ON THE DROPS INTERVIEW WITH JACK TWEDDLE
Jack has been with us for a while, and since joining has been primarily looking after our customer service side of things, as well as making sure your wheels get out to you on time! We finally managed to catch Jack of his 'On the Drops' grill session, to find out more about what grinds the gears of the Derbyshire native.
From punk rock to slamming the stem, everything Jack does oozes style. Even his Frankenstein of a 'cross bike has something nice about it.
A veteran of several years working for one of the UK’s leading cycle specialists Leisure Lakes, Jack most recently worked as an award-winning customer service expert at American Express, who have a huge focus on world-class customer care. Jack also has an impressive education, including a 1st class honours degree and a Masters in Social and Political Thought - so you can imagine the levels of care Jack goes to make sure he does the best for any of those questions you may have!
Take it away Jack!
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Name: Jack Tweddle
Age: 30
Born and Bred: Belper, Derbyshire.
Ice breaker – describe yourself in three words.
Answerer of emails.
First Bike and Favourite bike?
First bike was a DDG Shooter jump bike from SuperCycles in Nottingham, it was pretty shoddy but I loved it. My first road bike was a Cannondale R800. It was a proper one that was hand-made in America. It was initially purchased as a means of getting to and from work but that bike turned me into a roadie!
Favourite bike is a tough one, I love my current Madone and have just thrown loads of money at it so it is riding pretty well right now. It has a power meter so I can talk about power meters and how great power meters are and how everybody needs a power meter. Just like every other person that owns a power meter.
Favourite ever bike was probably my Cannondale Six13. Aluminium and carbon tubing. Full Dura Ace. FSA K-Force carbon fibre finishing kit, with wheels from a large French manufacturer (rhymes with tragic…). It was light as a feather and looked amazing.
Finish this sentence: Climbing on my bike is… Awesome! You don’t grow up riding bikes in the Peak District and not enjoy a climb.
Previous to coming to Hunt, you were working at American Express in Customer Service, how does this compare to helping out cyclists?
AMEX was a means to an end. I didn’t particularly enjoy it but was good at my job. I would much rather be helping out fellow cyclists all day.
You also a part of the team at Leisure Lakes, have a 1st Class Honours degree and a Masters in Social and Political thought… is it safe to say that you are an ‘all or nothing’ kind of guy?
I was working through the holidays at Leisure Lakes and studying in term time. It was great, I loved uni and loved working at the shop so was always grateful that they would have me back! I wouldn’t say I am all or nothing, I would describe myself as a rider of bikes and a reader of books. I was looking to do a PHD after doing my MA but changed my mind on that one for now, but will certainly do another degree again at some point in the future.
Hunt has a mostly online purchasing experience, do you see the lack of a bricks and motor approach harder to help out riders with questions?
It is certainly different to working in a store, the main thing is that people don’t get to see the wheels like they would if we were in a store. That said we get a lot of people who have friends on our wheels, have seen them at races or cafes and so get to have a look at them in the wild. The spec and quality of the wheels speak for themselves though, and people generally recognise a good thing when they see it!
You currently hold the award for highest cadence humanly possible. Are the rumours true that Lance Armstrong himself taught you ‘spin to win’!?
I learnt a lot from Lance, how to cheat and win and how to emotionally abuse people who stand in my way. Also that cadence is king. Actually, I have high cadence as a result of commuting 1000’s of miles on a single speed trek road bike, so maybe it was Lance who taught me in a roundabout sort of way.
What grinds your gears (when you use them)?
I will keep this to cycling related thigs or we could be here for a while.
- Poor cycling infrastructure in our towns and cities.
- People walking in the cycle paths.
- Cyclist who run red lights.
- Cyclists who don’t wave.
I will leave it there for now
Thoughts on Cyclocross?
Love it. Currently racing as many rounds as I can get to in the London Cross League.
Dream place to ride?
Stelvio on a road bike. And Norway too as the roads there look amazing. Whistler on a mountain bike, because Canada.
Most memorable ride for all of the wrong reasons?
There are a few. Last one would be when Ollie (ed. Hunt Brand Manager) broke his collar bone and I got to call an ambulance. That was pretty fun, not for Ollie though.