Merlyn Townley -- A Master Mechanic Speaks

Merlyn Tonwley, Master Mechanic

There are bike mechanics, and then there are bike mechanics, and it’s safe to say that Merlyn Townley stands several levels above anyone who may be working at your local shop.

Merlyn Townley is a rare elite mechanic, and is one of about a dozen Category One licensed USA Cycling Race Mechanics in the United States.

Unlike the UCI mechanic’s license (wherein any one can buy a license and call themselves’ a “mechanic”) the USA Cycling Race Mechanics’ accreditation program is a tough, multi-year program that truly separates the wheat from the chaff.

Merlyn runs a high-end shop in Chattanooga Tennessee called Merlyn Mechanics that specializes in hand built, custom wheel builds (going as far as even powder coating hubs, spokes, and rims for customers) and has an exclusive distribution arrangement for the French made Victoire Cycles hubs, cogs, lock rings and stems.

Although it’s not a service listed on the current Merlyn Mechanics website Merlyn said, “We don’t sell bikes, but we will create custom creatures, as it were… We take the old and make it new, or make the new better”.

A long time American Red Cross Disaster Services volunteer, Merlyn has also worked as a disaster relief worker and had worked in such areas as Hurricane Wilma, the Rhode Island night club fire, the World Trade Center, and most recently Hurricane Sandy.

Bicycle Industrial Complex sat down with Merlyn for a phone interview and while Merlyn was in the midst of a family emergency he answered all of our questions graciously and professionally.

Questions for Merlyn Townley:

B.I.C.: What sort of common mistakes do you see bike shop mechanics make?

Merlyn: Front derailleurs; the ever elusive…. They’re either too low or too high, not angled correctly. Maintenance; replace your cables four or five times a year, it doesn’t cost that much and your bike will work better and it will last longer. Not cleaning bikes. Lack of thoroughness… Mechanics having multiple standards on how they repair bikes; you need to be consistent. You need one standard. It’s just good customer service.

B.I.C.: What sort of common mistakes do you see customers make?

Merlyn: Not getting maintenance done enough. Waiting too long between service. Its sort of better if people don’t know, it’s the shop's job to educate the customer.

Not wearing a helmet. I’ve seen a pros crash in a parking lot and break a collarbone. My wife refuses to wear a helmet because she said that it would mess up her hair, and I said that a parking lot barrier will mess up her hair more if she hits it than a helmet will.

B.I.C.: I’ve been reading the latest U.S. Specialty Bicycle Retail Study by the National Bicycle Dealers Association, and one of the things the NBDA points out is that a lot of shops want to invest a lot in mechanic retraining, but few seem actually do so. Why do you think that is?

Merlyn: Shops aren’t charging enough money to start off with because they’re afraid that their customers will move to another shop, but that can be taken into account. Education is really important and I can’t encourage shops enough to educate their mechanics.

B.I.C. (additional info): Merlyn went on to say that a lot of shops were reluctant to make that sort of investment in their employees because they were afraid that after receiving advanced training from any number of the bike mechanic schools, that the newly trained mechanic would simply walk off and work somewhere else. He said that could easily be addressed by having the employee sign an agreement where the mechanic promises to work for the company for at least 6 months.

Too illustrate his point, Merlyn said that at one point he worked in an elite shop in the Georgetown area of Washington D.C. that had several highly skilled mechanics. Their labor rates varied from $150 an hour to $300 an hour depending upon whom you selected as a mechanic, and people were willing to pay those rates.

Merlyn also talked about two of the biggest issues facing bike shops, and they are employee retention and morale. Just by raising their labor rates to a level that makes employee re-training viable, and providing employees with uniforms that help install a sense of confidence and professionalism with their customers, will ultimately helps ensure a higher level of customer service and customer loyalty.

The 2010 edition of the U.S. Specialty Bicycle Retail Study that was prepared for the National Bicycle Dealers Association also talked about the importance of this sort of training, and to a large percent acknowledged that staff training (including sales, point of sales, inventory management, and mechanics training) was important. Unfortunately it didn't mention how many shops actually invest in staff re-training.

Merlyn suggested that anyone who wants to up their skill set are highly encouraged to check out the online classes at WrenchCast http://wrenchcast.com/wrench/WrenchCast.html.

WrenchCast, is run by Sean Thompson. It’s is a real time course for mechanics. It requires a webcam to ensure the best results.

Townley says, “The students need a webcam so that the teacher can see what the they’re doing. Most computers come with some kind of camera these days.” There are three instructors at WrenchCast, Sean Thomson, Merlyn Townley and Bernard Kocis.

B.I.C.: You do a lot of disaster relief work such as working with the Red Cross in areas such as Hurricane Wilma, the Rhode Island Night Club Fire, the World Trade Center, and most recently Hurricane Sandy, how do you keep from being overwhelmed in terms of balancing your work demands and the emotional stress of disaster relief work?

Merlyn: It’s really important work to do, not only to feel human, but also to feel humane. No one wants to live in a shelter. Being in a shelter magnifies people’s stress because working there is a seven day a week, twenty four hours a day. I’m always asking to take new classes, new first aid courses, or a new class on disaster management. Sitting back in an armchair has never been enough for me. Being a race mechanic was good training for disaster relief because it’s making order out of chaos.

For more on Merlyn please check out http://merlynmechanics.com/

 USA Cycling Mechanics License procedures please check out

http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=6692

For more information on Victoire Cycles http://www.victoire-cycles.com/