More 80's Stuff - Mongoose BMX Questions!
 

Hey all,
In a never-ending quest to return to my youth, I picked up an '85 Mongoose Californian, almost exactly like the bike I had as a teenager. I've got loads of shadetree mechanical experience and love to tinker, so I want to try my hand at doing some simple maintenance on this bike to get it really road-worthy again. The trouble is, I can't find good writeups anywhere on how to do it? I've scoured the net, and looked at vintagemongoose.com and bmxmuseum.com and can't really find solid info.

Basically, I need to know how to break down the head so I can clean and regrease the bearings in the fork, and how to take apart the crank so I can clean and regrease them.

Help!

Its a threadless headset, right? And the cranks are 1 piece?

It's a threaded headset, I believe. And the cranks are a 2 or 3 piece design - they're GT cranks. The original Pro-Class cranks and rims were not on the bike unfortunately, but it does have a nice set of Skyways.

Post a couple pictures. The threaded stem is just the bolt with a wedge nut at the end. Loosen the bolt and give it a tap and the stem will slide out. Then to take the head set apart you just need some large wrenches. Once you break it all loose it's all hand tight to set the bearings

If the stem goes into the fork and there is a large exposed nut at the headset, its threaded. If the stem clamps to the fork and has a bolt where the top of the fork would be, its threadless.

http://sheldonbrown.com/images/heads...aded-small.jpg

http://bicycletutor.com/overhaul-threaded-headset/

http://bicycletutor.com/images/bicycle/019.jpg

http://sheldonbrown.com/images/heads...less-small.jpg

Can you take some pics of it? Would help determine what's on it. 1, 2, and 3 piece cranks come apart differently but its all simple stuff. Look at the crank arms and see how they attach to the spindle or if there are no bolts pinching them to the spindle.

http://www.danscomp.com/serve/faq/cranks_faqs.htm

Its been a while for me but back in the day- pedals were always opposite thread. May save you a lot of frustration.

Thanks for the help and links so far! Allright, it's definitely a threaded headset, original Mongoose stamp on the top nut too -

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...n/IMAG0984.jpg

The top hex bolt on the neck that goes through the tube is a bit stripped. I'm gonna soak it with BreakAway and then try to get it apart. Once it's apart, I'll repace that bolt. The other 4 bolts that hold the handlebars in place are in good shape.

And it turns out the crank is actually a 1-piece GT Performer setup. I ~assumed~ it was a two piece because the outside ring is separate. Here's a couple pics -

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...n/IMAG0983.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...n/IMAG0985.jpg

very cool, i still have my mongoose BMX from about 10 years ago, i put some GT mags on it with off road looking tires lol

Yeah those headsets can be tough if they haven't been apart in a long time. The cranks should come apart though. Keep all of the cups etc when you take it apart. I like the mag :lol:

Nice! Definitely save it - I really regret getting rid of my old one now, but at the time all I cared about was driving. I traded it to my mechanic friend for some work done on my car when I was a teenager and didn't know how to do anything on my own. He's had the bike for probably close to 20 years now!

Thanks! They're Skyway TuffWheel IIs. I had the same set on my old Californian back in the '80s, but mine were blue to match that bike. I'll keep everyone posted, thanks for all the info so far!

ahhh the good ole days.... the skyway tuff wheel II was the wheel to have, the welds on those bike were amazing, hutch and thruster were great bikes also

totally not related but this tumbler helps me get a fix of the 8Os sometimeshttp://the80sareforever.tumblr.com/

:drool:
:shock:
:nod:

Cool, thanx for the link too!

So far, I was able to get the bolt loose that goes through the headset without stripping it, and I got most of the scale and rust off the bottom of the original BMX seat with the water/tin foil trick. My plan is to restify it mechanically, clean it, and enjoy it. I'm not changing the original decals even though they're a little scuffed and faded - it's just patina. The bike really is a survivor. I'll post some more pics when I get some more cleaning and work done on it.

my redline was cooler

All the kids that had Redlines and PK Rippers said they were cooler than Mongooses. ;) Not gonna lie, they were nice too. Do you still have your old Redline? Your boys would love it!

no, sold that years ago. I had a growth spurt one year, picked up like 6 inches in height in like 5 months and out grew it real quick, hurt my knee on it. sold it, retired from bmx. i wasn't that good anyway lol. raced at Howell a few times, mostly we hacked around town.

got a road bike started taking long rides. I'd go to manasquan or even point to go to the beach. I lived in belmar then, so those were pretty good rides for a kid. Can't really do that on a bmx bikes. Gears are good lol

I had tough wheels too. went through some z-rims too - busted those to hell. i think I had 'flight cranks' too but i don't really remember anymore.

anyway, that stuff you have comes apart pretty easy. i used to do it all the time back then, so if a moron 13 year old can do it you should have no problem lol. old coffee can with some gasoline, throw the bearings in, swoosh it around a bit and walla, clean parts!

I never raced either, just beat around town with friends. I also biked to school (almost 2 mi. each way) which was good exercise.

Your last line was awesome BTW, great advice! Any idea if I can use regular Valvoline wheel bearing grease on the crank and headset, or is there a special bike grease I need to buy?

i always used wheel bearing grease because that is what Dad had on the shelf.

I wouldn't hesitate to use wheel bearing grease. 000 and 0000 steel wool is good for cleaning up rust off of chrome too.

Yeah, steel wool and a little wd40.

Nice! I actually tried the WD40 with the 0000 steel wool yesterday and it worked well on the stuff that was lightly pitted.

And, I got to disassemble more of the bike today - found out why the crank didn't really spin smooth. Take a look at the bearings. WTF, it's missing a ball? I ~assume~ I need bearings for both sides of the crank - I really can't just replace the missing ball, right?

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...n/IMAG1015.jpg

Here's a pic of the race, which after some cleaning should look pretty good.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...n/IMAG1012.jpg

And here's where I'm at so far. Brakes are off, and are complete and in decent shape. I just need to polish the hardware and get new screws/locknuts for the handlebar clamps. I did what I could to restore the seat and laid back seat post. I'm gonna pull the handlebars and check the headset bearings this week; that way I'll just have to make one trip to the bike shop once I know what it needs.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...n/IMAG1016.jpg

still looks like a heavy mongoose lol

nice progress

You should have no problem getting new bearings from a bike store, just bring them with you. Those bars are insane :lol: and the whole ass end of the bike is just 80's

Hey man, the '80s were awesome! :) I love those handlebars too, they really are a throwback.

And in other news, I brought the bearings to the local shop yesterday. He wound up having a brand new set of original style bearings with the cups and all in a draw from like 30 years ago. The guy was really cool about helping me get the right stuff!

Also, I finished disassembling the bike after work today. I pulled the handlebars and fork off, and then disassembled the headset. The bolt going through the steering tube is gross - it has decades of grime and other crud on it. And the grease was completely hardened, which would explain the difficult steering. On the plus side, once I cleaned the bearings off in gasoline, they looked awesome. I was also able to clean the light rust off the top of the fork tube by where the front brakes bolt on. Here's a before and after pic.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...n/IMAG1017.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...n/IMAG1019.jpg

Oh yeah, I also started stripping the powdercoat off the GT crank arm. I'm gonna polish it up and get a Mongoose chainwheel to make it look better. Progress is slow, but it's getting there!

Great timing on this thread. I started disassembling a 1986 Mongoose FS1 BMX/Freestyle bike. I stripped the powder coat and rust and I am going to paint the bike black with TSC black. Once it is painted, I will put it back together with my son. I will post pics in a few days.