Andy Dix is a lifelong cyclist, an engineer and, for the last twenty years, a furniture maker. Four years ago, he decided to mix his passion with his proficiency and he founded Twmpa Cycles, then the UK’s sole ash bicycle frame builder. Ash, Andy says, is the engineering material of choice for modern, all-road bicycles: it is strong, flexible (meaning great ‘ride quality’), beautiful to look at and, of course, sustainable. When Andy started Twmpa, you could even cut down your own ash tree and deliver the timber to him to make a bespoke bicycle frame. Today, Andy buys all his ash from Whitney Sawmills.
Image by Jim Cossey
Where is home for you?
Home is Hay-on-Wye in Wales, but my workshop is in Preston on Wye, a tiny Herefordshire village tucked into the south bank of the river and largely bypassed by all and sundry, save for the canoeists, of course. I ended up here by pure chance: I was desperately looking to rent a small, affordable workshop and this was the only thing available. I have been here for about 20 years, making furniture first and then bicycles, and I’ve never found a good enough reason to move on. The sawmill at Whitney-on-Wye is roughly in the middle, between home and the workshop. It’s pretty handy.
Image by Jim Cossey
Image by Jim Cossey
Image by Jim Cossey
What was your first job?
Well, there was a schoolboy paper round, but my first serious job, during and then immediately post university for a couple of years was with a civil engineering consultancy in Penarth, South Wales. I was heavily involved in the SNAS project, an acronym of the time for the Sewage Network Asset Strategy, which was a thrilling project to be working on, as you might be able to imagine.
When did you know you wanted to make things with wood?
As a child, I loved making stuff with my hands but I forgot about this for a long time. I studied mechanical engineering at university and then worked for various organisations, the most interesting of which was Techniquest in Cardiff Bay. There, I was actually being creative, designing hands-on interactive science projects.
After that, though, I got sucked into the world of engineering consultancy again, neither designing nor making anything. I was just managing projects and going to meetings. In my mid-thirties, I decided to pack engineering in and start making stuff out of wood. I chose wood as it is the most accessible and easiest material with which to start, and I had an interest in furniture design.
What was your last order or purchase from Whitney Sawmills?
A selection of inch thick, kiln dried planks of ash, hand selected for consistency, strength and lack of defects – enough material to make a single bicycle frame.
Image by Jim Cossey
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on an ash frame for a customer who lives, works and owns a bike shop in Jackson, Ohio. I exhibited at MADE, a bespoke bicycle show in the USA last year and met the customer there. He wanted a frame in ash, but with precisely the same geometry and fit as a production bike he currently owns. Hopefully, the frame will be finished and dispatched to him before the end of the month.
In many ways, the biggest part of building any custom frame is the time spent on 3D CAD work, that is getting the model set up to reflect the precise geometry that the customer has ordered. Once that is in place, and I know the CNC machine will cut the frame I want, I can start preparing the timber, planning planks down to thickness and cutting them to length.
That is where I am at with this project now. I build each frame from 12 x 100cm by 15cm planks, which make up the front triangle; the seat stays are machined from separate pieces and the chainstays are laminated from 9 x 2mm thick ash veneers. I am also working on the design for an urban commuter bike with an ash frame. This will have a belt drive and will be available in single or 2-speed, and will come complete with mudguards and integrated dynamo lighting.
Can you give one piece of advice to a young maker starting out today?
From the very beginning, be brutally honest and realistic about whether you have a customer for the thing that you want to produce.
Image by Jim Cossey
Andy Dix was in conversation with author and journalist Robert Penn.
Authored: 09/02/2024
Last updated: 13/02/2024