Post your Starling

PB Forum :: Other
Post your Starling
Author Message
flag fartymarty
Posted: Sep 13, 2022 at 0:40 Quote
WINGS043 wrote:
fartymarty wrote:
WINGS - Our biggest hill is 294m in Surrey (UK) and I've run my Murmur at 140/140 and 160/140 and it works well. I'm 6'1" and 93ish kg. I've also done some fairly big "XC" rides on it.

Thanks mate! Sounds like the bike is really versatile (which I like). Think a 140/140 or 150/140 set-up is the one I am going for. Now checking if coil or air would be best suitable. Pretty eager to try a foil actually for the first time...

Coil rear is great but less poppy than air. I do recommend the Ohlins coil tho. It works well with the bike. I haven't tried 150/140 - but may give it a go when I do a lower leg service on the forks - it is probably a happy medium between 160 which is big and smashy and 140 which is great for most things but a little under gunned when it gets chunky.
flag lookseasyfromhere
Posted: Sep 13, 2022 at 5:48 Quote
Ergotec. Super happy with it. Might need to order another one for my other bike.
flag WINGS043
Posted: Sep 14, 2022 at 0:12 Quote
lookseasyfromhere wrote:
New cockpit setup today. I swapped out my cheap, stiff and harsh 35mm bar and 60mm stem for a nice compliant 31.8 mm bar with 12° of sweep and a 40mm stem. I was surprised there was literally no adjustment period to the 50% increase in sweep. The stem's going to take a bit of getting used to, though. The upright position is nice for climbing, but on really steep downs I now feel like my head and shoulders are hanging off the front more.

photo

WINGS043 wrote:
Hi all,

Hope you are having a good day!

Been eyeballing this bike to buy for in the beginning of 2023. Since I am not the best in suspension and their designs I wondering how you guys would set it up for my home trails.

I live in the south of the Netherlands bordering Belgium and mostly ride in the ardennes Belgium which have no big mountains but is pretty hilly. So trails are mostly short downhills with lots of rocks, steeps but also a lot of pedalling. Think this video shows the downs a bit:

https://youtu.be/x8fdt5jz8mM

I currently own a Merida one twenty with a 140mm fork up front. I am a pretty big dude (187cm, 6,2 inch) and a fatty too: 95kg. I want the bike to be more trail oriented since there will be a lot of pedalling too over here and a enduro bike is just overbiking in my opinion. I was thinking air shocks front and back? 140/150? I am not sure whats the best... Thanks for helping out!

I'm running my Murmur 140f/127r on terrain pretty similar to that video. But whatever you go with you can try something else later. Murmurs seem to be happy in a lot of different setups, which was a big factor in my purchasing one.

Re: specifically trail oriented setup, shorter fork=steeper head angle=sharper steering and less flop.

Btw, you set up your rear travel to 127 with the adjusted shock mounts? Hows the geo with that
flag fartymarty
Posted: Sep 14, 2022 at 0:45 Quote
lookseasyfromhere wrote:
Ergotec. Super happy with it. Might need to order another one for my other bike.

They're a good bar. I think the SQ Labs have a little more flex but a double the price (at least in the UK).
flag lookseasyfromhere
Posted: Sep 14, 2022 at 6:38 Quote
WINGS043 wrote:
Btw, you set up your rear travel to 127 with the adjusted shock mounts? Hows the geo with that set-up, you like it thus far?

127mm or 140mm rear travel are both possible with the stock shock mount position. You'd just need to use a 210x50 shock or 210x55 shock, respectively. Because the eye-to-eye is the same it won't affect unsagged geo. Sagged you'll sit a few mm deeper on 140.

Talking with Joe before placing my order he recommended that if all I wanted to do was change the travel to stick with the fixed mount and a 55mm stroke shock and instead play with the sag. With the frame's linear travel a firmer shock will mimic less travel, and vice versa. He said the adjustable mount is mostly for playing with geo. I haven't tried the slack setting yet. But I've been riding pretty regularly lately, so I probably will try it in a couple months. Though I do also have the benefit of being able to run a 200x57 shock, which would push me up to 145mm of rear travel.

fartymarty wrote:
lookseasyfromhere wrote:
Ergotec. Super happy with it. Might need to order another one for my other bike.

They're a good bar. I think the SQ Labs have a little more flex but a double the price (at least in the UK).

The Ergotec was $70. Alloy SQLabs are around $100 here. $200 for carbon.
flag CamShreds
Posted: Sep 14, 2022 at 7:02 Quote
lookseasyfromhere wrote:

127mm or 140mm rear travel are both possible with the stock shock mount position. You'd just need to use a 210x50 shock or 210x55 shock, respectively. Because the eye-to-eye is the same it won't affect unsagged geo. Sagged you'll sit a few mm deeper on 140.


This is good info, thank you!
flag WINGS043
Posted: Sep 14, 2022 at 7:14 Quote
lookseasyfromhere wrote:
WINGS043 wrote:
Btw, you set up your rear travel to 127 with the adjusted shock mounts? Hows the geo with that set-up, you like it thus far?

