My Matfield now with Athena 11s - anyone know more about the builder?
07-29-14, 05:34 AM
#1
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My Matfield now with Athena 11s - anyone know more about the builder?
Picked up this beauty a few weeks ago and finally got to convert it from a mix of components to all Athena 11s (except hubs which are Chorus).
Nitto Pearl and Noodle.
Fits like a glove, build quality of the frame is a dream and the ride is fantastic!
BTW, if anybody has any information on this builder, please give me a holler.
Matfield supposedly built a few bikes in the late 90s and early 00s for the local bike community in Lawrence, KS.
Unfortunately I couldn't find anything via Google but given how much I like the bike, I really would love to find out more about the guy.
Thanks,
GS
Nitto Pearl and Noodle.
Fits like a glove, build quality of the frame is a dream and the ride is fantastic!
BTW, if anybody has any information on this builder, please give me a holler.
Matfield supposedly built a few bikes in the late 90s and early 00s for the local bike community in Lawrence, KS.
Unfortunately I couldn't find anything via Google but given how much I like the bike, I really would love to find out more about the guy.
Thanks,
GS
07-29-14, 05:49 AM
#2
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You could go all old-school detective and find out what bike shops are in Lawrence KS and give them a call to see if anyone knows/remembers/is Matfield.
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07-29-14, 11:13 AM
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Check with sunflower bike shop on massachusettes street in lawrence. they have been there a long time and they may have some insight.
07-29-14, 11:30 AM
#4
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BTW, if anybody has any information on this builder, please give me a holler.
Matfield supposedly built a few bikes in the late 90s and early 00s for the local bike community in Lawrence, KS.
Unfortunately I couldn't find anything via Google but given how much I like the bike, I really would love to find out more about the guy.
Thanks,
GS
Let us know what you find out. I only heard about Matfield a couple weeks ago despite living in the area and like you I discovered there's zero information about it. Makes me wonder what else is going on nearby that I have no idea about; probably plenty.
07-29-14, 11:32 AM
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Also, that's a sweet crimson & blue paint scheme. Rock chalk!
07-29-14, 02:46 PM
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You done well. 
I don't know anything about the builder, but it looks like a great machine in fantastic shape. The blue & red alternating nipples were a nice touch on the original wheelset, though you'd have to be a lightweight to get away with GEL 280s for everyday use, especially on the rear. Enjoy!
Nice dropouts, too:
I don't know anything about the builder, but it looks like a great machine in fantastic shape. The blue & red alternating nipples were a nice touch on the original wheelset, though you'd have to be a lightweight to get away with GEL 280s for everyday use, especially on the rear. Enjoy!Nice dropouts, too:
07-29-14, 03:07 PM
#7
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Nothing worthwhile to add, but I just wanted to say I really liked your build.
Looks like something I would cook up.
Looks like something I would cook up.
07-29-14, 03:37 PM
#8
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Great looking bike, do we get to see more?
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07-29-14, 07:26 PM
#9
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Thanks guys, called Sunflower; nobody there knew anything about Matfield but they gave me the name of a guy in the area that seems to know everything that has been going on in the local bike scene over the last 30 years. We'll see, I'll keep you posted...
07-29-14, 07:27 PM
#10
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07-29-14, 08:36 PM
#11
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Maybe contact Steve Tilford through his blog? Local racer with a fairly well known blog, very google-able.
07-31-14, 05:53 AM
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I put one of my friends from Kansas City onto the trail that has some contacts with local frame builders. He has facebook and twitter messages out to some of the local framebuilders and shops. His blog is commuterDude
08-04-14, 12:13 PM
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I put one of my friends from Kansas City onto the trail that has some contacts with local frame builders. He has facebook and twitter messages out to some of the local framebuilders and shops. His blog is commuterDude
You might run this post over to the Velocipede Salon, if you're a member -- especially with a photo, it might get the right folks talking
Superb looking machine!
Best, kG
10-13-14, 01:32 PM
#14
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gsinil I found out something about this bike this weekend. I actually met the guy who built it.
Big annual local bike club ride on Sunday; I saw a guy with Matfield on his downtube, so I immediately asked him about it. He raced in Kansas in the 90s and built a few frames, worked at one of the local bike shops for a while. I get the impression he only built a handful of frames so this is probably one of a very, very few. I think calling him a framebuilder would be overstating it, I think he's a guy who just happened to build a few frames here and there.
He quit racing & building to raise a family and move on with his career. I'd rather not post his name because I didn't ask permission and he might not want it on the internet. He thought it was pretty funny when I told him one of his bikes had popped up on CL in Milwaukee.
He knew which bike I was talking about when I described the "red and blue Kansas University colored one"; and he knew the guy who had bought it (another bike shop employee) but had no idea how it ended up in Milwaukee.
The Matfield name comes from Matfield Green, a tiny town in the Flint Hills (of Dirty Kanza fame). Apparently back in the 80s and 90s there was a series of epic races around Matfield Green that were kind of the highlight of the Kansas racing scene at the time. This is all news to me, and very interesting, because I was about 10 years old when all this was happening and had zero awareness of bike racing at the time.
The owner of CycleWorks, which is the other bike shop in town, might be able to tell you more but sometimes he doesn't like to talk very much so good luck.
