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Starling Cycles‘ singlespeed 90 mm travel full suspension bike just got a makeover. The Beady Little Eye V3 now comes with all of the V3 features found on the Murmur, Twist and Swoop frames. It’s a real one-of-a-kind and is Joe from Starling’s favorite bike of all time…
John and Josh love their Mumurs and others here at The Radavist have lauded Starling’s steel single pivots. To help get ya rollin’ on bikes, the UK framebuilders just announced complete bikes. To commemorate these slick builds, Triscombe local Toby Downs takes the Mega Twist on a proper flogging. Check out more info below!
The mad lads at Starling Cycles in the UK just announced an all-new short travel Murmur cleverly dubbed the Mini Murmur. This new chassis is a 120mm rear-travel Trail/XC/Down Country/do-whatever bike that’s really fun and fast. Let’s check it out.
Framesets are Starling Cycles’ frame-only collection. They’re the roots of what the UK makers create as a custom, handmade framebuilder and the best-selling side of its business. Sure, they offer custom builds, too, but the framesets keep the lights on at Starling, so to speak.
This caused a moment of pause with how they market these bikes. The frameset relaunch’s intent is to create a clear and concise purpose for each frameset, let’s check out where they landed…
Is mountain bike pedal kickback a load of rubbish…? Good question. It’s a hot topic in mountain biking, and everyone is obsessed with the idea that our feet are getting blown off the pedals. A lot of bike media will tell you that single pivot bikes are THE WORST for pedal kickback. But is it actually true? Or is pedal kickback something people are worrying about for nothing? Joe from Starling Cycles tackles it all in this informative video.
With the bike industry awash with uncertainty over the future of brands right now Starling Cycles is committed to looking after its riders long-term, both original owners, and those that bought second-hand, offering a 7-year extended warranty…
April Fools..?
Rather than pretending to rebrand or make a goofy bike, Joe from Starling Cycles fancied a bit of a rant.
Starling Cycles love supporting talented riders and the brand is proud to introduce its latest athlete signing, Hâf Land.
Hâf (pronounced Harve, by the way) is an 18-year-old enduro racer, from North Wales in the UK. She’s only been racing since 2022 but has already got a whole heap of really decent results in the bag, including a load of #1 spots at the UK’s Welsh Enduro Series.
Hâf will ride a Starling Twist this year racing the British Enduro Series, Welsh Enduro Series and maybe even a few Enduro World Cup events…
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Back in late 2018, I took delivery of a quirky steel full-suspension bike to review from a small framebuilding operation in the UK called Starling Cycles. Over the course of a few months, I rode the shit out of it in Los Angeles, where I was living at the time, and couldn’t get enough of it. As someone who lives metal bikes and loves riding trails, I hadn’t fully migrated to a full suspension chassis because I didn’t like the way the widely-available carbon models rode. The Murmur changed that for me. I reviewed the Murmur in April 2019 and immediately bought a V2 Murmur.
Now living in Santa Fe, with arguably more technical terrain, I haven’t been able to put down the Starling Cycles Murmur; taking it high into the Sangre Mountains and beyond, this steel full-suspension bike really changed my perspective on the potential ride quality of full-suspension mountain bikes. Late last year, Joe from Starling reached out, saying he had a V3 frame for me to test out, and once again, I’ve been reaching for it nonstop.
Let’s look at my thoughts on the small changes the V3 underwent, leading to large improvements, and a broader perspective on steel full-suspension bikes below…
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
Midlife crises come in all shapes and sizes. For some, a bright red Mustang relieves the itch. For others, some Eat Pray Lovin’ on a beach in Bali is just the ticket. But for Joe McEwan, Founder of Starling Cycles, chucking in his job as a successful aerospace engineer to build steel mountain bikes in a garden shed was just what the doctor ordered.
In this shop visit, we dig into the brand’s origin story, go behind the scenes at their Bristol workshop and learn why their signature single-pivots and retro rear shocks prove that simplicity never goes out of fashion.
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
We’ve heard John sing the praises of his Starling Murmur over the past three years, and with good reason! Starling really has pushed the zeitgeist of carbon full suspension mountain bikes with their steel bikes, and to commemorate the launch of Starling Murmur Stainless pre-orders, the brand teamed up with Hope and Bristol Bicycle Restorations to cook up something special. Let’s check the press release from Starling out below!
Starling’s very first hardtail, the Roost, had to be something special, so the UK MTB framebuilders went all out to make a bike built for pure, undiluted fun. Made to go anywhere and do anything, it’s as suited to back-country epics as it is bike park blasts. A handbuilt, zingy steel frame makes light work of rough and rowdy descents whilst mullet wheels bring that perfect balance of flick-knife and magnum. With room for a 120mm to 160mm fork, you’ve got plenty of options to custom build your own perfect setup. It’s not a spindly XC whippet, it’s not a sickly ‘hardcore ‘hardtail. It’s a ride-wherever, ride-whatever, tough-as-nails stainless do-it-all that’s built to take on whatever you can throw it at. And, of course, it’s built-in beautiful stainless steel for that shiny, rust-free raw style.
When you’re done with the video above, check out more photos of the Roost below and check out the pre-order at Starling Cycles. Pre-orders are open now with frames shipping to customers in early April 2022.
Starling Cycles has a new video out, showcasing its team rider, Fleur:
“By day, Fleur is an ambulance driver and student paramedic. If you’ve not seen her racing round Bristol with the blues-and-twos wailing, she might well have patched you up at Dyfi Bike Park. Before training to save lives, she spent over a decade risking her own, racing yachts around the world and getting into more than a few sticky situations on the high seas.
And, of course, she absolute shreds on that pink Swoop of hers. Loose as a goose, not afraid to hit the big jumps and totally in love with scaring the shit out of herself on the high-speed and technical stuff. Perfect for the Starling Cycles crew! We spent the day with Fleur, on the river and on the trails, to get to know her a bit better.”
You know that big bike shortage the world is going through right now? It seems like Starling Cycles didn’t get the memo because they’ve got Starling frames and build kits available to order now. That means all of their Core frames are ready to order – that’s Swoop, Twist, and Murmur in Enduro (long travel) and Trail (short travel) options. Also, all of their Rare frames are ready to order – that’s the Murmur Stainless, Spur, Beady Little Eye, and full custom geo frames.
Starling’s Core bikes are being handbuilt to a 12 week lead time and their Rare bikes to a 16 week lead time. To top off your build, Starling also has a good supply of build kits to create your dream bike – that’s shocks, forks, drivetrains, wheels, cockpits. Pretty much everything you need. So, if you’re hunting for your dream bike, why not consider a beautifully built, brutally fast steel single-pivot?
If you’ve never thrown your leg over a modern steel full suspension, join the cult!
