This (and many other teams alike) helped grow BMX through an endless series of demonstrations around the country. With new tricks being introduced at a rapid rate and the refining of a ‘professionalism’ to the demonstrations, BMX was unstoppable. The sky was the limit for BMX and no one had a better grasp on that than Mongoose. Turning back to the Mongoose story, the 1970s had treated the company well and momentum was only further embellished with the successful release of ‘E.T.
From the first products – to our current crop of BMX, Mountain and pavement bikes, Mongoose is synonymous with bikes that perform on the smoothest single track to the biggest drops and riders looking for trails that never end and keep the party going. While Magoo’s tenure at Mongoose only lasted for 3 years (until 1991), this was a fruitful period in which the essence of the brand was strengthened and the future direction of the company crystallised. For example, one of the first moves Magoo made after taking up the role at Mongoose was to hire Dennis McCoy and Tim ‘Fuzzy’ Hall.
We think that this offers our customers the chance to celebrate and embrace the nostalgia of Mongoose, while moving forward in the modern BMX world with taste, style and strength. Hop on the Mongoose MXOne BMX race bike and you’ll be ready to take the track by storm. The MXOne features a durable steel frame with BMX Race geometry and BMX Race bar with Taper leg race fork.
Resurrecting the early scooter concept and improving through the inclusion of BMX style design and technology, the ‘Mini Scoot’ was an overnight success and alleged to have sold in the hundreds and thousands of units. Hitting the market in 1986, the rumour around the scooter is that a Mongoose employee overproduced ‘Moose Goose’ schwinn mountain bicycles head tubes and thereby sparked the idea for a scooter which takes advantage of a higher headtube. For core BMX heads, the incorporation of a scooter under the Mongoose umbrella was tough to swallow, it being a much more accessible and cheaper product which wasn’t consistent with the essence of BMX, the spirit of the sport.
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.
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 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.
Brunswick sold Mongoose to Pacific Cycle in 2000 and Pacific Cycle was bought by Montreal-based Dorel Industries in 2004. As of 2018, Mongoose models are available through Pacific Cycle in Madison, Wisconsin.[2]On 11 October 2021 Pon Holdings, headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands announced that they acquired US-based bike company Dorel Sports. By combining Pon.Bike and Dorel Sports, a leading bicycle company in the world will be created, with a combined revenue of around 2.5 billion euro. RECO (Racer Engineering Company) 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 Hoppy Brooks, in his attempt to market motorcycle frames.
Distinctive designs and lots of innovations.Still making bikes today, they have seen it all thru the years. For over 45 years, Mongoose has been in the dirt, at the park, and on the street. Ranging from your first true BMX bike in the L18 to the full 4130 chromoly pro-performance L500, the Legion series was designed to withstand the punishment that takes place as you progress your BMX skills. 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 had a Cro Mo front triangle with a mild steel rear.