Mechanic Monday p/b Abbey Bike Tools

#mechanicmonday honors Harris Bucklin

Happy New Year, and welcome to our first installment of the 2018 Mechanic Monday series!

After the overwhelming success of our 2017 Mechanic of the Week series, we decided to kick it up a notch for 2018. Starting today, we will feature one mechanic every Monday for the full calendar year (52 weeks); each featured mechanic will receive a framed certificate and limited edition “PBMA x Abbey Bike Tools” prize, and the mechanic who receives the most votes at the end of the year will win a free trip to the 2019 North American Handmade Bicycle Show as a VIP guest of the PBMA and Abbey Bike Tools. (Click here to learn more about our 2018 contest rules.)
 
Mechanic Monday originated with the idea of mechanics supporting fellow mechanics. At its core, this is the mission of the PBMA, and we are proud to share it with all of you. Each of our featured mechanics is chosen randomly from the pool of nominations we receive. (Click here to learn more about how to nominate your favorite mechanic.) Our new series of features is presented by Abbey Bike Tools and will be published not only on the PBMA website, but also by Cycling Industry News and People for Bikes. We are excited for these partnerships, and we are thankful that the greater Industry community shares our mission of supporting our fellow mechanics.


Without further ado, our first featured mechanic of 2018 is Harris Bucklin of Durango, Colorado!
 
Harris is a mechanic at 2nd Avenue Sports, a full-service bicycle shop in Durango. He was previously a mechanic at the Old Spokes Home in Burlington, Vermont and the Old Spokes Community Workshop (formerly Bike Recycle Vermont). Harris credits the owners of the Old Spokes Home with giving him his start in cycling mechanics and instilling in him a strong sense of values. We connected with Harris recently to learn more about his story and his mission to give back to the sport as much as it’s given him. Here’s some of what he had to say:
 
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PBMA:  How did you first get involved in cycling?
 
HB:  I remember falling in love with cycling in high school. The joy and freedom a bicycle provides is unmatched and so I was drawn to working with bikes and helping others experience the same freedom and joy I had found.
 
PBMA:  What is your favorite moment or story from your time in the cycling industry?
 
HB:  I think here I have to give a shout out to the Old Spokes Home in Burlington, VT. I was lucky enough to be hired by Glenn Eames, a living, breathing Encyclopedia of Bicycle History. When I started there, it was with a crazy talented crew of creative mechanics and it was an incredible group to learn from. Some of my favorite moments from those days were when we would have an 1800's era high wheel in the stand next to a custom touring bike build, next to a three-speed townie, next to a full-suspension mountain bike, all getting the same level of attention. That was a really inspiring environment. That shop is now an unbelievably cool community asset that is owned by a non-profit.
 
PBMA:  What is your favorite tool?
 
HB:  Gotta say my JA Stein Fixed Cup Wrench Clamp. Using it less and less these days but when I need it, it never lets me down.
 
 
That’s all for this week! Thank you for following along with our series and sharing our support for our fellow mechanics. We’ll have a new feature and interview each Monday for the rest of the year, so don’t forget to nominate your favorite mechanic today!