This interview was donated to us by ROOST member and Co-founder Paul Smith.
Paul has been in contact with Jim Melton for some time digging out these
tidbits of information. The following is the result of his efforts. Thanks Paul!

Q & A with Jim Melton, founder of JMC Racing

ROOST: When and how did you get into the bicycle business?

JM: When I was 15 years old, in 1944, my first job was as a bicycle mechanic at Moore's Cycle Supply. It was located on Robinson Street in downtown Oklahoma City.  At that time, Moore's was the largest Schwinn dealer in the state of Oklahoma.  The shop was torn down when the Myriad Convention Center was built.  Myriad is where the ABA has held most of their Grand Nationals, and it is also the place where I was inducted into the ABA BMX Hall of Fame in 1989. 

ROOST: Was JMC originally a bike shop or a frame building business?

JM: JMC started as a bike shop.

ROOST: How and when did JMC start?

JM: In 1969, I started buying old bikes and restoring them.  I sold them at a swap meet.  I got a deal on a couple hundred raw 10-speed frame & fork sets.  They were unpainted & made in Portugal.  We had them painted and built them into complete bikes.  We called them JM Specials. In 1974, I moved my shop to Azusa, CA.  The name of the shop was JM Cyclery.  We also bought another shop in Monrovia, CA.  We specialized in building wheels.  We built most of the wheels for CYC before we started making our own frames. 

ROOST: How did you get involved in BMX racing?

JM: I started going to the Covina track and got hooked on BMX.  Anybody that raced at the Covina track wasn't allowed to be sponsored.  John Begin came to me and asked me to sponsor him.  I told him I couldn't because they didn't allow it.  Besides he didn't need a sponsor, he came from a pretty well-to-do family.   He told me how boring it was winning all the time.  He wanted to get sponsored and race were there was more competition.  He talked me in to it.  He was the first member of the JMC team.

ROOST: When did you start the JMC Racing team?

JM: Our team started in 1974.  Most of the team rode Webcos to start with. We didn't put our frames on the market until 1976. 

ROOST: Who were the original JMC team members?

JM: The first members of the JMC team were John Begin, Harry Leary, Ronnie West, Don Malone, Lisa Webb, Dennis Foster, Steve West, Clint Miller,  Greg Frechette, and David Wilson. Over the years, there were around 60 factory team riders.  There were around 400 co-sponsored riders.  We also had a Australian team.

ROOST: Which gave you greater satisfaction: Fielding a winning rider or producing a winning product?

JM: That is a tough question.  I got great satisfaction out of both.

ROOST: Which was more difficult: Fielding a winning rider or producing a winning product?

JM: I think producing a winning product.  A good rider can make any product look good.  I like to think some of our product made a lot of riders faster.

ROOST: Were there any personal rivalries between you and other BMX company owners that were played out on the track?

JM: Yes, there were some personal rivalries.  They were with G.T. and Diamond Back mostly.  

ROOST: Who among the BMX industry players of the 70's and 80's earned your lasting respect?

JM: Among racers, Harry Leary and Darrell Young, and really all the other kids who raced for me - they were all great. In the industry, it would be Gary Cook, Steve Johnson, and Clayton John.  Clayton used to be one of my dealers in State College, Pa.

ROOST: How did you decide to start making BMX frames?

JM: When the JMC team started, we used mostly Webcos.  Part of the team switched to the Pedals Ready frame, which we helped make popular.  We had a verbal agreement to buy the rights to the frame and it fell through.  I decided to design a new frame and the JMC frame was the result. 

 ROOST: When were the first prototypes made and when did production start?

JM: My shop was located in an industrial complex.  Harry Leary and Dennis Foster had a lot of input on the frames.   I had some friends who had shops in the same complex.  One had a welding shop.  The other had a machine shop.  I told them what I wanted and they helped me put it together.  The prototypes were built in 1976.  We started production in the spring of 1977.

ROOST: Did you manufacture the frames personally or was the manufacturing subcontracted?  

JM: We did most of the manufacturing in house.  I was involved in all of the production except welding.  I never learned to weld.  The tube bending, painting and plating were subcontracted. 

ROOST: What were the different models produced and in what production quantities?  

JM: We started with two standard models, the Short and the Long frame.  We made our first JMC fork in 1978.   In February 1980, we made our first Mini frame.  In April 1980,we made the first  Black Shadow frame.  In May 1980, we made the 3.1 XL frame.  In January 1982, we made the 16" Pit Bike frame.   In April 1982, we made the 24" JMC cruiser.  In October 1983, we made the Darrell Young Design frame. In August 1984, we made the Andy Patterson Series frame.

As far as production goes, here are some average numbers:  In 1977/78 we only averaged about 12 frames a week.  In 1979 we averaged about 25 frames a week. In 1980 we averaged 50 frames a week.  In 1981 75 frames a week. After that it was about 100 a week.

ROOST: How did these frame designs originate?

JM: We designed the Mini frame because we had so many requests for frames for smaller racers.  The Black Shadow was designed for Kim Jarboe.  At a large indoor race in St. Paul, MN a pro racer, Denny Davidow, told me if I would make the head tube angle steeper for Kim, nobody could beat him.  So the Black Shadow was born.  The 3.1 was the same geometry as our short standard frame, but was made of lighter material.  The 16" pit bikes were made for fun.  The 24" cruiser was made because of popular demand.

ROOST: Are there any good stories among how certain models got their names?

JM: Bicycle Harbor, our No. 1 dealer, said they would like five of the first frames like the one we made for Kim Jarboe in black.  So we decided to make them all black and call them the "Black Shadow".  The first "3.1 XL" frame was called a "Special".  Along with Bicycle Harbor, we ran a contest in the ABA paper.  The contest was for a name to best describe the frame.  Someone from Tulsa, OK sent in the "3.1 XL" name for the frame.  The frame weighed 3.1 lbs. and it was Xtra Light.

