thrillbilly

short time lurker, 1st time poster, undertaking a resto of my 1st adult bike:

a fully chromed "Mangusta" steel frame and fork, circa 1985
built with internally "lugged" Columbus "Inexternal" tubing and fork.
proported to be manuf by Mongoose, BB tagged as "made in france"

i paid approx $350 for the bike back in 85 or 86 in atlanta USA.

ive found a few refs to the mangusta marque, mostly in painted steel
but,
NO refs to the tubing detailed above.

any ideas of the tubing specifics?

thanks in advance, - ben

luker

unfortunately, the practice of Columbus was to provide marketing schwanks with columbus stickers to match their other advertising zeal. See Columbus Moron tubing from Ibis (more on the ends...). Whilst that was Ibis' exceedingly refined sense of humor, other marques took advantage to label their tubing as something special. Unless you can find some insider info on the tubing composition, the data will be lost in the sands of time. (You might run a fingernail around the back side of the seat tube, inside, and feel for a ridge. This would make the tubing seamed and probably aelle. Conversely, the lack of a seam implies a more upscale tube set, like cromor. The seat post size may also be indicative, as the more expensive tube sets were thinner and maxed out at 27.2 mm. The mangusta is an all-right bike, as I recall. Just a kind of wierd foray into road bikedom from a BMX/Mountain Bike company.

T-Mar

It sounds like the frame was manufactured by Motobecane. "Inexternal" was a trademarked term referring to their process for brazing the tubing both internally and externally, without the use of lugs.

The tubing decals on the Motobecanes simply said "INEXTERNAL, TUBES, Cr Mo, FABRICATION COLUMBUS". The commas indicate the line breaks. There is nothing on the decals indicating the tubeset, or if it is even butted, but Motobecane appears to have used the process on all grades of Columbus tubing, including SL.

Given the era and price level, the Aelle tubeset suggested by Luker would seem to be the most likely prospect.

I did find a reference to a 1986 Mangusta raod bicycle for $399 US, but it spec'd Tange #2 tubing. I couldn't find anything for 1985.

thrillbilly

thanks for the replies. the plot thickens:

t-mar nailed the DT sticker: "INEXTERNAL, TUBES, Cr Mo, FABRICATION COLUMBUS"
at the best i can tell/remember.
the sticker was marred years ago, and i covered it with clear tape to preserve
the dove and columbus as best as possible.
but i want to think it was "Cro Mor" instead of Cr Mo

the (fully chromed) fork stickers read: Fourreaux, INEXTERNAL, Haute Stabilite"
and
the HT badge reads: big centered "M" surrounded by
Quality*Performance on top, and B.M.X. Products, Inc. on bottom

anyway... the tubing is NOT seamed, and the SP is sized at 25.4

it was a very light bike at its time (approx 84/85/86) and price point (approx $400)
i seem to recall it was just over 20 lbs, definately under 21 lbs

it "had" SunTour FandR derails, a stronglight crank, wolber rims, and weinman brakes.
changed to shimaNO 600 RD, 105 6-sp indexed DT shifters, 600 freewheel
dia-comp royal gran aero levers, and 600 calipers
i have a set of record hubs laced to 28/32 mavic MA-40's that it shared with another bike

its coming back to life to pull commuter duty, and just because it too cool to sit unridden.

its funny, i bought a full CF bike last year, but suddenly long for the old steel companion.

T-Mar

Cromor was a legitimate Columbus tubeset, but that would push the timeframe forward into at least 1987. By that time Mangusta had switched to aluminum frames with bonded steel stays. FYI, CroMor was a seamed, butted tubeset and should have used a much larger seat post than 25.4mm, unless it is sleeved. The seatpost seems too small for even for Aelle or the thicker Zeta.

Interestingly, your recollection of the original specs are an almost perfect match for a Motobecane Jubilee Sport, circa 1984. The only variation is the crankset. It seems like this model may be the basis for your Mangusta. FYI, this model was spec'd at 23.1 lb.

luker

I think I recall that mongoose was owned by Quality Performance Bikes (maybe still is). They are a large wholesale distributor in the western hemisphere.