Today, we’re elated to announce a project that has been in the works for some time: our own special and limited edition Radavist Mosaic GT-2X complete bikes. There’s a lot going on with these bikes, so let’s jump right in!
“Starling Cycles”
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Beautiful Builds: John’s Starling Murmur 29er
When you think of steel full suspension bikes, you probably think of all the kooky and weird designs that came out in the late 90s that were awkward… to say the least. Yet there is a new wave of modern steel full suspension mountain bikes gaining hold, including the Starling Murmur. In the latest Beautiful Builds video, John showcases his personal Murmur, why he likes it, and what made him want a steel full suspension…
Radar
Radar Roundup: Reserve 30|HD Wheels, Polar Bottles, Starling Goes (Thermo)Plastic, and Underground Railroad Ride Update
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
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Rigid and Spellbound: The Sour Bicycles Pasta Party 29er SSMTB with BERD Wheels
In some form of intergalactic serendipity, this review coincides with the 2021 International Singlespeed Day, so hopefully, this article inspires you to dust off the ol’ Cruiser or SSMTB and get out for a sunset shred with your friends.
I’ve had the Sour Bicycles Pasta Party for longer than I’d like to admit for a review period but with supply chain shortages, I decided to scrap my original plans for the build as a geared hardtail and assembled it with various spare parts and some new fancy BERD wheels which ended up resulting in one very unique rigid singlespeed 29er.
The Pasta Party is a strange bird with a few clever details and a few quirks, so read on below for my review of this unique chassis offering from the German brand Sour Bicycles…
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Dillen From Baphomet Bicycles’ “Left Hand Path” Singlespeed 29er
We took a look at Baphomet Bicycles earlier this year and in that post, we discussed the ideology surrounding the iconography of this unique framebuilding operation, nestled in the mountain town of Taos, New Mexico. If you haven’t read that piece, you really should check it out first.
Yesterday I caught up with Dillen from Baphomet Bicycles, as he came to town to ride the BFL, an event Sincere Cycles throws each year, offering a classic 55 mile loop with over 10,000′ elevation gain and a “B” loop with 38 miles and 6,400′ elevation. Both take you deep into the Sangre de Cristo mountains at the terminus of the mighty Rocky Mountains. Doing either singlespeed is quite the undertaking!
Dillen finished this build right before the event and drove in from Taos for the day. We pedaled together briefly and then his chain exploded about 10 miles into the ride, sending him back down to town. Later in the day, we caught up to shoot his new 29er hardtail, aptly named the “Left Hand Path”, so let’s check it out in detail below!
Radar
The 170mm Travel, Effigear Box-Equipped High-Pivot Starling Spur 29er
Packing 170mm of travel, 29″ wheels and the Effigear system, the Spur is the bike for big-terrain enduro racing, double-black bike park laps and hassle-free seasons in the mountains.
The Spur uses a high-pivot, gearbox design to offer an unprecedented ride on a steel chassis. During the design process, Starling worked closely with Effigear to build this steel frame around their 9-speed system, offering a 440% range, making any climb more efficient. Speaking of efficiency, the Effigear system uses a standard trigger shifter, not an annoying grip ship. Having the gearbox at the bottom bracket keeps the bike balanced, nimble, and provides a lower center of gravity. This translates to unprecedented traction, control, and an overall more balanced feel.
The Spur is available to order now from Starling Cycles and is built by hand in Bristol, UK using Reynolds 853 steel heat-treated tubing. There is a 16 week lead time on all orders and frames are available with or without shock and with a variety of components to help build your dream bike.
Specs:
Front triangle and swingarm hand-built in Bristol, UK, using Reynolds 853 heat-treated tubing
170mm travel
Effigear 9spd drivetrain with 440% range, including cranks, shifter and cogs
29″ wheels
2.6″ tyre clearance
Up to 200mm rotor
Designed for single speed 142x12mm rear hubs
Unique Starling dropouts system means rear wheel can be removed without adjusting tension
Seattube reinforcing strut on XL
Integrated seat-clamp
Stainless & numbered dropper port
Starling headtube gusset
Bottle mount in frame on medium & above
Available in Medium, Large, and X-Large. Pricing is £3330.00 for a frame. See more at Starling Cycles.
Radar
The Myth Cycles Zodiac is a Colorado-Made Steel Full Suspension MTB
We’ve all heard John wax poetic about the ride quality of his Starling Murmur. For people who prefer steel to carbon, there are more and more full-suspension designs coming out. These bikes offer the smooth ride of steel over the chattery ride of overly-engineered carbon frames. Myth Cycles announced they’ve opened the pre-order for their slick Zodiac 150/140 29er frames…
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From Coil Back to Air: John’s Pumpkin Spice Starling Murmur 29er
Since moving to Santa Fe, I’ve ridden my mountain bikes almost exclusively, which is a stark contrast to how much time I would spend on my drop bar bikes in Los Angeles. It’s not that there isn’t gravel in our area, it’s just that mountain biking is so accessible, so remote, and so sheltered from the wind and the sun, it’s a no-brainer.
Another major difference is whereas I’d drive to the trailhead in LA, I find myself riding to the trails here 99.9% of the time, even on my Starling Cycles Murmur, which is a really big bike to pedal across town, up the foothills, and into the mountains.
