When I read that press release, my first impression was that the museum would be a ramshackle collection of old bikes, but I was pleasantly surprised to see not only a great collection of mountain bikes and technology, including the first disc brakes, parallelogram forks, prototypes and incredible artwork, but that the size of the collection alone was impressive. In addition the the few priceless pieces in the main showroom and hanging on the perimeter of the ceilings, there was an entire upstairs and backroom of un-used cycling jerseys representing some of the first and finest teams in mountain biking.
Beyond the nostalgia and the beautiful machine working, and even a mountain bike with Campy components, I was also wowed by a mountain bike that had actual gold plated parts and a dazzling sunset paint job. don't ask me what possessed someone to gold plate their mountain bike parts, but it was rad.
Just when I had planned to depart, I walked by a rather unassuming prehistoric cruiser bike with fat tires and what looked like two forks attached to it. I didn't think much at first, but then it dawned on me, what I was looking at was a cruiser from the 60's that, unlike the cruisers of the early California repack downhills, was fully customized with a front suspension fork and modified trail climbing gear.
The bike (pictured above) was made in 1967 by Joe Bruman. Joe, you are the man! He took a 3-speed hub and attached a front hub to the back, added leverage to the brakes and the front suspension still works well today. Although some new tires would probably be recommended. firstflightbikes.com/1967_JCHiggins.htm
If you ever get a chance and you're on I77 near Charlotte, or anywhere on the east coast for that matter, you should make plans to go to this place. It is really, really cool! Plans for the future include placards and stories for some of the more prized pieces of the collection.
It's been a great week of riding and I'm finalizing the details for a fantastic 2009 racing season! Tomorrow I head to Washington and Lee to speak at the Institute for Honor symposium Sports in America: Playing Fair.
Check back soon for the exciting news!
Jeremiah
Labels: Industry News and Events
posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 8:41 AM 
