Bicycle museum adds to Town Square
Mary Margaret Moorhead - Staff Writer

A unique addition to the Versailles Town Square, Steve's Bike Shop provides vintage bicycles as well as up-to-date ones for the historian and/or the customer.

Steve Buffington purchased the building formerly owned by Anthony Moody on the northeast corner of the Square. He has renovated the former engraving business into a bike shop and museum, where hard to find parts and bikes are available.

Buffington is eager for those interested to visit the bicycle museum where over 60 bikes are on display. "This is like an evolution of bikes...all made in America," Steve says.

Presently one room is devoted to the museum, but Steve has plans to open two more sections of the building to house the restored bikes. Included are bikes made by Sears and Penney's as well as older ones by Schwinn, Huffy, and Western Auto.

Some have the first butterfly handlebars with parking brakes and five-speed shifters. One made in 1963 has the first banana seat and high-rise handlebars. "Every bike is a part of America and represents a different era."

In addition, Steve sells about eight new bikes - all professional makes. He has Schwinn Select, Mongoose Pro, GT, DK, and Hoffman.

A native of Cincinnati, Buffington grew up in the tri-county area before there was a shopping mall and all the buildings and businesses. "It was a
small area when I grew up, then it really changed."

Steve's mother moved with him from Cincinnati, and the two of them
occupy the residential area of the building upstairs over the shop.

Steve is presently single, but has three children who live in Cincinnati and are with him on alternate weekends.

"My mother loves it here. She is a retired schoolteacher in her 80's. She loves the fresh air and the rural atmosphere."

According to Buffington, he has lots of friends who have helped him get his business started. One designed his logo and helped with his business cards; another made signs for him; others from all other the United States have helped him with his research on bicycle history. Some have helped him accumulate his inventory.

"I was able to get quite a bit of inventory from a friend who retired from ownership of a bike shop on Route 4 near Fairfield. I am indebted to lots of friends for helping me get started here."

One reason Steve has needed his friends' help is that he is just recovering from a third surgery on his arm. While he still has limited use of his arm, he has been able with the help of others to get his shop set up and to restore most of the bikes in the museum.

He explains that the reason he decided to start a bike shop was that every time he wanted a part for his collection of bikes, he wouldn't be able to find a shop that carried it.

In 1996 he opened a booth in a flea market with items he had accumulated from restoring bikes. It was so successful that he decided he could set up his own business.

Steve notes that people from Cin
cinnati as well as from many areas come to visit his shop in Versailles because he sells different things. "I sell New OS, which means Old Stock. I keep parts for older bikes. Actually, I have 120 different categories of old parts as well as 120 different categories of new parts."

Explaining that all his stock is well organized, Steve says, "It used to take me longer to find it than to fix it. Now I have everything in its proper place."

Among his own collection, Steve has a Road-Runner car and a bike to match. He also has a Barracuda bike and a Charter bike that are like cars. This, according to Steve, is what collectors do now. They have bikes to match their cars. Naming bikes after hot rod cars apparently was the thing to do in the 1960's.

He explains that Chopper bikes and low riders are getting really popular now because of television. "Lots of people like to customize their bikes. I have customers from all over because I carry different parts that are needed."

Steve's Bike Shop and Museum is open from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. most days of the week. "As long as I'm here, I'm open. If it says 'Closed,' all you need to do is ring the doorbell. If I'm home, I'll answer it. You can also call for an appointment if it's after hours," he says. The phone number is 812-689-6833.