Mongoose "Hatchet" (how to polish a BSO)

[Thud]

A week or so ago I was in town & thought I would drop by & look at the crap on the rack at the wallmart.
I was more than a little suprized by what I found. Particularly the Mongoose lineup of FS mountain bike shaped objects. Being weak & easily distracted by shiny stuff, I flipped a coin & bought a "Hatchet" as a project bike. Its a full suspension 29er.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mongoose-Hatchet-29-Men-s-Mountain-Bike/16913469?findingMethod=Recommendation:wm:RecentlyViewedItems

This bike has a steel swingarm just perfect for any little weld ons I might need to add for a chain tensioner or any other do-dads i feel like. It really was a toss up between the 29er & the higher priced "Detention" 26" bike with a much better grade of running gear on it. (triger shifters,Disc's front & rear,1"handlebars & a decent stem) Again, a steel swingarm for any kind of easy modding or beefing dropouts for the hub guys looking for a bike shaped object.

First a review on the "Hatchet"
The pogo stick stock suspension is a joke: Adding an e-bay rear air shock & some RST forks with dampening
Tires: replacing the stock inova off road tread with Michillen "City "tires 700-47
Since this will be a pedal bike more than a motocrosser I will be scouring e-bay for some decent cranks & chainrings.
(if anyone has something laying on a shelf I am allways in the market)
This winter (or sooner if the wheels fail ) I will lace up a freash set of wheels & throw away the stock Quando hubs & butter soft stock hoops.

For the power assist. I am going with a 80/85 outrunner & RC simplified reduction unit. Eventualy I'd like to buy a V3 CA to link it all together.
Battery box will be a typical thud style box to protect the batteries from any pointy things ingressing my Lipo.
I'll start the photo documentaion tonight

 

[Thud]

Since I had no ambition to stand in front of the lathe or mill after working all day...Tonight I decided to play bike mechaninc & go through the hatchet.

swapped out the fork for a rockshock 29er I got off e-bay & added a rock shock sidi to hold up the rear end. I also rebuilt the bottom bracket & all the suspension pivots were disassembled & cleaned/de-bured & re-assembled wiht a silicone based grease.

Its amazing how much more solid the bike feels having done thouse little upgrades. & after a 45 minute pedal around the block I have to give a thumbs up for the Michilin "city" tires. they are really free rolling & grip is great....we'll see how they hold up.

After cranking it around tonight I am actually anxious to get it under some power. I will be gearing it for a speed that I can provide some meaningfull assist with the cranks....which will be plenty fast as the thing is really over geared for off-roading.

after the shake down ride:

The power unit is going to fit right below the shock..nice & compact. I may look for a set of rims sooner than later...this single wall cheapo's give me zero confidence. & the rear freewheel has a funky wobble in it out of the box....but over all for $230 + 125 for e-bay parts, I have to say not bad...
Batteries will be a side saddle affair on the left side of the top tube.
after figuring some gearing senario's I may wind up running 8cells depending on the kv I can get with an 80/85.

 

[Thud]

reserved:

 

[thepronghorn]

Looks cool. I've been looking around at cheap full suspension bikes because frankly my bike pedals so well, I hate to convert it. You'll have to let us know how this one turns out. Are you going to do anything about chain growth as a result of the rear suspension, and if so, how?