[mongoosedrummer]

Someone from Australia recently told me that Quicksilver got started by flooding the Australian market with exact Mongoose copies somewhere around 1977 using the name "Quicksilver" on the frames... I was totally surprised.

I certainly have tons of respect for manufactures who "borrow" ideas here and there to help come up with their own hybrids of existing designs, but straight re-pop/copies of an existing product sold under a different name?

If this is all true, that would mean they (Quicksilver) did this without permission from Skip Hess and basically polluted an entire new market with fakes before Skip even had a chance to export over there. I believe Skip didn't get into the Australian market until after '77.

Unless, this information is wrong, this would really make Quicksilver suck as a company IMO. What other US manufactures/companies did they re-pop without permission?

Regardless if they later designed the first "Helium" BMX frame (which also sounds totally lame to me), it's really not cool to profit from fakes... Just ask any art dealer.

Who knows what re-painted/re-stickered vintage bikes are coming out of Australia and being called Mongoose nowadays... Sheesh!

Here's the pics I was sent:

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[I am the owl...]

I dunno, I can't see quicksilver getting jigs and whatnot for the exact same frames at the exact same time..... seems more likely Mongoose was makin them nd shippin them over there undecaled..... who knows tho

[S.Brothers]

Do serial numbers distinguish?

Either way, it's all kind of water under the bridge at this point. I definitely get the "it's the principal of it" factor... but at this stage, you know... history speaks for itself. Mongoose touched the world. Quicksilver had a good run in Australia, but is only kind of a novelty out side of that context.

[COASTY]

Pete, you are right to a certain point. Quicksilver did design the Quickie around the Mongoose. I knew one of the welders and theres a few more staff and friends/riders of the brand on various forums too.
Skip did know of the Quicksilver frames as Quicksilver was the importer for Mongoose in the beginning.
Mark Bradley was a Factory Mongoose rider. He worked at Quicksilver as a designer/welder and designed a bunch of different Quicksilver models. Including his own BBR products. He was also a fellow staff member of the shop I was sponsored by. He went on to design MTB frames and is still involved in the game.
The main difference in the two frames is the gusset. Completely different and not possible to confuse the two.

[COASTY]

Also Pete, you might want to ask Skyway how there OE wheels are an almost exact copy of the Aussie designed and built DBS/Aussie Tuffs. The aussie wheels came out in 82. OE's never came around until 86/87.

[COASTY]

Another bit I thought I would add.
This is the frame Mark used when designing the Quicksilver. It was his factory ride.

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[4130only]

The owners of Quickilver had a importing business called Compertion Developments and where the first Mongoose importers into Australia around late 76 early 77.
The owners where an American couple Jan and Steve Medows who also brought U.S style BMX racing to Australia and started the first race track and club in May 1977 at North Ryde, in Sydney N.S.W.

[Richard Vogt - bmxmountainbiker]

COASTY, on Nov 20 2009, 02:12 AM, said:

Another bit I thought I would add.
This is the frame Mark used when designing the Quicksilver. It was his factory ride.

Man, my wife would kick my ass if I laid a greasy bottom bracket like that on one of our couches... and I know this from actual experience!

Is that a 1977?

Richard Vogt
bmxmountainbiker

[COASTY]

Yes Richard it is a 77.
And yes I did get in trouble! lol
Damon is correct. He knows a lot more about Aussie bmx history than I'll ever know.

[mongoosedrummer]

That's good information Glenn and Damon, thanks. You guys obviously know way more about this story than the guy who first told me about this.

Now I've learned some new Quicksilver/Mongoose histrionics! It may be old news, but I dig history, especially anything related to 70's Mongoose.

Glenn, I have no clue about Tuffs or their history, but I'm interested as I have a couple pairs of the early ones. So, basically the design first came out in Australia?

[broke L345]

"Who knows what re-painted/re-stickered vintage bikes are coming out of Australia and being called Mongoose nowadays... Sheesh! "

yeah, I'll be selling my supermax STR2 soon.























only kidding

This post has been edited by broke L345: 21 November 2009 - 06:49 AM

[Brisben]

The front gusset on a Mark I Quicksilver is flat, not raised.

The only way to mistake it for a Mongoose would be through poor photography or naivety.

Being of Australian heritage they are quite valued here, both in monetary terms and sentimentally. I would think the price a Mark I Quicksilver would gain in Australia would be worth more than passing one off as a Mongoose to the international market.

[volcano]

Wow Pete! Good to see u can stir the pot again...

Yep - we all know the quickies are very similar to the Mongoose....but remember,
Us convicts from Down Under have enough to deal with everyday (great weather, hot women, fantastic beaches, no wars, Mateship and relaxed lifestyle)
Arghhhh!!! Spare a thought for the little aussie battlers & try not to sink the boot in too much! ......hahahaha

[bravoleader]

DIBS on the supermax STR2

[eljay]

volcano, on Nov 20 2009, 07:16 PM, said:

Wow Pete! Good to see u can stir the pot again...

Yep - we all know the quickies are very similar to the Mongoose....but remember,
Us convicts from Down Under have enough to deal with everyday (great weather, hot women, fantastic beaches, no wars, Mateship and relaxed lifestyle)
Arghhhh!!! Spare a thought for the little aussie battlers & try not to sink the boot in too much! ......hahahaha

No wars? Tell that to the 3,000 Australian troops currently deployed!

[mongoosedrummer]

Hee-hee... Yeah, I know my pot stirring abilities are good Volcano, but truth be told, I didn't understand the full story here. I'm now being schooled by the Aussie crew on Quicksilver history and that's alright... I guess.

BTW, what is "Mateship"? Is that when you bone your chick on a boat? All I know is you and I are supposed to race one of these days Volcano. Never mind that I was racing before it was sanctioned where I grew up and that you haven't raced in a long while... I'm ready right now. Let's get this happening on my next trip to Australia or your next visit to the US. I'm in, let's do it!

Anyhow, I was just really surprised to see these old Quicksilvers that were made to look nearly exactly like Geese. I was told something about it, but wanted more info. I did initially say "I may be wrong" right?

It's a pretty interesting story, at least to me.

What's even more interesting, is how many Aussies are so BMX obsessed. Per capita, it's quite astonishing. Believe me, I appreciate that. Especially because of the strong vintage Mongoose interests down under.

In fact, whenever I sell anything Mongoose related on Ebay it's usually to an Aussie. You boys surely love your Geese stuff...

The one massive problem I have is why we can't ship anything over 79" from the US to Australia. Length + girth must be under 79"... It makes it really hard to fit a full frame into one box, let alone anything more.

One more question for the Aussie crew... Did Quicksilver also make any vintage Redline copies BITD?

[broke L345]

SHHH! I was ging to sell a bunch of those too. you just keep ruining it for me.

STR2 sold, thanks Bravoleader I'll send it off tomorrow.

anyone up for a Maddison JU 5?


in all seriuosness, I believe redline's were made in Australia under licence. Not by Quicksilver though.

[Brisben]

Redlines were manufactured in Australia on the Gold Coast

But not by Competition Developments who manufactured Quicksilvers

The model of Quicksilver you are referring to was superseded by a model with thruster style dropouts some time in the early 80's

This is an 81 example

[mongoosedrummer]

Nice sprocket!

[QuicksilverBMX]

Quote

Does this mean Quicksilver totally sucks?

Yep!