1985(ish) Mongoose ATB - might be a slow burner!

[sparkybhp]

So this arrived today:

I saw it on eBay and the bi-plane forks sold me on it immediately! It’s a big’un at 22” - the head tube is 7.5”, I’m hoping it fits me, I have a Dawes Ranger in 22” which I love so hopefully I’ll be alright.
My recent interest in all things 80’s atb has left me with quite a few bits and pieces to build this up into a nice ‘rider’. I’ll update the post as I go but this may take a while to finish.
Not a great deal of info on these online but the decals on this one look like 1986 versions I’ve seen but the fork seem to be 1985 or earlier? If anyone has any info on them just let me know.
Can’t wait to get this built up and try it out.

 

[pwebb]

Awesome, klunker style, bullmoose bar would go well

 

[sparkybhp]

Awesome, klunker style, bullmoose bar would go well

I agree, if you hear of any - let me know. Needs to be 21.1mm. I have a nice Nitto golf club stem and matching bars but in 22.2mm - shame they won’t fit this frameset!

 

[Lhatch4]

Big bike. How tall are you? Looks like a fun project.

 

[sparkybhp]

Big bike. How tall are you? Looks like a fun project.

I’m 5’10” - i’m going to look like a kid who borrowed his dad’s bike on this! It should be ok - the seat tube is slightly longer than my Dawes but the top tube is shorter, I reckon as long as the stem isn’t too long it should fit ok.

 

[Lhatch4]

I’m 5’10” - i’m going to look like a kid who borrowed his dad’s bike on this! It should be ok - the seat tube is slightly longer than my Dawes but the top tube is shorter, I reckon as long as the stem isn’t too long it should fit ok.

That's awesome! I love it. You might also want to invest in one of those foam pads that wraps around the top tubes on old BMX bikes.

 

[pwebb]

I agree, if you hear of any - let me know. Needs to be 21.1mm. I have a nice Nitto golf club stem and matching bars but in 22.2mm - shame they won’t fit this frameset!

They do exist but mostly in the US , exchange rate is good at the moment. This guy has more than 1 https://ebay.us/m/JXnn6T

 

[Lhatch4]

I believe the mid 80s Raleigh mountain bikes used 21.1mm stems on their Bullmoose bars.

 

[Proto2000]

Early Fats with box crown used that size as well, unsure if the Uni's were the same size.

 

[sparkybhp]

Early Fats with box crown used that size as well, unsure if the Uni's were the same size.

Thanks for the tip. I’ve made a little bit of progress with it:

Got some mn72 hubs laced onto some nice alloy rims, they still need some final trueing and tensioning but I wanted to get an idea of how it’s going to look.
One issue I had is that the headtube is a weird diameter, approx 32.4mm, so a standard 1” wouldn’t fit.
I made up some shims in order to take up the gapping and get this old school dura-ace headset to fit.

Just waiting for the handlebars to arrive - I managed to find some 21.1mm bullmoose at a fair price and in the uk, I think they’ll suit it well.
Any suggestions for tyres? They need to be tan-walls. My go-to would be Billy Bonkers but not sure if the loud logos on the sides might look out of place in this one?