concerning. BMX frames typically lead very hard lives and even something like a Mongoose Expert could very well have a compromised frame.

That said I "restored" a couple of garage sale tricycles for my kids and, to echo the statement above, used metal polish and 000 steel wool and then 0000.

Good luck and stay safe!
 
I remember the old chrome Mongoose frames and forks from the 80s dis-colored and turn dull for some reason. The chrome was "different".

I have no idea how to fix it - or if it can be fixed.

Nice to see peeps preserving these old bikes. A lot of them were like works of art - especially the American built Hutchs'. These are getting big dollars these days - original USA Trickstar f & f are like $1500 on eBay. Back in the day - I had 2 of them. :(
 
Not great pics (found them on Google)... But this is what I'm talking about...

1980s Mongoose chrome:

004e85e09e57683de56b22613fecb8e2.jpg


vrs 1980 Hutch chrome:

c328c5d99186103b8412ce0c302f241b.jpg


So I'm wondering if the Mongoose was supposed to look "dull" or matte???
 
Best of luck to ya. In 83 I was 7, but a Team Murray BMX was the most my parents wanted to do. Mongoose, Redline, and Hutch were the ones to have back then!

This fall I'm restoring my 88 Haro FST.
 
Wooo, memories! I was 8 in 1983 and I got my first Redline. I wanted it so bad I picked up dog crap for my neighbors for $$$ ( my mom took pitty on me and paid half, lol. Want to say it was a $150 bike back them? Can't remember really). I had 3 Redlines over the years. Wish I still had them. I had a sweet purple CW trick bike with the first gizmo (I'll remember it's name at 3am) that let you spin your handlebars. Good times.

I'd probably try cleaning your kids bike with my motorcycle supplies. NeverDull wading polish for starters

Good project. Good Luck!
 
CanyonCarver said:
Wooo, memories! I was 8 in 1983 and I got my first Redline. I wanted it so bad I picked up dog crap for my neighbors for $$$ ( my mom took pitty on me and paid half, lol. Want to say it was a $150 bike back them? Can't remember really). I had 3 Redlines over the years. Wish I still had them. I had a sweet purple CW trick bike with the first gizmo (I'll remember it's name at 3am) that let you spin your handlebars. Good times.

I'd probably try cleaning your kids bike with my motorcycle supplies. NeverDull wading polish for starters

Good project. Good Luck!
Click to expand...

I was 13 in '83. The next year, in the summer of '84, I bought my Redline. $410. I remember because I paid every damn cent. Lol!
 
Lol, it was super expensive. Sounds about right for my 'half'. It was my first bike store bike and mom said it was more than I needed, but if I wanted to work for it she'd help. There were some older kids in the neighborhood with hutch, mongoose, haro, but mine was the first redline and I got proper street cred, lol. It was the fastest bike in the neighborhood at the time!

I found the first trick bike handlebar spinning mechanism. The odyssey gyro- 1986. BMX | Odyssey | Gyros
 
My Redline brother!!!! Lol

Yup, the gyro on the gimbal that let the brake cable spin!!

Your mom was cool. Hard for an 8 year-old to earn $400. At 13 though, my mom was having me mow the neighbors' lawns, babysitting their kids, (damn brats!) and even changing the oil in her Monte Carlo.

Did all of that over the year, and got my damn Redline though!!!!!!! Lol

Still remember the serial # on the bottom of the crank housing by heart: 501688.

Yup, I'm a freak. Lmao
 
Wow! :props: This has taken me back . . . . I also had a Mongoose California & a Supergoose, Tim "Fuzzy" Hall was the "man" for Mongoose at the time. I so badly wanted a PK Ripper but couldn't afford one & got a Hutch instead. Loved that bike! Started Racing at 4 years old, finally gave in to my old knees at 26. Stu Thompson started it for me in the eighties & although I no longer race, BMX is in ya forever & looking forward to the racing from Rio. Still have my last two Haro race bikes & my last plate number was NZ#4 but man I wish I had them all . . . .

