Sheffield should be very proud of their sons, Field Cycles. Their latest disc-braked road bike brings the spirit of the city’s steel-making heritage to the arena of the modern custom bicycle – with a striking blue and yellow color scheme.
Shimano’s Ultegra Di2 groupset, including their hydraulic disc brake system, are carried along by a superb fillet brazed frame, and it’s the best a modern steel road bike can get — one that can be ridden every day of the year.
Field’s in-house designer, Tom Smith, is as much to thank for their visual identity as their fine engineering, laying down an individual design on each frame before handing over painting responsibilities to Cromaworks, ensuring no two Field Cycles are the same.
Field Cycles is a group effort by a dedicated collection of craftsmen, and Harry Harrison is the head builder. He assembled the frame from a mix of Reynolds and Columbus tubes — with some subtle modifications.
For instance, the top tube is shaped from a rounded profile at the seat tube to an oval at the head tube, perfectly mitered to meet the oversized 44mm head tube. You don’t need x-ray specs to visualize the seamless fillets underneath that glossy paint.
Another highlight is Field’s proprietary rear dropouts, the result of countless hours of prototyping and testing. They’re a modern design without being ostentatious and perform faultlessly, the drive side matching the disc brake caliper’s flat mount.
The rear seat stays are shaped in-house using custom dies and, combined with oversized short-taper Columbus Life chainstays — not to mention Brooks’ C13 Cambium saddle, make for a responsive ride that can be enjoyed rather than endured.
Long-time partners with Field, ENVE provided the wheels, forks, stem and bars, so nothing looks out of place and, painted to match, results in a bike that was visualized as a complete unit before a single tube was cut. Who’s for a nice cup of tea?
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Special thanks to Tom Smith for the photos.