Hi, I'm Matthew Finlayson
I am the founder of Rothair Cycles and The Scottish Frame builders workshop. My journey began as a bicycle mechanic, fine-tuning bikes and conducting maintenance classes, fuelling my love for both teaching and bicycles. In 2017, I elevated my skills at The Bicycle Academy’s frame building course, sparking a passion for crafting custom made frames.
After completing the course, I secured a workshop near the velodrome in the East end of Glasgow. Equipped with the tools needed to dive into frame building and crafting professional-grade bicycles, this led me to Shand Cycles, where I became a full-time frame builder and painter, refining my skills within Scotland’s leading custom bicycle manufacturer.
In 2022, I ventured out on my own again, dedicating my time to building Rothair Cycles and teaching others the art of frame building at The Scottish Frame builders Workshop. My goal is to share my love of custom bicycles with a broader community.
Rothair is the Scottish Gaelic word for bike, and our local roots are present in everything we do. Based in Glasgow – a city with a rich history steeped in both manufacturing and cycling – Rothair is proud to continue this tradition by producing hand-built bespoke bicycles made from the highest grade steel tubing.
We are passionate about combining traditional, heritage craft techniques with knowledge of frame geometry and design to deliver a product which is finely-tuned to the needs of the customer.
A custom-built frame provides enormous opportunity for personalisation in a variety of ways. From the bike’s fit and frame design, to the components and final finish, including colour and paint scheme, there is no other setting where a rider gets the opportunity to work so closely with a framebuilder to decide the specifications of their bike. It makes for an enormously satisfying and empowering process, and explains our high level of customer satisfaction.