Anyway - back to the question at hand. Pickling Vinegar & water, a 50/50 mix & soak it over night. Kinda hard to know how bad it is without pics but hey, I've had great success with this method on rusty old VW parts & it couldn't hurt to try. Share some pics if you have the time too! :dblthumb2:

Good luck & thanks for the memories!

Aaryn NZ. :xyxthumbs:
 
The older Mongoose frames were made overseas and usually the chrome was sprayed on. Add to that the fact that the Expert frames if I'm not mistaken were half Chromoly and half aluminum it made for a lot of inconsistency in the chrome. The older ones with the headset plate were prone to the chrome fading, especially at the welds near the bottom bracket and on the headset plate. Once the chrome is gone, it's gone.
I had the same issue with the chrome around the bottom bracket welds on my Robinson. It didn't rust or pit, but it was a little faded where the chrome was sprayed a little lighter than the rest of the frame. It was built after GT took over the company and quality control at GT was iffy at best during that time.
Hutch was one of the few companies who were building their bikes in the USA and their quality control was off the charts. They had the best chrome in the BMX business. LOTS of memories ..... Had my Robinson and a Mongoose Californian that I customized right out of the gate on Christmas morning and raced the hell outta that bike.
 
You guys are awesome! Thanks for the feedback and reinforcing that I am not the only one still into these! Love the old memories associated with them!

I have seen similar finish fading on some of the older Mongooses also, particularly the old Motomags. My Californian has held up very well over the years and I don't have any of that. This Expert is...well...to be determined.

The serial numbers on both bikes start with M3 for the Cali and M5 for the Expert, which are both indicative of being built at the Merida Plant (Taiwan). Who knows what kind of QA was there back in the day, but the fact that these bikes are still around and have been seriously ridden hard are a test to some sort of resiliency!!

As far as frame construction, the 85 catalog says the Mainframe is 4130 Chromoly, forks are heliarc welded hi tensile steel, bars are Pro Class steel, so we have a mix for sure!

I will try to get some pics up at some point.

Keep the memories going!
 
Wow, I dont remember the year I bought it but it looks like Im the only GT guy here. All those names I havent thought of in years. Haro, Redline, Mongoose. lol
 
dcjredline said:
Wow, I dont remember the year I bought it but it looks like Im the only GT guy here. All those names I havent thought of in years. Haro, Redline, Mongoose. lol
Click to expand...

The kid down the street had a GT Performer. Some of the other kids had Dyno Detour, and Schwinn Predators.
 
This thread is making me so happy. I have evolved and ride a current model and don't miss the geometry of the old bikes but man, the old ones are so beautiful.

There's a BMX shop in Clawson, MI called Albe's. They have a vintage BMX show every year and if you can find their facebook page they posted a ton of pictures. The bikes there were most definitely rad.
 
Wow everyone use to race BMX! I am 24, I raced from 11-17 years old. Started out on a Redline and was co-sponsored by them as well.

I never kept them clean though because I was too lazy at that age. Haha. Wish I would have kept all my bikes I had!
 
FreshRides said:
Wow everyone use to race BMX! I am 24, I raced from 11-17 years old. Started out on a Redline and was co-sponsored by them as well.

I never kept them clean though because I was too lazy at that age. Haha. Wish I would have kept all my bikes I had!
Click to expand...

Oh man, I started in 7th grade on a borrowed Mongoose with motomags. I was able to borrow the bike between motos because my buddy was a year older than I and he'd just hand me the bike at the hill. Upgraded to the Californian the following year and swapped out the neck and sprockets. I used to LOVE the pro class rims. they were the lightest this side of sew-ups when they came out.
I'd take the hubs apart after every weekend of racing and change the grease. I finally got a sealed hub set of 48 spoke Ukai's and modified a couple of dirt skirts to fit over them. I actually kept the Ukai's when I switched to Robinson which I got for a steal because a local bike shop sponsored me...Oh the days !!!!
 
OK, just read that some of the older Mongoose were nickel plated frames. Hence the different finish! Awesome!

I always wanted to get into racing and never did. I was always doing too much other stuff I guess. I still rode the snot out of that bike all over the street.
 
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