1985(ish) Mongoose ATB - might be a slow burner!
- Thread starter sparkybhp
- Start date
pwebb
Retro Guru
I think headset wise the goto was Shimano 600 in early 80s, and or tandem stuff, there weren't any MTB specific groupsets in those days so people went with available and durable. Items. I can remember my 1984 bike snapping solid axles on a regular basis, so much so that I carried a spare on longer rides.
The original takagi xt crankset and pre biopace chainrings also wore out very quickly in muddy conditions as did the bottom bracket and pedals, but headset lasted a lot longer. I eventually swapped out for deerhead, but that disintegrated even faster. I think the vintage Dura ace is a good option if you can get it to fit ok. I must admit that having fitted more recent and robust components, wheels et al, I would not try to fit period early 80s items any more as they are both heavy and frail. I have recently built up some similar age muddy fox bikes with vintage dia compe and suntour parts and those seem to be stronger and restored ok, but I got shot of the solid axles asap. Btw I don't think billy bonkers would look right, wrong colour sidewall and garish modern lettering. Some period Tioga or panaracer would be more fitting imho. This is a nice looking frameset and will make a very fine build whatever you go for. Watching this one with interest
The original takagi xt crankset and pre biopace chainrings also wore out very quickly in muddy conditions as did the bottom bracket and pedals, but headset lasted a lot longer. I eventually swapped out for deerhead, but that disintegrated even faster. I think the vintage Dura ace is a good option if you can get it to fit ok. I must admit that having fitted more recent and robust components, wheels et al, I would not try to fit period early 80s items any more as they are both heavy and frail. I have recently built up some similar age muddy fox bikes with vintage dia compe and suntour parts and those seem to be stronger and restored ok, but I got shot of the solid axles asap. Btw I don't think billy bonkers would look right, wrong colour sidewall and garish modern lettering. Some period Tioga or panaracer would be more fitting imho. This is a nice looking frameset and will make a very fine build whatever you go for. Watching this one with interest
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