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The Swoop is Starling Cycles‘ versatile single-pivot steel full-suspension bike designed for 27.5 wheels. With its adjustable shock mounts, the Swoop can be set in “Trail” mode with 130 mm of rear travel or “Enduro” with 160 mm. Partners Alex and Nikki each have Swoops in respective enduro and trail modes that they’ve been riding for some time now. Below, they share a review of both iterations of this adaptable built-in-UK platform from one of our favorite bike makers…
Launching this Thursday, 14th of March, Wizard Works have just announced their new Kengo Camo Mini Collection. This is the brands first limited-edition project of 2024 and features a distinctive earth toned camo fabric, with reverse herringbone weave that is sure to turn heads.
UK-based Brother Cycles, profiled by Petor last year, just rolled out their new 2024 Kepler touring bike frameset pre-order (£799). Read on for a closer look at these all-steel, versatile frames below!
Not only is he super talented on a mountain bike, but he actually studies mountain biking at college. Yep – that’s actually a thing you can do now! Joe joined the Starling Cycles team a few years back and went on to enroll into BASE College in Scotland, studying mountain biking full-time.
BASE is the Borders Academy of Sporting Excellence (BASE) Mountain Biking Performance course, based out of the Borders College in Peebles, Scotland. Joe’s time at BASE is spent learning how to be a better rider and racer, but also sports science, psychology, coaching skills and everything you need to be an all-round expert two-wheel athlete. Because Starling thinks Joe is rad and the brand thinks his story is rad, it decided it was time to tell his story.
Hope Tech, UK component manufacturer, dropped a double whammy this weekend with the announcement of both its new Carbon crankset and a complete Bronze anodizing lineup for its parts…
Fairlight Cycles and Bentley Components teamed up on a CNC SON rear light bracket, designed to be lightweight, robust, and specifically match the Chris King 3D Violet color…
We’ve covered BESPOKED over the past few years and we’ll be back this year! The UK showcase just announced its dates and venue after a year hiatus so read on for more.
John loved the Cotic Escapade 853 he reviewed last year. They’re great bikes. And to celebrate their greatness, Cotic just announced a Made in the UK Escapade. Available in limited supply, direct from Cotic today…
Enigma is a UK framebuilder, founded in 2006, that has won various accolades over the years, including NAHBS awards. We’ve featured the brand before, albeit briefly, in our Limited Edition Shimano Silver GRX build showcase. Enigma’s EXPLOR platform features a geometry adapted specifically for flat bars, with lots of touring accouterments like plentiful rack, fender, and cargo mounts…
The Dirt Dashes are grassroots bikepacking and gravel events in the UK. Join us in 2024 by signing up on Dirt Dash ‘Three Dashes’ features footage from all three 2023 Dirt Dash events and feedback from the riders – who range from an experienced bikepacker from the US to another participant from Glasgow, who had not ridden a bike further than on his 20-minute commute. Film by Markus Stitz with music from Epidemic Sound.
For several months now, Cycles Manivelle has been offering the Alakazam bag from Wizard Works, custom-made to the dimensions of the Manivelle basket with and without. To celebrate this proud collaboration, Manivelle asked Ve, Harry and the Wizard Works team to incorporate one of our favorite raw materials, tarpaulin, into a very, very limited edition of this bag.
Remember a few weeks ago when we linked to the Tracker story on the Stooge Cycles website? Well, that should have been a hint or at least a wink wink, nod that Andy from Stooge was working on a Tracker-inspired bike! Yesterday he announced just that, the Dirt Tracker, so let’s check it out…
Petor Georgallou recently built up a Brother Cycles Mr. Wooden alongside his buddy Neil. Below, Petor delves into piles of parts and decides on some unusual choices as the cornerstone of his build. Follow along for his musings on old bike parts, laughing with friends, and maybe even getting two whole bikes running for the price of one.
Launching today, the Hobgob Hip Pack expands the lineup of London-based bag-makers Wizard Works‘ collection of wearables for both on and off the bike. With multiple clever features – including a side-loaded Fidlock Hook buckle, two zippered pockets, wide hip wings, and an optional bottle pocket in both stock and custom configurations – this pack is sure to be popular. Josh and John participated in the prototyping phase of the Hobgob and, below, offer a detailed look and review of the new pack.
Our friends at London-based Quirk Cycles are best known for their custom steel gravel bikes with stunning finishes and, this week, they’ve announced two new exciting road bike models. Let’s take a closer look at the Durmitor ULTRA and RAT PENAT below…
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…
Petor Georgallou steals his sister away as a (reluctant) partner in crime to check out the Brother in the Wild Dorset, hosted by Brother Cycles. He’s pleased to find a “field full of weirdos” and a plethora of equally unique and odd bikes and, it turns out, everyone’s nice. Stick around near the end for a lengthy discussion on the merits and cost of silver brazing, and a sampling of the bikes that made an appearance.
Our Radar Roundup compiles products and videos from the ‘net in an easy-to-digest format. Read on below for today’s findings…
