Regular visitors to the shop are soon familiar with Andy Dyson and his four-legged pal (and unofficial shop mascot), Dakota. Andy is a volunteer mechanic at FCCBikeworks, has taught several of our maintenance workshops, and finds time to set up demos and talk shop at many of the events FCCBikeworks partcipates in.
Andy generously gave us more of his time to answer some questions about volunteering, bikes, and life in general. Thanks for all you do, Andy!
How long have you been at FCCBikeworks, and what interested you in volunteering?
I was approached by John Krueger and Bella Christensen some time in early 2014 when they were getting this place together. I remember looking at a couple of other locations before they finally found this place, which is by far the best that I saw. I offered to help with being a bike mechanic and leading workshops then. I had been looking to volunteer at a place like this since I moved to Louisville in late 2010. The consistent guidance of the project by John and Bella is what initially made me commit to some volunteer hours. I had put in hours before FCCB formed at Wayside Wheels ( and will be doing so in the near future), but I also delighted to see something that looked sustainable being set up for the general public.
How did you learn bike maintenance?
I was on vacation in the USA in 1982 after having flunked out of the University of London, something which seemed like a bad idea at the time. I was looking around for something that satisfied my need for challenging yet attainable technical complexity and also seemed to serve individuals and humanity as a whole. I met Jim Sampson, who was managing a bike shop in Baltimore, MD. Jim suggested that I take steps to convert my enthusiasm into a professional level of competence, which I did in the following few years. After I moved to the USA in 1983 I worked for Curtis Anthony of Via Bicycle in Philadelphia, where I learned most of what I know now about bicycle maintenance. Even for someone as long-winded as myself, Via is a hard bike shop to describe. I’ll just say that if you haven’t seen it in person, you’ve never seen a bike shop like it. I’ve seen shops that exceed Curtis’s commitment to certain areas of bicycle rptailing and collecting, but nothing that is the same as the collection of genres of bikes as are worked on and traded in at his shop. I owe what I know to Curtis and Jim, and to many other people I’ve worked with and for over the years. I’m still learning, especially since bike technology is advancing a bit too rapidly for my taste…
Any advice for learning basic bike maintenance?
There’s a lot on YouTube and in books. Personally, I like the slogan “real men read the instructions.” My observation is that women are less likely to have to be persuaded to read instructions, though that’s not always true. The Park Tool book is fantastic, though it doesn’t have a lot of older stuff. I’d also urge people to take one of our classes! In the meantime, here’s a couple of principles I like:
- If there are two similar assemblies on a bike, don’t take both apart at once. For example, work on ONLY ONE BRAKE, so that if you lose your place or get confused you can look at the other brake in the mean time.
- Don’t disassemble things all the way unless absolutely necessary! Most things on a bike (almost all, really) move or can be adjusted without screws or nuts being undone all the way.
- If you do take something apart, reconnect the pieces of the assembly so you don’t lose the parts or forget how they go back together.
- Don’t tighten things up too much! It’s fairly easy to break small bike parts by over tightening them.
What do you like best about volunteering at FCCBikeworks?
Helping people as they navigate the ins and outs of working on their bikes.
How do you bike: commute, errands, recreation?
I use a bike for transportation of all kinds, including with a trailer which can haul pretty large loads. The last time I went on a bike ride just for fun was the [Tartan and] tweed ride. I only do that kind of thing a few times a year, sometimes less.
What are some of the more “unusual” things you’ve hauled on your bike?
Queen sized bed (in the snow), epic donation loads at my former job at a youth bike program, 270 lbs. of cement, etc.
What is one thing people may not know about you?
I’m from a town in England which was used as a location in some of the Harry Potter movies.