Interesting free bike find

[ParkRNDL]

Well this was unexpected. I responded to this ad thinking it was a Wal-goose.

My intention was to rob the rear wheel to use on the Beachcomber, which has been sidelined due to an unfortunate hub shell implosion. But upon closer inspection, this is a pretty interesting specimen of early mountain bikes. Matching up the decal design from what I have been able to find on the interwebs, I am thinking this is a 1987 model.

SR elliptical chainrings:

Deore derailleurs:

SR rear hub (this wheel is in fact going to the Beachcomber):

Unique stem with integrated stop for the front brake cable:

Shimano brakes:

And check out the rear U-brake with the derailleur cable running THROUGH the mounting boss:

I don't feel terrible robbing the rear wheel, because the front is a mismatch off a Schwinn:

I am thinking that if this cleans up okay, it might be a worthy recipient of the wheels with Phil Wood hubs I picked up last year at a swap:

 

[Chuy]

Lucky. Perfect parts bike! Too bad it didn’t come with the pro class wheelset.

 

[ParkRNDL]

Lucky. Perfect parts bike! Too bad it didn’t come with the pro class wheelset.

What was the pro class wheelset? I just noticed now that the rear hoop is Araya, which is a nice surprise. If it still had the matching front, I'd be thrilled.

 

[Chuy]

Mongoose ATB’s came stock with Araya pro class wheelsets. Light strong 7X araya’s with like this.
And they came on both men’s and women’s bikes.

 

[twojs.bike]

I recently came across a similar bike. Had a cool mongoose BMX Headbadge. It was hard not to buy this.

 

[ParkRNDL]

I recently came across a similar bike. Had a cool mongoose BMX Headbadge. It was hard not to buy this. View attachment 252899View attachment 252900

Oooooh, that stem! And the Bear Trap pedals! And that rear wheel is apparently the Pro Class wheel that Chuy mentioned above. Apparently, though, this one also is missing the original front wheel.

From the eleven minutes of Google research I did on this earlier today, it looks like that one is older than the one I found. Comparing the stem and brakes to online catalog pics, maybe 1985?

 

[ParkRNDL]

Spent 10 minutes fixing the backwards seatpost and sticking on this wheelset I had here (Specialized hoops and Phil Wood hubs) and now it looks like a candidate for a good cleaning/refreshing...