Matter Cycles popped up last year building chromoly steel bikes out of Boulder, CO. We were so impressed with them, one of us commissioned them to build a fat bike. That build process is chronicled here, and the finished product was on display in their NAHBS 2015 booth.
But first, there was their WolfBeard gravel road bike…
The steel fork runs a thru axle with rack and fender tabs, too. There’s just enough clearance for a proper 700×44 tire without putting an unsightly gaping span at the top of the fork.
Shapely stays help smooth the ride.
A 12×142 thru axle at the rear, stainless steel dropouts and inset disc brake mounts keep everything modern, but the standard threaded bottom bracket keeps it easy. The frame is triple butted and has three water bottle mounts. Custom starts at $1,850, stock sizing is coming soon for $1,450.
The SlayRide is their hardtail trail mountain bike, built around 27.5″ wheels and 150-160mm travel forks.
A 44mm headtube allows for modern tapered forks. Frame is True Temper with custom tube profiles and stainless dropouts and head badge.
Slack angles and tight chainstays make for a combined stable but quick ride. There’s clearance for 2.4 tires thanks to their custom chainstay yoke. Seat tube is sized for 31.6 seatposts with a port for stealth dropper compatibility.
Their BeneFat fat bike is designed to handle like a trail bike, not just a winter snow plow. The geometry borrows from the SlayRide, just tamed down to 100mm fork compatibility.
There’s clearance for 26×5.0″ tires, or 29×3.0″ if you want to get a bit sportier in the drier, warmer months. It gets a custom yoke also, but they’re working on a newer, hollow box section version:
This was just a plastic rapid prototype, but it’s far better looking than the current one. Look for this to start showing up on bikes mid-year. More details on this particular BeneFat are in our “How to Build a NAHBS Bike” series, and a full ride review is coming soon.