Big annual local bike club ride on Sunday; I saw a guy with Matfield on his downtube, so I immediately asked him about it. He raced in Kansas in the 90s and built a few frames, worked at one of the local bike shops for a while. I get the impression he only built a handful of frames so this is probably one of a very, very few. I think calling him a framebuilder would be overstating it, I think he's a guy who just happened to build a few frames here and there.
He quit racing & building to raise a family and move on with his career. I'd rather not post his name because I didn't ask permission and he might not want it on the internet. He thought it was pretty funny when I told him one of his bikes had popped up on CL in Milwaukee.
He knew which bike I was talking about when I described the "red and blue Kansas University colored one"; and he knew the guy who had bought it (another bike shop employee) but had no idea how it ended up in Milwaukee.
The Matfield name comes from Matfield Green, a tiny town in the Flint Hills (of Dirty Kanza fame). Apparently back in the 80s and 90s there was a series of epic races around Matfield Green that were kind of the highlight of the Kansas racing scene at the time. This is all news to me, and very interesting, because I was about 10 years old when all this was happening and had zero awareness of bike racing at the time.
The owner of CycleWorks, which is the other bike shop in town, might be able to tell you more but sometimes he doesn't like to talk very much so good luck.
10-21-14, 08:06 PM
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WOW!
Thank you so much for the information.
I actually gave up after none of my leads turned out to provided any helpful information.
Pretty much what I thought, if the guy had been a real builder, a Google search probably would have returned something about him.
All this actually makes sense: the guy I bought it from in Milwaukee worked for a few years part-time at CycleWorks where he apparently bought it from some other employee or even the owner himself after it was hanging brand-new and unused on the wall for several years...
I never called CW since it sounded like how the frame got there was already a mystery.
Anyway, all that matteres at this point is that I still really like the bike; knowing a little bit more about its history is icing on the cake
Kind of weird though, the guy definitely knew what he was doing and must have had a lot of passion at the time.
I would have assumed some interest in the whereabouts of his work given that he got it delivered on a platter.
Oh well, like you said, he probably simply closed this chapter of his life and moved on...
Again, thank you very much for your help and keeping my Matfield in mind!
Cheers,
GS
Thank you so much for the information.
I actually gave up after none of my leads turned out to provided any helpful information.
Pretty much what I thought, if the guy had been a real builder, a Google search probably would have returned something about him.
All this actually makes sense: the guy I bought it from in Milwaukee worked for a few years part-time at CycleWorks where he apparently bought it from some other employee or even the owner himself after it was hanging brand-new and unused on the wall for several years...
I never called CW since it sounded like how the frame got there was already a mystery.
Anyway, all that matteres at this point is that I still really like the bike; knowing a little bit more about its history is icing on the cake
Kind of weird though, the guy definitely knew what he was doing and must have had a lot of passion at the time.
I would have assumed some interest in the whereabouts of his work given that he got it delivered on a platter.
Oh well, like you said, he probably simply closed this chapter of his life and moved on...
Again, thank you very much for your help and keeping my Matfield in mind!
Cheers,
GS
gsinil I found out something about this bike this weekend. I actually met the guy who built it.
Big annual local bike club ride on Sunday; I saw a guy with Matfield on his downtube, so I immediately asked him about it. He raced in Kansas in the 90s and built a few frames, worked at one of the local bike shops for a while. I get the impression he only built a handful of frames so this is probably one of a very, very few. I think calling him a framebuilder would be overstating it, I think he's a guy who just happened to build a few frames here and there.
He quit racing & building to raise a family and move on with his career. I'd rather not post his name because I didn't ask permission and he might not want it on the internet. He thought it was pretty funny when I told him one of his bikes had popped up on CL in Milwaukee.
He knew which bike I was talking about when I described the "red and blue Kansas University colored one"; and he knew the guy who had bought it (another bike shop employee) but had no idea how it ended up in Milwaukee.
The Matfield name comes from Matfield Green, a tiny town in the Flint Hills (of Dirty Kanza fame). Apparently back in the 80s and 90s there was a series of epic races around Matfield Green that were kind of the highlight of the Kansas racing scene at the time. This is all news to me, and very interesting, because I was about 10 years old when all this was happening and had zero awareness of bike racing at the time.
The owner of CycleWorks, which is the other bike shop in town, might be able to tell you more but sometimes he doesn't like to talk very much so good luck.
Big annual local bike club ride on Sunday; I saw a guy with Matfield on his downtube, so I immediately asked him about it. He raced in Kansas in the 90s and built a few frames, worked at one of the local bike shops for a while. I get the impression he only built a handful of frames so this is probably one of a very, very few. I think calling him a framebuilder would be overstating it, I think he's a guy who just happened to build a few frames here and there.
He quit racing & building to raise a family and move on with his career. I'd rather not post his name because I didn't ask permission and he might not want it on the internet. He thought it was pretty funny when I told him one of his bikes had popped up on CL in Milwaukee.
He knew which bike I was talking about when I described the "red and blue Kansas University colored one"; and he knew the guy who had bought it (another bike shop employee) but had no idea how it ended up in Milwaukee.
The Matfield name comes from Matfield Green, a tiny town in the Flint Hills (of Dirty Kanza fame). Apparently back in the 80s and 90s there was a series of epic races around Matfield Green that were kind of the highlight of the Kansas racing scene at the time. This is all news to me, and very interesting, because I was about 10 years old when all this was happening and had zero awareness of bike racing at the time.
The owner of CycleWorks, which is the other bike shop in town, might be able to tell you more but sometimes he doesn't like to talk very much so good luck.
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