VIA STATESVILLE.com – First Flight Bike Shop in Statesville, NC, was recently featured on Smithsonian.com in a profile of niche museums in the U.S.
Recognized for its tremendous collection of mountain bikes, gear and related cultural accoutrements, the MOMBAT is the labor of love of shop owner Jeff Archer.  The museum catalogs eight of the leading mountain-bike magazines and has copies of original drawings and spec sheets from some of mountain biking’s pioneer designers and builders. The collection of materials reflects Archer’s appreciation of the engineering behind the bikes.
His collection includes 450 bikes in all, including some dating from the 1860s, with the first mountain bikes dating from the mid 1970s.  If you’re in the area, check it out and they’ll give you a free tour, otherwise, their website has pictures and info on hundreds (maybe thousands) of mountain bikes and parts, like the 1996 3D Zerox dual boinger shown above.  There’s a short video about the museum here.
