About Us
Andy Dix
Andy is a life long cyclist who has never quite made up his mind between mountain or road. Gravel riding and the bikes that open this up have meant he no longer has to make that choice.
Andy has a background in mechanical engineering and has run his own furniture making business for twenty years. His understanding of wood and familiarity with modern digital design and manufacturing has given him the skills to bring high performance wooden bikes to the UK.
He has a design book crammed with ideas for future bikes and accessories, and is a firm believer that cycling, wood and sustainability are a winning combination.
Our Story …
Twmpa Cycles began as a side project for Andy and arose from a conversation he had with local author Rob Penn.
Rob was writing a book about the Ash Tree and approached Andy with a commission to build a piece of furniture from a tree that he had felled for the project.
“I had first come across Rob through reading his book It’s All About The Bike” says Andy. “Knowing that Rob had a passion for both wood and bikes I suggested that I would build him a bike from his tree.”
After much discussion they decided that complete lack of experience in bike building and a looming publishing deadline wasn’t a promising combination. In the end, they settled on building a writing desk, at which the book was written. However, the seed of the idea had been planted, and over the next two years Andy used any spare moments to research, design and eventually build his first wooden frame.
“Everything began to change from the moment I first climbed on and rode that bike” says Andy. “I was instantly struck by the quality of the ride; it was like no other bike that I had ridden. The frame was stiff and responsive, but incredibly comfortable to ride. I found myself seeking out the very worst of my local roads with broken tarmac, potholes and gravel, and found I was gliding over them with a huge smile on my face.”
“I realised that this bike would blur the boundaries between road, gravel and off-road, opening up riding opportunities that had not previously existed.”
