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Trail and Enduro Bikes

Starling Murmur – New Factory Edition

Off the peg or full custom options for one of our favourite trail bikes

The Starling Murmur was a revelation to us here at Dirt. This Bristol brand is now launching an ‘off-the-peg’ Factory spec option as well as the full custom build.

Words: Sean White  Images: Starling Cycles

This 29″ wheel trail bike built by hand from steel tubing is an incredibly fast and engaging bike. When it first rolled through the doors at Dirt we were unsure as to how it would stack up against the carbon framed boutique bikes that were its match in terms of suspension travel and wheel size.

It only took a few runs down the hill to convince us that the Murmur was not only a contender but up there at the top of the pack.

The ride quality, lack of fatigue and grip was a real eye-opener and as such it was one of our favourite bikes of the year. A place in the Dirt 100 was a definite.

For 2018 Starling moves things forward with the addition of an ‘off-the-peg’ Murmur. This Factory model uses the same blueprint as the frames hand crafted in Bristol by Joe, but are built in Taiwan by one of the best factories. Here are the full details on this new frame option.

STARLING MURMUR FACTORY EDITION

Designed in the UK, built by ORA

The new ‘Factory’ frame has been designed in the UK by Starling owner Joe McEwan and hand built in Taiwan by ORA, one of the World’s very best steel mountain bike frame manufacturing facilities. The frame is built in Reynolds 853 steel with modern angles to be fast, aggressive and beautifully simple.

The collaboration between British-born Starling Cycles and Taiwan’s expert frame builders means that Starling can meet the high demand for their frames whilst maintaining the awesome ride and build quality that has claimed praise from riders and press alike.
Why Taiwan?
The move to Taiwan was a considered one. As a frame builder, aerospace engineer and designer, Joe made the decision after visiting the factory and seeing first-hand the high quality of manufacturing, work ethics and working conditions.

ORA’s factory is the perfect setup for hand-crafting the new frames with expert engineers, boasting years of experience in building top-quality mountain bikes.

The Starling Murmur Factory Edition is built around 29” wheels with 140mm rear travel with room for disc rotors up to 200mm and 2.5” tyre clearance. The frames will fit metric rear shocks and 148 x 12mm Boost rear hub spacings.

Choose frame-only or rolling chassis 

Frames will be available in two sizes and with a choice of rear shocks from Rock Shox, DVO or Fox. They can be supplied as a frame-only package or build kits with components from Rockshox, DVO, Fox, SRAM, Hope, Burgtec, Middleburn and Maxxis. Frames will be available in Primer Grey with black graphics as standard or in a choice of custom colours for an extra cost.

For riders who want a custom geometry, a British-built Starling frame won’t be disappointed. Joe will continue to hand-build the Starling custom frames in the UK. Now Starling customers can simply choose whether to commission a one-off UK built frame or order one from the ‘Factory’.

Available to order now
Starling Cycles are taking pre-orders now with delivery expected in Autumn 2018.
Frames will be £1850 with a RockShox Deluxe shock and all pre-orders will receive a Hope headset and seat clamp. Orders paid in full at pre-order will also receive a Burgtec control kit.

A UK made, custom Murmur frame is £2040 without a rear-shock.

Starling Cycles has a range of full suspension frames – the 27.5” Swoop, the 29” Murmur, the new 29” Murmur Factory and the Beady Little Eye.
 You can learn more on the new Starling Cycles website.

starlingcycles.com

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