Help Rockets & Rascals build a bicycle workshop!

Hey! My name is Steve Toze and for the past 8 years I have run Rockets & Rascals on Plymouth's Barbican. It's been a bumpy old ride but in the past few years we've really found our way, clearing our debts and actually opening a new location this summer amidst the craziness. When I got my first proper bike I was 14 years old, there was nowhere to find out about cycling, I got into cycling thanks to a chance meeting with people that became life long cycling friends. This was true for many cyclists and Rockets & Rascals, and businesses like ours, have made it easier to get excited about riding bikes, we've helped create a two wheeled culture, fostered new friendships and got more people on bikes than any time in recent history. Cycling is now easier to get into than ever before, it's more diverse than ever before and in 2021 we expect that to grow even further. 

We have a great team at Rockets, most people in the city will know our business and whilst some people assume we're some kind of hang out for hipsters, or middle aged men in lycra, Rockets & Rascals has really become a place for the local community on our beloved Barbican, and people that love the outdoors. Whilst we started out as a bike shop and cafe in 2018 we really focussed hard on being a great cafe - closing the bike retail area as it was losing money in the face of stiff competition online. The cafe operation has done well for us but every day we get people looking for bike workshop services; they have punctures or their gears don't work or they want some cycling advice and whilst we're happy to help we are not equipped to deliver help in a meaningful way. 

Our Vision! 

For 2021 our plan is to tackle that further we want to build a fantastic workshop space with same day turnaround basic repairs - we can keep Plymouth's cycling community rolling. We believe cycling for leisure, active travel and transport are essential to move Plymouth forward but this cannot happen without infrastructure. Covid 19 has created thousands of new cyclists but local bike stores are feeling the strain, most workshops are experiencing 2-3 week lead times, stretching up to 2 months at peak times. Broken bikes can often turn people back to driving their cars and that's adding to our city's traffic and pollution. There's a need for same day fixes to keep bikes in action and keep people moving. 

The city centre Halfords is due to close and this leaves limited options for bike repair in the city centre as many of the other inner city shops have already gone, cyclists in the city centre often don't have cars, they can't drive their bike to an out of town workshop. Our workshop won't be there for building fancy race bikes, it'll be community focussed, handling quick repairs on all types of bikes, keeping bikes rolling with bikes to borrow for the commute if required. Our bike rental facility will offer a selection of bikes perfect for locals and tourists to enjoy our city. Our workshop will also be available to rent by the hour for people to do their own repairs and we'll host workshop tutorial nights and talks in the space. It's a workshop space focussed on our goal of making Plymouth a cycling city. 

Aren't we just stealing business from other local shops?

Only slightly. Plymouth, and the surrounding area, is blessed with some really great bike workshops but they are stacked out. Our workshop will not be taking on bigger jobs, we have a great relationship with the local bike shops and workshops, our goal is to support these businesses by taking the pressure off, we're a speedy solution to keep people cycling and also to educate people in their own basic repairs. Bigger jobs, or new bikes, will be referred out to the local stores in the exact same way as we've done for the past few years. So what we take from other stores in small, basic repairs we'll comfortably replace with new business for all stores in bike sales and more complex repair jobs. We anticipate cycling will grow even more in 2021, the city isn't currently equipped to cope with it. There are also no bike hire facilities within the city other than our own. 

Here's what Tom at Complete Cycle Works, one of the best workshops in town, had to say, "The past year has seen a huge demand in bicycle maintenance and servicing across the city with wait times reaching up to 6 weeks in the summer. I’ve had to turn away a lot of work that most likely is a quick fix but I just couldn’t fit it in. Having a workshop that is solely focused on the smaller jobs in the city centre would be a great help to everyone and I would happily endorse it. It’s great to see how much cycling has picked up in the city and the more it grows the better for many reasons. I hate having to disappoint people so having another option for them would be great and keeps more people on their bikes in the city".

So why do we need the cash?

So the sticky end...we have to be honest, Covid 19 has cleaned us out. From day one we have channelled all of our government support on paying our rent, our suppliers (all of which are local businesses too), trying to keep staff onboard and at the same time trying to keep Rockets & Rascals true to its roots of being a cycling focussed cafe that helps get people in Plymouth onto their bikes. 2020 was a tough old year but we made massive improvements to the business, despite trading six months out of twelve. We managed it with a strong cafe offer and a jumble of rental bikes that needed plenty of love. We know we can do this better but directing our limited funds into this workshop project is risky, it's something we know would be great for our business long term, and definitely great for the city, but in the short term profits will be slow and it will create cashflow hell amongst a few uncertain months ahead. Right now we're closed so it's a great time to do the work but we're also skint, we're holding onto any cash to keep the business afloat. Our rent increased in 2020 and it's due to increase again in 2021. 

Our goal for the Crowdfunder is simply to raise enough cash to pay for the project without damaging our current operation. The base costs; rent, electricity, internet, water etc are already paid by Rockets & Rascals and are not included in our overall project target. 

The money will be used as follows: 

We need £10,000 to make it happen properly. This will pay for cabinets, tooling, fit out costs and purchase of a small fleet of rental bikes and basic stock items and help with initial wage costs. 

If we hit this and stretch the target then at £20,000 this will be a contribution to wage costs for 2 people to run the workshop for the first few months. Both of these people are not currently employed by us. i.e we are creating two new jobs. We'll also buy more rental bikes, including some electric bikes to open up cycling to a wider audience of people, previously unable to cycle for health or fitness reasons.

Thanks for taking the time, we hope you'll make a pledge and get involved, we're confident it's a great next step for Rockets & Rascals and we're already preparing the space. If you have any questions drop us a message or pop by and take a look.