Interestingly, attitudes towards scooters are similarly harboured to this day, with scooters (albeit in a different form) continuing to polarise people and continuing to be the easy option, the low hanging fruit. For the Mongoose brand and its long history, the role of BMX bandits further improved the iconic status with the chrome ‘Supergoose’ model (with blue wheels and accessories) being ridden by one of the central characters ‘Goose’. Young ‘Goose’ is joined by another BMX bike enthusiast ‘P.J.’ who one day have a run in with a young trolley collector by the name of ‘Judy’ and embark on a journey to help her tally funds to buy a BMX bike. From here, the film centers on the trio as they find themselves embroiled (unintentionally) in a series of shady situations as propelled by a couple of halfwit goons attempting to rob a bank. As earlier eluded, ‘Judy’ was played by a teenage Kidman, emerging out of a field of 200 audition hopefuls, Nicole was noted as having a remarkable ability to understand, interpret and adapt to a script. Since Mongoose only offered these bikes in the continental USA they have been working hard to find a way for people in Canada, Alaska/Hawaii, Mexico, UK, ect, to get their hands on them and that’s where we come in.
The thing rides so good that my daughter just bought a 1999 off of craigslist. Well, from reading the posts, some really stick to old school American made while others do not mind Mid school or things being made in Japan or Taiwan. For now, until I can afford that old school Super goose I will ride this loop tail and have some fun. It doesn’t matter what you’re riding – cargo bikes or gravel – Mongoose has all the bikes you need to get where you need to go. Mongoose has developed a solid reputation for quality bikes at an affordable cost in the cycling industry.
For better or worse, Mongoose released the ‘Mini Scoot’, a ‘pro-level’ scooter which took the brand down a different path, a challenging, divisive and hugely successful one. Fittingly, this article starts with Skip Hess, the founder and brains behind Mongoose until his directorship ended in 1985 (to which it was sold to American Recreation Group). Born in 1937, on the back of his fathers untimely death, Skip and his mother moved to California where a love for all things mechanical and speed were fostered. Skip spent his days hanging out at a local body shop, immersing himself in the track community as well as racing track and road bicycles, not to mention picking up a mechanical engineering degree from San Diego State University. Mongoose is a bike company which started in 1975 in the Simi Valley garage of a young Skip Hess. The tale of Mongoose and its consistent momentum has resulted in a long-standing association with the roots of BMX, a brand which started a revolution – one which would change our relationship with bikes forever.
Inevitably, wider society was sooner or later going to come into contact with BMX. A significant milestone in this regard was the release of the 1982 film ‘E.T. The Extra Terrestrial’ – directed by Steven Spielberg and featuring a young Henry Thomas as Elliott Taylor. Featuring the iconic scene in which the boys are being chased by cops on BMX bikes, pedalling at speed, tearing around the neighborhood, jumping and eventually taking flight.
SmartStart bikes are engineered to outsmart physics so kids in motion stay in motion. Ya but the carbon frames and the kinesis frames were usa, thats what I was referring to. 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. I dont own any American bikes, but I love my Taiwanese rides.
In its early years, Hess recalled that about 600 frames per day were produced at its Chatsworth, Los Angeles location. Shifting back to Skip, with his mechanical engineering knowledge and in working as an automotive rim designer at the time, the design and production of the first BMX specific wheelset (i.e. ‘MotoMag One’), the aforementioned problem had met its solution. Surely enough, purposefully crafted design was met with demand as the ‘MotoMag One’ was soon accepted by the BMX community as a superior product thanks to the trellis shape, ribbed spokes and light-weight alloy.
Get ready to look good both on the path and in your camera roll. With throwback features like moto-inspired handlebars and a cruiser-esque frame, the Vega makes it almost too easy. Make May the month to celebrate your little one’s new riding skills!
With momentum afoot, Mongoose took the natural path of producing bikes and eventually, parts. Under the production name ‘BMX Products’, 1975 saw the very first batch of heli-arc welded frames which again, were designed with the BMX biker schwinn mountain bicycles in mind. Scott Breithaupt of SE Bikes and literal pioneer of BMX fame, speaks to this topic in an interview with BMX Ultra, here. As part of this interview it is noted that the date of the very first BMX race was November 1970.