Paint Scraper Prototype

This is for any Mongoose fans and especially FreeDrive suspension fans. Or just people who enjoy how things happen behind the scenes in product development. Hope you enjoy this bit of history that rattled loose from my memories upon finding some old photos.

I had a few photos from my time working for many great years at Mongoose. The pics are of a prototype frame that eventually became the FreeDrive suspension that is still in production in the marketplace for about a decade.

The FreeDrive system is covered under the broad utility patent taken out by Jim Busby which then was licensed to Pacific Cycle who owned GT, Schwinn, and Mongoose at the time. In simple terms if the BB is a separate part from the front and rear triangles it is covered. This patent was initially used on the original I-Drive that GT used (and it still using today). Busby also came up with a few more way's to "skin the cat" that is independent / floating BB so Schwinn had their own iteration with the ISO Drive and last to the party was Mongoose with FreeDrive.

Paint Scraper: This frame was made with Busby's own hands including the rudimentary, yet effective in testing paint scraper blade linkage (more on that later). Because of this linkage the prototype became affectionately called the Paint Scraper by the development team. My memory serves me that Jim made this prototype around 1999-2000 but it got moth balled because nobody was willing to test ride a bike with the sketchy paint scraper blade attaching the BB to the chain stays.

I was curious enough to want to know how it rode and I was desperate enough in needing an "angle" to get Mongoose back on track in the mountain bike world so I built it up and proceeded to hammer the frame on the local trails. I actually liked the way it pedaled and it gave Mongoose a new story to tell in the market place.

The blade eventually broke. Next was a call to Jim Busby with a "what's up with that" on the BB linkage from the local hardware store. Jim explained this was a down and dirty way to alter the angle of the linkage which adds or reduces chain growth. Add washers to the BB side make a greater angle and the chain growth is increased, take them out making it more flat and less chain growth. He intended the system to be tailored to XC/4X snappy pedaling to more plush FR/DH applications in the flat setting. He never intended for a flex plate like that to be used in production. The paint scraper blade was replaced with a proper linkage with bearings and testing began in 2004. First model year we came out with the Teocali and Black Diamond.

The teams that helped bring these bikes to market with me were incredible to work with. There was a ton of engineering, industrial design, graphics, and testing to take this rough looking prototype into a production bicycle. I had the best people supporting this effort I could have ever hoped to work with. Thanks to George (engineering and design), Jeff (artist), and EC and Kevin (testing). The suspension design went on to US and Australian national championships, magazine awards and Rampage competitions, not bad from such sketchy beginnings.