For Ep#3 of Workshop Chatter we’ve got Joe back in front of the camera and chatting about Starling Cycles’ Adjustable Shock Mounts.
As you probably know – many of our bikes have the option of an adjustable shock mount, which offers the ability to run a different length shock (with roughly +/- 10mm of adjustment) and allows you to fine-tune the geometry.
Whilst we offer the ability to order full custom geometry frames the adjustable shock mount allows you a middle-ground where you can play with geometry, without the need to have it set permanently into your frame design. We generally recommend that people don’t mess with their geo but this gives the option if they want it.
Press play to learn all about how it works, how to set your adjustable geometry bike into the base-setting and some of the thinking behind the design.
We poked a little fun at Andrew Major’s small-brand, steel-bike theory (AKA the Starling Fallacy) by printing a 26-page, hard copy coffee table book, presented as a faux confession by Joe claiming that the whole Starling brand was just a scam.
It contains 26 pages of made-up content with some beautiful photos (mostly from John, the Radivist head honcho and Dave Price Photography) and some hilarious quotes.
Whilst the ‘confession’ was made up for fun, the hardcopy book is a real thing and is a must-have bit of memorabilia for any steel bike nerd. There were 3 copies made in total. 2 will stay at Starling for posterity and the 3rd is now on eBay to raise money for the Red Cross in Ukraine.
Whether you’re a Starling customer or an uber-fan of steel bikes in general, this is a really fun, funny and super niche collector’s item. The covers look 100% legit and would look great on any coffee table or bookshelf but, be warned, the content is mostly duplicated. There are 4 pages of content, repeated throughout the book.
As soon as the sale is complete, we’ll ship the winner their book and donate the full amount to the Red Cross Ukraine Emergency Appeal “As the security situation allows, the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will continue to respond to existing and emerging humanitarian needs. The Red Cross has supported people affected by this conflict for years and this will not stop now. Your donation could help someone affected get food, water, first aid, medicines, warm clothes, shelter”.
Our new Workshop Chatter series is back for episode#2 – going deep into our bikes, our tech and basically anything we’re feeling inspired to talk about.
For the latest episode we’re talking about the Starling Cycles prototype carbon eMTB, manufactured using some pretty interesting techniques and in partnership with the National Composite Centre (where Joe has previously worked as Technical Lead for GKN).
Press play for everything you need to know about our proof of concept eeb.
Yep, you guessed it, the Starling Fallacy was an April Fool.
Thanks for playing along with the Starling Fallacy April Fools and not believing that the whole Starling plan was a get-rich-quick scheme. Retirement to the Bahamas isn’t happening any time soon we’re glad to say!
Whilst Joe’s ‘confession’ and our ‘36-page coffee table journal’ are works of fiction the ‘Fallacy’ is very much a real thing.
Born on the NSMB forum, the Starling Fallacy is the eloquently written work of Andrew Major and cites that “great geometry and shed manufacturing can overcome the performance issues of a true single-pivot bike”.
First up, we’d like to say a big thanks to Andrew for coming up with the Fallacy and an apology for running the piece without involving him from the outset.
That was our mistake and we’re genuinely sorry for any annoyance that’s caused him. We got a bit carried away and should have involved him in the process from the start.
Believe it or not, we actually see the Fallacy as the deepest of compliments and we were over the moon to see Andrew give it life. You can’t really make steel, single-pivot bikes without enjoying a bit of internet banter and a good debate.
Whilst the sentiment is poking a little fun at steel, single-pivot owners we see Andrew’s observation as homing in on why we (and we assume other brands like Starling) do what we do.
We make the bikes that we want to make. Simple, steel, single pivot. They’re like that by design, not necessity.
Our bikes aren’t lab-grown, million-pound-budget, space ships.
They’re not F1 racers or marketing-led, 3D-printed-marginal-gains promisers. Our bikes are handmade by four blokes in a workshop in Bristol and built to be tough, simple and bags of fun. We could put a link or an extra pivot on our bikes, we’ve chosen not to. Maybe one day, but not right now.
Our bikes are proven to be fast; they’re easy to maintain, and they’re zero hassle to set up, wash or fix. You can whack the bearings out with a hammer and replace them in a car park pre-ride, you can strip the whole bike down without killing a whole weekend.
Most importantly, there’s no doubt that you’ll have an absolutely bloody brilliant time riding a Starling. You’ll go fast, you’ll have fun and you’ll probably reach the bottom of your chosen trail with a massive smile on your face.
There’s nothing beyond your own enthusiasm or talent that will stop Starling from being fun to ride around a berm, through braking bumps, down the dankest tech or smoothest flow.
So where the Fallacy says that riders will “gush” about the prowess of a Starling we say, ‘bloody right’.
Our customers understand that they’re not buying the product of a billion-dollar multinational, and they love the ‘feel’ of the bike that’s created. That’s partly emotional buy-in but also because the bikes ride beautifully.
Our customers are smart, discerning folk that do a lot of research, soul-searching and hunting before they buy. We’re proud that they feel a deep connection to their Starling and an understanding of the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ of their pride and joy.
