This week’s Readers’ Rides is in the spirit of the original Cruisers and Klunkers repurposed for everyday use. Steve works for Mongoose and if you recall that Chris Akrigg Vintage video we posted a while back, you’ll recognize this bike!

This bike started life at the 2015 Sea Otter Classic. I was working in product for Mongoose at the time and while wandering around Laguna Seca I ran into three guys. One had an 80’s Mongoose ATB that had been converted into a commuter. Needless to say I was super stoked and had to check it out. A guy named John said he was going to feature it on his website ;). I insisted they park the bike at the Mongoose booth while they wandered around.

Chris Akrigg was visiting at the time and we got to talking about how cool the bike was. That’s when Chris came up with an idea of doing an edit with a vintage theme. Less than a week later I had purchased my own 87 Mongoose ATB in chrome and blue to try to get a spec/look for a new bike. We ended up making six of these bikes, one as a first sample to review in person, one for Chris to do an edit with, one for me, and the other three we gave away in some contest I can’t quite remember the details of.

If you haven’t seen Chris’s vintage edit look it up!

A few details on the original build are as follow (details like the brake/pedal/crank manufacturer are hidden away on my old hard drive somewhere at Mongoose maybe)

Cro-moly frame and fork
3×8 drivetrain using Sunrace thumb shifters and Shimano rear derailleur
27.5x40mm single wall rims with holes similar to the original Araya rims
Custom 1 1/8″ a-head bullmoose bars
foam grips
cantilever brakes

I decided to make a few changes from the original build to make the bike a little more comfy.

Brooks Swift saddle
Nitto urban bars
Wald 137 basket
Vee tire 27.5×3 speedster tires
Custom XTR derailleur

We’d like to thank all of you who have submitted Readers Rides builds to be shared over here. The response has been incredible and we have so many to share over the next few months. Feel free to submit your bike, listing details, components, and other information. You can also include a portrait of yourself with your bike and your Instagram account! Please, shoot landscape-orientation photos, not portrait. Thanks!