ROOST: Did you have some bars called "FAB" bars? How did that name originate?

JM: Yes, we had handlebars named FAB.  These bars were named after three of our riders:  Farmer, Arellano, and Butler.

ROOST: Can one "decode" the serial number on a JMC frame?

JM: Yes, you can decode most of the serial numbers. If it has a K in the number it is a Shadow frame.  If it has XL in the number it is a 3.1 XL.  If it has a M it is a Mini.  DY is a Darrell Young. AP is a Andy Patterson.  All standard Short or Long frame serial numbers were preceded by JMC. Beginning in 1982, the first two numbers are the year.

ROOST: What do you feel set apart JMC frames from the competition?

JM: Better design, lighter weight, better geometry, better quality, and better workmanship.

ROOST: What type of tubing was used in JMC frames?

JM: We used straight-gauge 4130 aircraft-quality tubing.  We required certification specs with each order. 

ROOST: Were any JMC frames produced in alternate materials (aluminum or other)?

JM: No. Just 4130 cro-moly steel.

ROOST: Why did you like the "airfoil" tubing?

JM: To begin with, we used elliptical tubing on the down tube.  The main reason was because it was different than anything else on the market.  We changed from elliptical to airfoil tubing in July 1979 because there was a shortage on the elliptical. 

ROOST: Were all models that were using the elliptical tubing changed to airfoil at the same time?

JM: Pretty much so.  There might of been a little difference in time, depending on how much stock we had cut up for each frame.

ROOST: How often did JMC frames break in use? What was a typical failure?

JM: We had some breakage, mostly when a bike was abused.  The bikes were made for racing, not freestyle.  The most common failure was at the head tube and down tube juncture.

ROOST: Did you always make the Long and Short frames or was there a point where they ceased production?

JM: We always made the Long and Short.  The sales on the Long frame slowed down after we came out with the Darrell Young Frame.

ROOST: Was there ever an Extra-Long model frame?

JM: No, the AP series was the only Extra-Long frame we made.

ROOST: Was there only one cruiser model?

JM: There was only one size of cruiser made.

ROOST: Did you make custom one-off models for your team members?

JM: We only made one custom special order frame.  That was for Steady Pedaler Bike Shop.  It was an Extra-Extra-Long frame for a three-wheeler.  It was made to attempt to break the land speed record.  I think it was pictured in one of the BMX PLUS Magazines.  I can't remember what issue it was.   Some of the fathers would take the drop outs and machine them out before they were welded up.  Our riders had a lot of input into our frames.  If we made a change it was available to the public.  All our riders rode production frames.

ROOST: Were there different models of forks?

JM: There was the Standard Fork, the Mini Fork, the Micro Mini fork, the DY Fork, the AP Fork, the 16" Pit bike Fork, and the 24" Cruiser Fork.

ROOST: Were there different models of handlebars and seatposts?

JM: Yes, the standard 6" rise JMC handlebar, the standard 8" rise JMC handlebar, the JMC FAB 6" rise handlebar, and the Darrell Young handlebar.  In seatposts, we had the Short, Long, and Lay-back models.

ROOST: Were there any distinguishing features of JMC handlebars and seatposts?

JM: Yes, the first handlebars had airfoil tubing for a cross bar.  Later on we used elliptical tubing for a cross bar.  The seatposts were capped with a JMC logo stamped on the cap.

ROOST: Other than accessories, were there any other JMC products? (things like cranks, stems, hubs, etc.)

JM: JMC did not make any other products.

ROOST: Who made the JMC padsets?

JM: Initially, the pads were made by Johar of California.  Later, they were made by Flite. 

ROOST: Was there a color number for the red paint used on the Darrel Young frame?

JM: It was red powder coat.  We called it candy apple red.  Some of the frames came out with a darker color that looked like maroon.  I don't know of any special number for it.

ROOST: When did JMC cease production?

JM: July 1985.  It was a very hard thing to do.

ROOST: What was the specific problem that caused the end for JMC? (Cash flow, a lawsuit, etc.?)

JM: Cash flow difficulties.

ROOST: What were the underlying factors (reduced sales due to increased competition from larger manufacturers, reduced sales due to the trend from racing to freestyle, etc.)

JM: I prided my business on being American made.  I refused to go the Taiwan route that some of the other companies did.  Therefore, I was unable to compete with them.

ROOST: What happened to JMC's assets when the company was dissolved? (Where did the fixtures go, inventory, etc.?)

JM: The fixtures were sold to Melton Machine Company, which was owned by my brother who is now deceased.  The inventory was sold to a bike shop in California.

ROOST: Who owns the JMC trademarks today?

JM: I own the trademarks.

ROOST: In retrospect, what would you do differently?

JM: In 1981 I had an offer to take on a partner who could have invested money into the company.  If I had it to do over I think I would have.  I also think I would have done a lot more advertising.

ROOST: What was the best part of your experience with JMC? 

JM: Learning to communicate with and enjoy kids.

ROOST: What advice would you give someone who wants to sell their own bike product?

JM: Advertise and make sure they have plenty of money to start with. 

Thanks for sharing your history with us, Jim. BMX collectors the world over appreciate and admire you for your craftsman-like approach to the business of bicycle making, and will ensure that JMC bikes will live on always.

Additional thanks to Jason Leikam, Scott Raynes, Doug Loy and Dave Connonetz for contributing to the project. © Copyright 2000, Paul D. Smith. Retrobmx@hotmail.com All rights reserved. Used by ROOSTbmx.com by permission of the author. No other publication or use is granted without express written permission of the author.