GT’s Freestyle lineup has a bike for everyone, from the newbie learning their first cancan to seasoned vets like team riders Brian Kachinsky and Leandro Moriera. With lightweight, sturdy frames, and every possible configuration of set-up, the only way to go is forward. Ranging from the LXS to the L500, the Legion series of bikes offers everything a BMX rider could need. Just about everything feels, is and looks higher quality on the 2018 model.
There’s a documentary about its history, and I really recommend it to anyone interested in the making of bikes and legends. In 1987, he rode the first mountain bike, a week later won a championship, and then he was invited to the factory to participate in making a bike named after him. The cooperation with the racers was a constant synergy, where Hess asked the young bikers for their opinion and involved them in the development and production processes. They became his biggest fans and talked proudly and affectionately about Mongoose and BMX.
This just goes back to what I was saying about craftsmanship. Little things like a faulty manufactured brake line are more common with mass-produced bikes. This bike features a Dual-Sport aluminum frame and an SR Suntour NSV suspension fork. It also comes equipped with Shimano Acera/Altus drivetrain and Altus shifters. The bike, considered an urban/pavement bike, is ideal for rough roads. They offer a mountain bike that’s safe to use on downhill slopes, and another with a sturdy but very lightweight frame made for dirt jumping.
On L18s, bottom-brackets were a cheap bearing-and-race design and tended to grind.
RECO was a wholly owned manufacturing division created for insurance purposes to be separate from BMX Products, Inc, even though RECO was always produced in-house. It was headed by Vice President of Manufacturing mongoose bmx bike Hoppy Brooks, in his attempt to market motorcycle frames. At this price-point, unsealed rear-wheel hubs on the L100 disappointed. BikeRide finds and shows you the best prices of the bikes you want to buy.
You can claim this service in 2 months or after 20 hours of use, whichever comes first. Get psyched and keep an eye on Mongoose for more details. And we mean it — the limited-run bikes are scheduled to release on an unannounced date this fall.
While I momentarily felt like a kid again riding Max’s bike, I could tell that it was not designed with me in mind. Though I’m on the shorter side (at 5’4”) and managed to cover two miles, this is definitely sized for children. But with its striking yellow color scheme and five-spoke alloy mag wheels, it could make for a great collector’s item. You’ll find some classic Stranger Things features as well, including two rear axle pegs (because you never know when you’ll need to rescue a friend from danger). In place of a head badge is a decal bearing the name “MAX,” while decals on either side of the fork read “team madmax.” The seat tube has a mock registration label dated to 1985.
In 2001, Mongoose went into a merger with a bigger entity, Pacific Cycles, which is based in Taiwan but operates worldwide. In 2004, Pacific Cycles was acquired by the Canadian colossus Dorel Industries. They built parts and components that needed the high fidelity only Skip Hess could offer. He never bragged about this, the racers from these other teams, later on, told these stories.
Bicycling participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. In the spirit of the show’s retro setting, Mongoose looked to authentic 1980s bike parts sourced from various thrift stores and garage sales around its headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin. The frame and fork are replicas of those seen on vintage schwinn bicycless from the decade.