Welcome to Vincent Speed Works

Find Your Speed: The Journey to Vincent Speed Works

Hello, and thank you for joining me here. I'm genuinely grateful for your interest as I share the origin story behind Vincent Speed Works.

Where does this dream begin? How did I realize my calling was to share my passion for bikes through suspension servicing, bike setup, skills coaching, community events, and rides? It all traces back to my childhood.

Childhood Roots: The Garage Where It All Began

Growing up as one of five kids, my dad’s garage was a sanctuary of two-wheeled wonders: motorbikes, road bikes, and mountain bikes—a veritable museum of his passion. He shared his love with us siblings in the best way he knew how: through the joy of riding. With countless bikes hanging from the rafters and lining the walls, how could we not be inspired?

Those garage days are etched in my memory. I was endlessly curious, exploring every component and part. But more than just a place for tinkering, it was a community hub. Kids from the whole street would gather there, and since many didn't have their bikes, we'd share ours to head out on countless adventures. It was second nature to us, just as my dad had instilled in us the love of bikes, to share experiences and create lasting memories. The garage was also the neighborhood's go-to repair shop. Punctures, broken chains, rusty parts—we tackled it all, eager to enhance someone else's time on their bike.

The bike was our tool for freedom and community, a gift I cherish.

Jon on the pipeline, me on the Greaves scrambler before I could walk, and me winning my first ever race.

Racing and Inspiration: From Pee Breaks to Pro Pits

My competitive spirit was ignited early. My first MTB race at six years old was a memorable disaster. Two minutes in, I needed a bathroom break, unaware of pre-race etiquette. I finished dead last, but the experience fueled my determination. The next race, at Newnham Park in Plymouth, UK, which later became a UCI Grundig World Cup XC circuit, saw me victorious. The local paper even featured my win.

I was still too young to race that, but my older brother Jon was just old enough to race in the sports category on his sweet GT Zaskar-looking frame with the full-tan Michelin tires. Seeing him race down the infamous pipeline was incredibly inspiring. Then, watching all the top pros of the time, like Tinker Juarez, Ned Overend, and John Tomac, race down the same course was mind-blowing. I can still feel the tingles race through my body as I recite this memory. Wandering the pro race pits, awestruck by the massive team trucks, I felt a part of something bigger. When the Scott USA team staff noticed my 24” Scott USA XC bike, they gifted me a hat, jersey, and stickers and stoked me out. At nine years old, it felt like I was sponsored! I wore that gear with pride for years.

These early experiences of high-level racing and the brands that support it embedded a deep love for bikes in me, shaping my career and life in ways I couldn't have imagined.

Industry Experience: Building a Career on Two Wheels

My bike life progressed, moving in and out of different interests within the category. Cyclo-Cross, BMX racing, DH racing, back to CX, then XC, and now firmly in the “enduro racer” category. Enduro, to me, is the blend of everything I’ve done before and converged into one style that incorporates my developed skill sets and all the styles I have experienced. While I know I always have skills to work on, it's an endless challenge of constantly improving or finding ways to refine what I do. Fine-tuning the connection with the suspension's feel and function has given me the most confidence to push when needed. 

I found my way into the bike industry after studying mechanical engineering, starting as a mechanic at a bike shop in Plymouth, UK, before quickly moving to help build that shop's online empire. Koo Bikes was the online shop, and we quickly became an eBay giant, selling an entire array of distributor products across the globe. We were a key player in the market. My journey continued as I moved to London for the next challenge and built the website and branding for NipNip, which was a service-focused shop that now has multiple storefronts in London. 

My time racing bikes and sharing experiences with Specialized and Canyon teams.

My next stop was Specialized Bicycles, which was a dream come true for me. I looked after all of the Specialized digital content in the UK, including social channels, websites, emails, graphical and editorial content. What shone from my time with Specialized was learning that my passion and experience were a huge factor in the enjoyment of the job. I was able to share my love of riding with hundreds of thousands of people to inspire and ride more. This developed further when I was on the experience team traveling around the UK for test ride events with people on the ground. 

