Choosing the right level bike for your riding ability is important. Components that are not suitable for your level of riding can wear or fail much sooner than expected. Although BMX bikes can look very similar, under the surface components and materials used can vary greatly. Born out of a garage in SoCal back in 1974, Mongoose is synonymous with BMX. Mongoose designs BMX Freestyle and BMX Race bikes for riders of all ages and ability levels, and our bikes are trusted by some of the world’s best riders.
Most experienced riders know their preference, but if you’re new to the sport it can be difficult to know which choice to make. The first Mongoose BMX bike had several unique features. The first brake tabs were two pieces of metal welded together, and they were rectangular. Later, the brake tab became a little bigger, was a single piece of metal, and was oval. The caliber brake on the first Mongoose BMX bikes was also two sheets of metal, and it was thicker than on later models. The seat tube was longer on the first Mongoose BMX bikes, and the frame flared where the seat post joined it.
It was an early run 1999 with the Twin Jet seat- and chainstays. Before the Cali, I raced on an aluminum ’97 Supergoose that was made in Taiwan. They were all good frames that I never had any serious issues with.
The Mongoose 3-piece cro-mo (Solution?) cranks however were not. Ya but the carbon frames and the kinesis frames were usa, thats what I was referring to. In the end, the quality of the frame does not have much to do with the country of origin, so much as the quality of materials and personnel who build mongoose racing bike it. There certainly have been plenty of Mongoose models with all Cro-Mo frames over the years. Clearly there were many awesome US built frames, My MCS, Patterson, or my JMC cruiser are good examples, but realistically, those were not the same market niche as a Californian, a 500B, or a Mach 1.
From a design point, it’s kind of apples and oranges, really. From a weight, geometry and design standpoint it is a better frame. Build quality completely depends on other factors that are beyond our, or in fact Mongoose’s control… How much is the shift supervisor getting for running the production line 15% faster than it should be running? Did the tube fit finisher get laid the night before? Typically you see it when a frame tube ruptures or a weld breaks, but sometimes it shows up in odd ways, like a frame having the wrong brackets, etc.
A friend of mine had a solution pro back in like 94-95,, that bike rode awesome and my other buddy had the first run of the Tim Hall frames in like 95 I think,, that was a great trail bike, that thing rode like a Cadillac. I dunno, I have a 2012 Mongoose Solution 24 as my race bike. Other than a couple of small niggles (pedals and bars – the same things most people change! I also changed the gearing, but again personal preference) I reckon it’s a solid bike and worthy of the Mongoose name.
When I said Originally, I was referring to before the 1983 redesign. I.E, the early Motomag, Team, and Supergoose with the first gen drop outs and the double front gusset. The Motomag frames mongoose racing bike had a Cro Mo front triangle with a mild steel rear. A few posts up there is a link to the new Mongoose bikes that are supposed to be as good as anyone else’s and are not walgoose editions.