127mm or 140mm rear travel are both possible with the stock shock mount position. You'd just need to use a 210x50 shock or 210x55 shock, respectively. Because the eye-to-eye is the same it won't affect unsagged geo. Sagged you'll sit a few mm deeper on 140.

Talking with Joe before placing my order he recommended that if all I wanted to do was change the travel to stick with the fixed mount and a 55mm stroke shock and instead play with the sag. With the frame's linear travel a firmer shock will mimic less travel, and vice versa. He said the adjustable mount is mostly for playing with geo. I haven't tried the slack setting yet. But I've been riding pretty regularly lately, so I probably will try it in a couple months. Though I do also have the benefit of being able to run a 200x57 shock, which would push me up to 145mm of rear travel.

fartymarty wrote:
lookseasyfromhere wrote:
Ergotec. Super happy with it. Might need to order another one for my other bike.

They're a good bar. I think the SQ Labs have a little more flex but a double the price (at least in the UK).

The Ergotec was $70. Alloy SQLabs are around $100 here. $200 for carbon.

Thanks, great you took the time to clearify. Enjoy the shreds
flag lookseasyfromhere
Posted: Sep 14, 2022 at 17:25 Quote
No problem guys. Always happy to share. Now if I could just learn to ride half as well as I can recall minutiae I might be able to become a proper brand ambassador.

fartymarty wrote:
Lovin' the yellow / blue colour combo.
Sorry, missed this. Thanks. I spent all of high school and college in black on black, so now I outfit myself with color combinations that would make a poison dart frog self conscious to go out in public.
flag fartymarty
Posted: Sep 15, 2022 at 0:37 Quote
lookseasyfromhere wrote:
Sorry, missed this. Thanks. I spent all of high school and college in black on black, so now I outfit myself with color combinations that would make a poison dart frog self conscious to go out in public.

lol
flag fartymarty
Posted: Sep 15, 2022 at 0:41 Quote
Out of interest do any y'all change spring setting between summer and winter?

I was previously running a 550lb spring on the rear and moved up to a 600lb over summer. I've also gone up a spring weight on the Ohlins coil forks since getting them serviced in April. I'm thinking of dropping back to the lower spring weights for winter to get a little more grip (more sag = more grip).
flag belopsky
Posted: Sep 21, 2022 at 4:38 Quote
I’ve disassembled my starling and built up a hard tail Honzo with an air pike 140mm. Might get myself a 210x50 rear shock and rebuild the starling..
flag zanderkelso
Posted: Sep 24, 2022 at 19:43 Quote
New owner here. This thread was super helpful given relatively scant amount of info online. I started lurking after I put down a deposit and thought I’d pay my thoughts forward for others looking for info.

Starling Murmur Trail - medium
Pike w/ Smashpot
CC DB Inline
Nobl 32s
sorry for the crappy, low light photo

First experience with a FS after being an XC hard-tail guy for most of my life. Was looking at carbon for a while but I kind of hate the frame material for mountain bikes for a variety of reasons. Pushed towards steel since it seems like the ideal frame material for application if you can get past the relatively small weight penalty, and I like low maintenance and a linkage design I could wrap my head around. Going titanium didn’t seem worth the weight or feel for the extra price or lead time.

I was deciding between Myth Cycles in Durango (which seemed to be one of the only steel single pivot small builders in the US, but their lead time was like 10 months) and Starling for a downcountry bike. Generally a believer in buying from local framebuilders as they tend to R&D,and build bikes on trails I ride. If I was ordering now, would add a Reeb SST to that list, but wasn’t out when I ordered. Picked Starling given price, lead time, and reputation. If it’s good enough to get John Watson’s stamp of approval, it’s good enough for me.

Ordered early April. Quoted 16 weeks. Ended up 20 weeks to powder coat and 23 weeks until it was shipped. Shipping from UK was a week with no issues. No communication until Joe asked for remaining pay. Got an explanation it had to do with production batching of order sizes. Lack of communication unfortunately seems to be the norm for most smaller companies that I’ve worked with/order a bike from. Take time quote and add 30% has been my experience generally.

Did a shakeout ride this evening and it's buttery out of the stand. Can’t give a discerning review as I’m new to FS world, but like other folks in this thread have said, pictures don’t do it justice. It’s a beautiful, simple bike that’s a great value.

photo
flag sterlingmagnum
Posted: Sep 24, 2022 at 20:12 Quote
Looks good I bet you’re going to love it.
flag CamShreds
Posted: Sep 26, 2022 at 6:01 Quote
Great looking bike. Reminds me I need a new light.
flag lookseasyfromhere
Posted: Sep 26, 2022 at 13:58 Quote
White spring looks clean with the white decals. You're in Colorado, it sounds like? I looked at Myth, too, but I didn't want a clevis yoke and I did want room for a bottle inside my frame.

 


Copyright © 2000 - 2024. Pinkbike.com. All rights reserved.
dv65 0.010718
Mobile Version of Website