The next leg of my journey was a huge jump, as I leaped from the UK to California, chasing love with the most wonderful person and widening my life experience. 

We made it to Long Beach, CA, where I found work at Zwift. An industry first of bike-meets-tech with a virtual cycling platform allowing people from all across the globe to ride with each other in a virtual world environment. I believed heavily in this platform as it was a living example of strengthening the world by bike from the safety of home to allow people to train and build confidence to ride outdoors and get after some goals. Something I could get behind. I started as a brand manager but progressed to a cycling growth manager (basically a Sports Marketing role). A role that would allow me free reign to bring as many cyclists to the platform as possible. The next thing I knew was that I was leading the first virtual national championships program, developing how to make a truly enjoyable mass participation event with Tour of Watopia, New York, etc., and creating missions and challenges. I then lead and introduced the off-road segment of Zwift while building out training plans for the off-road audiences, including gravel, XC, and enduro athletes, and bringing new brands and bikes to the platform and partnering with some of the most significant mtb related partners activating across social, youtube live streams, podcasts, and VIP ride events. 

The list goes on and on here. Zwift was indeed a place where my love for bikes and being able to share was at its peak, but only by a measure of reach and subscriber growth. (We got it to over 2.5 million users, by the way.) What I always missed at Zwift was the tangible element of the physical bike world and the real people you meet outside. 

After working at another virtual training company, MyWhoosh, I interviewed for Canyon Bicycles—a company with a project goal that completely aligned with my values around bikes. My role was to coordinate with the Northern California community, creating test events and experiences and a continuation of sharing the love of bikes with people in real life. Here I got to repeat my childhood experience, and I was now the person handing out hats, t-shirts, etc, sharing the love and passing on the torch for future generations. This was a job I was very grateful for and wanted to keep going for a while. Unfortunately for me and the rest of the team, we joined at a time when the entire bike industry was suffering from the aftermath of the pandemic boom, and there I was thinking we should be safer with a direct-to-consumer brand. But no, Canyon also needed to tighten its belt, save money, and cut costs on projects like ours. And just like that, it was all over. It was a huge shame, but all good things come to an end, and change is inevitable.

Suspension servicing and rebuilds in full flow at the Vincent Speed Works.

The Vision: Vincent Speed Works and the Future

Ok, now let's go back to what this blog post is about. 

Why a suspension shop? 

To me, creating a suspension shop, opening up the doors to the public, and being able to help share my love and passion for riding is a deeply routed core function of my being. It is a rehash of my childhood, but now, with many years of experience racing and working in the bike industry through brand marketing and experience, and my self and peer-taught development of skills for suspension service. Establishing the connection between bike and rider through the feeling of suspension is what I thoroughly enjoy because I believe suspension can make the biggest impact on the rider's experience. When your bike is confidently gripping and tracking the ground, supporting the rider and letting the bike to disappear beneath you is when flow state happens, allowing you to zone out of the world and focus on the line ahead. Something I want everyone to experience.

Vincent Speed Works is my professional solution to a core value. I want to share my endless love and passion for bikes with others. 

The shop will focus on service and sales of MTB suspension components with experiential events such as watch parties, gatherings, and rides. In the long term, I have dreams of expanding our service offerings to include off-road truck shocks and the like. But one step at a time.  

Stop by the Speed Works, and let’s chat. I’d love to hear your stories of origin in the bike world, your goals and challenges, and how we can help you achieve more than you thought possible on a bike. 

Just like in my childhood, this workshop is open to anyone, regardless of gender, color, race, rider style, age, or goals. I can help with suspension, coaching, or leading ride experiences. 

Find Your Speed,

Matt - Matt@vincentspeedworks.com

P.S. Why “Vincent” when my name is Matt? Pretty simple, really. It’s my middle name, which was based on the Vincent Motorcycle my dad wanted at the time but had me instead. 😄

Vincent Speed Works was founded in loving memory and to honor the life of my father.

March 18th marks the one-year anniversary of Donald William Noble's passing.