I should be posting this in Vintage BMX but have instead decided to host a quick Show and Tell for the thousands of loyal Lefty Limbo readers who peruse my site on a daily basis.
What you see is a classic icon of ’80s youth pop culture—a 1980 Mongoose BMX bike. I adopted this gem from an old friend of mine whom I used to ride bikes with back in junior high. He sold it to me many years later (I think mid-’90s) at his garage sale which I just happened to stumble upon one Saturday morning. I can’t thank him enough for entrusting me with this awesome bike.
I’m hoping to get some input from Vintage BMX about how to get rid of some of the rust and oxidation which has appeared from years of storage. Perhaps I can get some input from some of the Limbo crowd first, eh?
The Mongoose may have been iconic of my ’80s childhood, but the number plate adorned with prismatic stickers is a total throwback to the decade of rad. There is simply no substitute and no greater sign of the times. I clearly remember saving my allowance to go to the local bike shop to browse through the glass case of prismatic stickers. Doug (the original owner of this ‘goose) bought a lot of the same stickers I did. My favorite has got to be the FASTER YOU FOOL sticker. It’s like, as if someone is actually gonna turn around to read that and go, “Oh shit, I should speed up!” I especially like how it doesn’t have any punctuation at the end. This open-endedness makes it sound even more sinister. Of course, who can forget the “BMX RULES” sticker…it totally did. Then there’s the Playboy bunny sticker which was some kind of daring, rebellious move to slap onto your bike…like you actually looked at one at such an early, innocent age…lol…
Equally impressive is the interior side of the number plate, decorated with even more great stickies. The Damn I’m Good! sticker is totally reminiscent of my youth, as well as the BMX Go For It one, with the rider in a crossed-up tabletop, which was pretty much the coup de grace of the day, if you could even find a jump which could launch you high enough!
I’m gonna have to dig through Ebay to find some replacement parts, such as the front reflector whose mount you see above. I’ll keep you posted on the progress…until then, enjoy…and share your own ’80s BMX pics with me if you have any. Thanks!
Tags: cool toys, Flashbacks
Wow, nice. I had a few dirt bike/BMXs growing up in the 80s, but my pride and joy was a powder blue GT Preformer with plastic mag wheels and dual-colored tires (one navy blue, one white.) For years it was hand-me-downs (like my sister’s banana yellow and seated monster), and K-Mart specials, but one Christmas I found the Preformer under the tree. I loved the hell out of that bike, and when ever I could scrape up and spare cash I’d buy stuff like pegs for the back wheel and dice shaped inner tube nozzle covers. Unfortunately my parents checked it in a move when I was a teenager.
Also, I just re-watched the move RAD this past week (actually forced my wife to sit through it) and I was so surprised how the production used Mongoose as the villain of the flick…
Aw yeah…the GT was one of the premium bikes back then. Cool. Kuwahara was another brand that most kids like myself could only dream of owning—I didn’t know ’til later that Elliott in E.T. was riding one of those.
LoL, those dice shaped covers…total ’80s. Thanks for your visit man!
Yo Greg,
That is a sick whip you got there. I especially dig the cobra sticker and the flaming skull. It reminds me of when I decked out my skateboard with tons of “Gotcha” stickers from those vending machines at Straw Hat Pizza.
I am actually working on an old road frame (from the 70′s I think). I am piecing it together slowly and at the same time piecing together my knowledge of bicycle mechanics. Right now the whole thing is stripped. I am going to get some paint stripper (brutal stuff) and then I am told I can get rust of with Scotch-Brite pads. I don’t know if you want to remove the paint or not, but the pads might help with the rust. Good luck, but most of all, enjoy.
Dood…a ’70s frame…awesome! Yeah, that paint stripping stuff is totally toxic. I’ve worked with that stuff before to strip some old paint off some furniture. Wicked on the nostrils man, definitely work outdoors. Scotch-Brite pads…yup, I’ve heard they work good on rust too. Gotta try it out.
Great to see you here man, thanks for dropping by =)
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