Dropbar Bike Repair to donate 10% of all profit to cancer charities

Andi and Shaun Forsythe opened Dropbar Bike Repair after they discovered a cancer diagnosis within the family. They wish to have a bike shop that is more than just a bike repair shop but a community.

They know how beneficial cycling is for mental and physical health, and during lockdown, many individuals really got into it and found it easier. Andi and Shaun are aware of how important it is to support environmental causes and efforts to protect the environment.

The goal is to have a space that offers lessons in bike repair like how to fix a puncture or change a wheel alongside general servicing, ultimately with time and support having a cafe as well. They emphasise the importance of having evening bike maintenance courses as they understand that it can be a lot more for people; more than just transportation or a health benefit a bike can mean a lot for people as means of independence and freedom. 

Shaun said: “I plan to sort of want to train people how to look after their own little bikes and stuff, if that would be going to like schools or charity events. Um, trying to link up all the small businesses all together, all supporting each other.

“unkempt cycle bikes can be a bit of a throwaway item sometimes, and trying to limit that down a little bit as well.”

Photo Credit : Andi and Shaun Forsythe

Andi and Shaun have been talking about opening a bike repair shop for nearly ten years; and with both their parents being recently diagnosed with cancer it made them realise how important it was to fulfil this dream. They realise they are taking a bit of a risk but they are grateful they have been given support by their parents and the people around them. 

Andi's father - who has recently passed - had nasal cancer and Shaun’s mother fighting with lung cancer.

Andi and Shaun said: “We were brought to this because both of our parents were diagnosed with cancer this year. Um, so for us being able to create a business model that allows for donating and sort of supporting good causes is really important as well.

“She's [Shaun’s mother] going through treatment at the moment…we have watched both of them be at different stages of their journey in this. so we've kind of had the whole spectrum this year. It's been a difficult and crazy year.”

In addition to managing their parents' health and having a full-time corporate job, they had a toddler and ended up taking a gardening leave together. With this full month and the diagnosis of their parents' cancer, they got this “wake up call of life is passing" and that everything had finally aligned to force them to take action.

Photo Credit : Andi and Shaun Forsythe

They plan to do their part in supporting cancer charities in a way to give back the support they receive from them. They will be donating 10% of their profits each month to a cancer charity starting with Macmillan Cancer Care. Macmillan have provided a lot of support to them and Andi personally, especially around work. They both also participated in charity runs for cancer research in the past. 

In order to thank their kickstarter supporters and help raise money for North London Hospice, Dropbar Bike Repair will have its launch event at the Tasty Bean cafe in Watford in November and will be raffling off a restored vintage Dutch bike as well as other goodies to raise the money.