These miles spent on my full suspension had me spending a lot of time adjusting the coil system this bike was built on. Some days, I’d pedal with only a hip bag, while others, I’d lug a heavy camera bag around. This 10+ pound differential made it somewhat awkward to adjust the coil shocks as I found myself smack dab in the middle of the two coil weight zones. While the ride quality of the coil system is undeniably noticeable, it felt like I needed something less finicky.
So, when Fox reached out, asking if I wanted to try out their new fork and rear shock, I jumped on the opportunity. Little did I know I’d gravitate back towards air after vibing so hard on the coil shocks’ ride quality…
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Boosted Bryn Gets Buck Wild on the Starling Swoop
Starling Cycles rider Reece Richards has a bit of fun in the woods on the Starling Klunker and Swoop.
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John’s Starling Murmur 29er
After reviewing the Starling Murmur Factory early last year, I placed a deposit for one myself, springing for the made in the UK front triangle, made in Taiwan rear swingarm model, in a larger size than the demo large I reviewed. Joe and I discussed the bike, I sent in the money needed and waited. A few months later, Joe alerted me that the bike was done and he shipped it to the United States. Little did I know that I wouldn’t see the bike for almost 8 months later.
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The Radavist’s Top Ten Beautiful Bicycles of 2019
Wow! What a year it’s been. In the past twelve months, we’ve shot roughly 300 bikes. From gravel races, to NAHBS, the Philly Bike Expo and our normal travels, we really captured some unique builds and we’ve got a good handle on the bikes the readers of the Radavist enjoy checking out based on some key metrics.
Every year we try to do our best to sort through twelve months of archives to narrow down to this list. The first filter is the comment count, which we start at 50 comments. Then comes page views, with the minimum number being 20,000 views. Finally, we look at the social media chatter; including Instagram comments and how many times was the post shared across various platforms.
What we end up with is a list that is filled with a plethora of interesting, versatile, and quirky bikes. The only editorial decision I myself made was to omit reviews of stock bikes. So no Santa Cruz Stigmata or Cannondale Topstone this round!
Check out the full Top Ten Beautiful Bicycles of 2019 below, in no particular order…
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Steel is Real: The Starling Murmur 29 Factory Roosts in the Mountains of Los Angeles
In 1890, the European starling was released into New York’s Central Park by the American Acclimatization Society. They were an organization that believed European flora and fauna should be present in North America for cultural reasons. The head of the AAS was a fella named Eugene Schieffelin, who decided any bird mentioned by William Shakespeare should be in North America and he pushed for 100 of these birds being released into New York City. Thus, the invasive species has taken over. You’ve probably seen them, en masse, as they fly in a tight flock, moving like a black mass across the late afternoon sky. This swarm is called a murmuration.
You see where I’m going here, right?
Unlike the European starling, the Starling Murmur, a full suspension, steel mountain bike was a welcomed species in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles.
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Cotic Bikes FlareMAX Gen5 Review: Less is More
From snow to sand, wildflowers, and close encounters with a rattlesnake, John’s been putting the Cotic FlareMAX Gen5 through the wringer for his in-depth review on this made-in-the-UK short(er) travel, metal full-suspension bike. Read on for his full take on how less is more with the FlareMAX’s design below…
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The Radavist’s Top Ten Review Bikes of 2023
If our Top Ten Beautiful Bicycles list serves as an indicator of your interests, our Top Ten Review Bikes speak to the readership’s curiosities and potential next bike buys. This year’s Top Ten Review Bikes ran the gamut from carbon gravel bikes with proprietary passive suspension to actual full suspension bikes and everything in between.
Let’s check out what review bikes pushed the needle for you this year!
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John’s Favorite Products of 2023 (… and Top 10 Albums!)
We’ve had a busy year over here at The Radavist. From the return to being 100% independent, launching our Group Ride subscription service, our Rad Bazaar marketplace, and adjusting to being a small business owner again, my free time has been limited. Yet, I can thank a few products for making my job and life easier this year, along with the albums that became the backdrop for my rides, so let’s check out my Favorite Products of 2023!
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Assembly Required: Are Lugged Carbon Mountain Bikes Having a Moment?
No matter how innovative or controversial a given mountain bike technology may be, it’s usually just a means to an end. A way to add efficiency or capability. Sure, these technologies can often make for utterly spectacular rides. But bikes themselves—especially full-suspension bikes—rarely add any soul purely for soul’s sake.
That may be why we love to highlight bikes like the REEB SST, Chromag Darco, and, of course, the Starling Murmur. These bikes have esoteric quirks usually found only on hardtail, gravel, and town bikes. And they just happen to also offer utterly spectacular rides.
But when Travis Engel noticed function-first stalwarts, Pivot and Specialized suddenly teasing in-house experiments in lugged carbon fiber, he wondered if there might be a new search for soul afoot…
Radar
Radar Roundup: Wilde x Paul, Rapha MTB, Updated WTB Saddles, Austere Ladder Lock, Fizik Terra Atlas, Endless, and Dream MTB Build
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
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Radar Roundup: Stainless Murmur Cane Creek Edition, Industry Nine Enduro Wheels Are Hallow, Smartwool Recycling, Breezer Radar X Pro, Race Face Turbine Wheelset, Dango Bros, The Great Spring Breakaway, and Stories & Glories
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…