Not convinced? Let’s talk about performance. People are obsessed with (and the Fallacy references) the “performance issues” of single pivot.
Sure, we’ve not won an EWS or a World Cup. We probably never will. But we have won an overall British National Enduro Series title, a Masters European Downhill Championship title, a Portuguese Downhill National, Ardrock, the Ex-Enduro and a heap of other events. If we’re saying race wins ‘prove’ a bike, we’re not doing badly so far. All of those tracks required the winning rider to pull their brakes and use their suspension. Quite often at the same time.
The media are also pretty prone to a gush or two over our bikes. MBUK, Pinkbike, The Loam Wolf, NSMB, BikeRumor, Enduro-MTB, The Radivist and a whole heap more have ridden and raved about Starlings. Brakes were pulled, suspension moved and riders had a blast.
A final thanks again to Andrew for the Fallacy concept and for being a good sport at our efforts to poke fun at it and to everyone that got involved.
If anyone is interested, we’re going to be auctioning off a print copy of the Starling Fallacy in the next few weeks and donating the money to a charity to help victims of the Ukraine Crisis.
We’ll announce that on social media soon, watch this space.
OUT NOW: The Starling Fallacy 36 Pages Of Limited Edition Redemption
“The Starling Fallacy holds that somehow great geometry and shed manufacturing can overcome the performance issues of a true single-pivot bike. And, since we know that great geometry is free and easily duplicated we can further boil down the fallacy to say that shed manufacturing alone can overcome said issues.
You don’t even have to produce all your bikes in the shed – just some of them. And so, riders who absolutely would not accept the performance of a simple no-linkage true-uni-pivot design from a major manufacturer or even a smaller manufacturer will gush about the descending prowess of a Starling.” Credit – Andrew Major
“Single pivot bikes suck, but they’re much easier to build in a shed”
Born in the depths of the NSMB forum, the Starling Fallacy is Starling’s deepest, darkest secret.
It lurked in wait, exposing the core of the brand’s being; its modus operandi; its original sin. But like all secrets, it would never rest, never die, never cease. It would always be there, in the shadows, threatening the heart of Starling Cycles.
And so, Starling Cycles founder Joe McEwan has decided that enough is enough. Like all good internet conspiracies, he knew that the fallacy was based in truth. And so, it’s time to come clean.
The game is up. Starling is no more. Steel and single pivot is not, in fact, real.
The Starling Fallacy – Available To Order Now
To mark the final chapter of Starling Cycles, McEwan has decided to lift the lid on the brand with a limited edition, 36-page, hardback coffee table quality print journal entitled the ‘Starling Fallacy’. Intended as part memoirs and part confession the book will allow McEwan the opportunity to come clean and for, he hopes, redemption.
“Being honest” says McEwan in the opening chapter entitled ‘Got Fired? Fire Up The Welder’ “I just needed a job after I got sacked from my Aerospace gig”.
“I’d been mountain biking a couple of times so I thought I’d give it a shot. I wasn’t sure how to make any money from it, but I knew that would come pretty easily”.
Nailed It.
Joe admits that he quickly spotted a gap in the market: “there were frame builders all over the place and it looked pretty easy. You just copy some geometry from another brand and make it a bit longer, lower and slacker. Then you stick a few tubes together and Bob’s your uncle.”
Joe’s enthusiasm wasn’t held back by a lack of resources and, he admits, inspiration was drawn from the world around him. “I only had the shed to work in because the wife wouldn’t let me weld in the house, so I worked in there. I bought a welder from eBay and prayed I wouldn’t blow up the garden. And yeah, I needed a name for the ‘brand’ and was in a rush to get to the pub on a Friday so I just picked the first thing I spotted out of the window, a Starling on the garden fence. Nailed it.”
Joe quickly realised that his new brand had exposed something bigger “They honestly couldn’t get enough of it. It was like people saw the shed, saw how basic the bikes were and were willing to pay double what they would for a proper bike. It was nuts. I jacked the price up after I’d built a couple and the cash just came rolling in.”
My First Million.
Frame design was obviously critical and the chapter of the book entitled ‘Mo Pivots, Mo Problems. One Pivot, Mo Money’ bears all.
“Kinematics? No idea. I basically just looked at a load of old bikes online and copied those. People seemed to love the idea of a bike with loads of brake jack, disposable shock bushings and suspension that didn’t work when you pulled the stoppers. It was like the more basic you made it, the more they wanted to convince themselves it would work.”
“Once I’d made the suspension as absolutely low-tech as I possibly could, I had one final brain wave: ‘What if we make it out of the oldest, heaviest, thinnest, easiest-to-snap material possible?’ Steel was the obvious choice. The internet went bananas for it and I made my first million”.
McEwan, currently based in The Bahamas hopes that by sharing his story riders will see the true value of simple, steel, single-pivot bikes and continue to believe the hype.
Once sales of the limited edition print journal ‘The Starling Fallacy’ are complete, he intends to sell the business to a major bicycle manufacturer.
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