BMX - URGENT: What bike is this?!

Hi all,

Been skating for about 5 years and decided to start something new and start BMXing.
I have no clue about bikes but I've been offered a BMX for pretty cheap. I wanted to know what bike it is and if it is any good. I'm not looking for anything amazing just something to get me started.

The guy hasn't mentioned much but what he has said is:

Original Mongoose BMX
-Black frame
-hardly used
-1 year old
-2 stunt pegs on the back wheels
-1 gear
-360 gyro break system
-20 inch wheels.

And this is the picture he has sent me:

http://is03.thegumtree.com/image/extrabig/116588235.jpg

Is this a good bike and what model is it?

Many Thanks.

I would stay away from it. Just looking for something cheap to get you started or not, that thing looks awful. Couldn't tell you what model it is, but just the fact that it has a 1 piece crank is enough for me to want to kill it. Kill it with fire.

If he'll take less than $75, and you're short on cash or unsure if you'll stick with bmx, jump on it.

Anything Mongoose-made and sold in the US in the last, I dunno, 10 years at least is really low-end, Walmart stuff. That said, if you want a cheap, cheap "tester" BMX bike it might not be a bad deal. (By "cheap, cheap" I mean "not more than $50 or so".)

lamtim is pretty close, I guess if you could get it for like $50 it would be fine. I'm worried that those pegs are ****ty thread-ons, with small diameter axles that will just snap when he's learning to grind.

Thanks for all your help guys, I think I will stay clear in that case.

So when looking for a bike, which good brands should I look out for?
I'm about 5 foot 10 inches, and fairly stocky build so I'm guessing I need something with a 3 piece crank?

I will also be using the bike everyday to cycle to work which is about a mile away, hence why im ditching the skateboard and starting BMX :)

As I know nothing atm, any pointers you can give me are really helpful.

Thanks guys.

Danscomp.com should get you started. Take a look through all of their completes, and find something you like. Try to get as much chromoly as possible, because that will make the bike a little lighter and a bit 'stronger'. Whats your budget, by the way? That will help us a lot when making some suggestions. And do you want brakes or would you prefer brakeless?

Also since your 5' 10" you may want a slightly larger BMX than most of the ones you see witch are made more for the smaller youth junior market. The Mongoose in the pic would be on the small side for a larger man.

Also since your 5' 10" you may want a slightly larger BMX than most of the ones you see

Whoops. I left that out. You'll want to look for something with at least a 20.5 in. tt

lamtim is pretty close, I guess if you could get it for like $50 it would be fine. I'm worried that those pegs are ****ty thread-ons, with small diameter axles that will just snap when he's learning to grind.

Those are deep socket pegs and the front axle looks more like a 14mm. This wasn't a horrible bike, its right around the era that mongoose sold. Yeah, 1 piece cranks, but the rest of it looks pretty solid and tended to.