JMC, or Jim Melton Cyclery was a
bicycle
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...
company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...
in the 1970s and 1980s. It started as a bicycle shop in 1969. It began manufacturing bicycle components in 1974, mostly to make a bicycle look more like a motocross motorcycle, including fenders and false fuel tanks. In 1977 JMC began manufacturing
BMX
BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation.
History
BMX began during the ea ...
bicycles. During the 1970s and 80's, it sponsored such notable BMX racers, such as
Harry Leary
Harry Clarence Leary Jr. (February 22, 1959 – September 7, 2024) was an American professional bicycle motocross (BMX) racer.
Biography
Leary started racing on July 30, 1974, aged 15. He turned professional in 1977, aged 18, as a founding ...
,
Clint Miller,
Tinker Juarez
David "Tinker" Juarez (born March 4, 1961) is an American former professional BMX and cross-country mountain bike racer. His prime competitive years in BMX were from 1978 to 1984 and in mountain bike racing 1986 to 2005. Since late 2005, he ha ...
, and
Darrell Young, Andy Patterson, Solan Foster, Gary DeBacker, Melanie Cline, Carl Butler and Sam Arellano.
By 1979 the bicycle shop was sold and the company owned just the factory. Sales peaked in 1981 when it was number two of the
American Bicycle Association
The American Bicycle Association (ABA) was a US-based BMX racing governing body in Gilbert, Arizona. In 2011, the ABA merged with the former National Bicycle League and became the present-day USA BMX: The American Bicycle Association. The ABA wa ...
title for top BMX factory team three years in a row. Jim Melton closed the company in July 1985 because of his wife Vera's poor health,
[''BMX Plus!'' September 1985 Vol.8 No.9 pg.12] and the company faced tough competition from cheap BMX-bikes made in Taiwan, and he did not want to move production abroad. Jim Melton died in late July, 2014.
Models
The JMC Black Shadow was a desirable of their models with a reputation for light weight and an excellent black finish. The most sought after models today are the Darrell Young pro model and the Andy Patterson pro model.
References
Cycle manufacturers of the United States
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