Been looking for a matching Mongoose ATB for my wife and this came up from the same seller I bought my ATB from. Looks like this one was left outside and exposed to weather.
I think this should be easy to work with, but I have a soft spot for project bikes, so I’d love to hear from others who have worked with rusty bikes.
Salty-Pack-4165 on
I think it’s just a matter of time and elbow grease. I’d disassemble bike to get good access to all frame joints, clean it up,wax it and while doing it look for corrosion creeping up under paint into frame joints. That’s a safety issue.
Other than that it’s just a matter of routine clean up, grease up of headset,BB, wheel bearings and freewheel/ cassette.
Delay-Fluffy on
Yeah I don’t see any issues with it. If you haven’t spied em already, Garys Projects, Toasty Rides, RJ the Bike Guy, Old Shovel on Youtube all have excellent hints and tips in their videos for economical ways of removing rust, dealing with inevitable stuck bits etc. I personally love a bit of patina and character on my old whips
mediumclay on
Is that the rim tape showing through rim holes, like they do on fat bikes? Cool if so!
AdVast6146 on
Steel wool all day long brother
biosfearmag on
I restored a similar woman’s step through recently that was in similar condition. As long as all the parts are there, they probably just need a good cleaning. It’s in my profile.
Due-Feed3503 on
I’d be more worried about the hubs, bb and headset. The cup races are probably corroded, you can repack and put in fresh bearings, but they will never be great unless replaced. Winter is coming and the market will be flooded with great deals on vintage bikes, I’d hold off.
ctdca on
Soak it in Evaporust.
expensivegoosegrease on
I wouldn’t pay actual money for this but it looks salvageable.
Hammerdyne59 on
Fluted seat post is cool cool !!!
Tosssauceinmybag on
The spokes could potentially give you trouble but otherwise looks fine/ and cool. I sneak a dab of chain lube on each spoke nipple
dancomputer on
Wait… Your wife was left outside?
RustyCalecos on
Those wheels are fucked. I’d be surprised if those spokes don’t start breaking after the bike has been ridden routinely. Unless you get the bike very cheap and are willing to invest in a new wheelset, I wouldn’t buy this thing.
Zacupunk on
It’s pretty crusty. You might be able to salvage it, but the bottom bracket threads are probably thoroughly rusted, so you might have trouble getting it out, and if you do get it out you may strip the threads too. Also, make sure that seatpost isn’t siezed into the frame.
goodavibes on
doesnt look that concerning, if anything id just replace all this stuff anyways tbh, this frame is sick and definitely worth it
Kyro2354 on
As someone that bought a Giant Terrago MTB that looked to be in way better condition than that, and then spent months trying to get the rusted to hell bottom bracket off, don’t buy this.
It’s clearly in terrible condition and you’re going to have to replace so much and there’s probably irreversible rust inside as well, that you’d be so much better off just buying a new or few years old actually taken care of bike.
16 Comments
Been looking for a matching Mongoose ATB for my wife and this came up from the same seller I bought my ATB from. Looks like this one was left outside and exposed to weather.
I think this should be easy to work with, but I have a soft spot for project bikes, so I’d love to hear from others who have worked with rusty bikes.
I think it’s just a matter of time and elbow grease. I’d disassemble bike to get good access to all frame joints, clean it up,wax it and while doing it look for corrosion creeping up under paint into frame joints. That’s a safety issue.
Other than that it’s just a matter of routine clean up, grease up of headset,BB, wheel bearings and freewheel/ cassette.
Yeah I don’t see any issues with it. If you haven’t spied em already, Garys Projects, Toasty Rides, RJ the Bike Guy, Old Shovel on Youtube all have excellent hints and tips in their videos for economical ways of removing rust, dealing with inevitable stuck bits etc. I personally love a bit of patina and character on my old whips
Is that the rim tape showing through rim holes, like they do on fat bikes? Cool if so!
Steel wool all day long brother
I restored a similar woman’s step through recently that was in similar condition. As long as all the parts are there, they probably just need a good cleaning. It’s in my profile.
I’d be more worried about the hubs, bb and headset. The cup races are probably corroded, you can repack and put in fresh bearings, but they will never be great unless replaced. Winter is coming and the market will be flooded with great deals on vintage bikes, I’d hold off.
Soak it in Evaporust.
I wouldn’t pay actual money for this but it looks salvageable.
Fluted seat post is cool cool !!!
The spokes could potentially give you trouble but otherwise looks fine/ and cool. I sneak a dab of chain lube on each spoke nipple
Wait… Your wife was left outside?
Those wheels are fucked. I’d be surprised if those spokes don’t start breaking after the bike has been ridden routinely. Unless you get the bike very cheap and are willing to invest in a new wheelset, I wouldn’t buy this thing.
It’s pretty crusty. You might be able to salvage it, but the bottom bracket threads are probably thoroughly rusted, so you might have trouble getting it out, and if you do get it out you may strip the threads too. Also, make sure that seatpost isn’t siezed into the frame.
doesnt look that concerning, if anything id just replace all this stuff anyways tbh, this frame is sick and definitely worth it
As someone that bought a Giant Terrago MTB that looked to be in way better condition than that, and then spent months trying to get the rusted to hell bottom bracket off, don’t buy this.
It’s clearly in terrible condition and you’re going to have to replace so much and there’s probably irreversible rust inside as well, that you’d be so much better off just buying a new or few years old actually taken care of bike.