Life is too short. Jeff Archer of the vintage mountain bike museum and website MOMBAT (Museum of Mountain Bike Art and Technology) and First Flight Bikes shop in Statesville, NC was struck and killed by a drunk driver Wednesday night as he crossed the street on foot, according to news reports.
Archer was 52 years old.
Archer was an authority in vintage mountain bikes, and amassed a collection of more than 400 old bikes dating back to the late 1800s.
Jeff Archer of MOMBAT has amassed an impressive collection of vintage off-road bikes. photo: John Maynard
I had the good fortune to spend a few hours with Archer as a guest cyclocross/gravel category judge at NAHBS the last few years (along with Nick Legan and Patrick Brady – see Brady’s tribute here). Archer’s friendly, down-to-earth manner paired with a true passion for bicycles made him the type of person you could talk to for hours about bikes. He will be missed dearly.
More than a beauty pageant: Nick Legan (l) and Jeff Archer (r) studying the contestants at 2016 NAHBS. © Cyclocross Magazine
For today’s Throwback Thursday, we encourage all of you to take a few minutes to appreciate the impressive resource of vintage bike profiles and bike company history Archer has put together on the WOMBAT website. It’s not limited limited to just mountain bikes, as the MOMBAT site has an extensive selection of road and older bikes.
Rest in peace, Jeff!
More words from Archer’s close friend Patrick Brady of Red Kite Prayer here.
