29″ / 27.5″wheels
Hard-hitting Trail and Enduro Mullet Frame
135mm

Starling Cycles Twist frame

Our mullet-wheeled, mid-travel steel shredder. UK-made with 135mm rear travel in Reynolds 853 steel. Base price is for frame only, without shock.

Current frame lead time is 12 weeks, but we can often deliver quicker if we have frames in stock.

£2,222.00

Choose your frame

Add upgrades

BikeYoke Dropper Seat Post
BikeYoke Dropper Seat Post
£275.00
Ohlins RXF36 M.2 Air TTX18 Fork
£1,100.00
Ohlins TTX22M.2 Coil Rear Shock
£745.00
Hope Headset
Hope Headset
£90.00
Hope Seatclamp
Hope Seatclamp
£22.00
Clutch Handmade Steel Stem (Back Order)
Clutch Handmade Steel Stem (Back Order)

In stock (can be backordered)

£175.00
Stainless Steel Stem Spacer
£7.00

Simply Shreds

Starling’s mid-travel, mullet wheeled and bullshit-free steel mountain bike.

The Twist is our tough-as-nails, corner-slashing, do-it-all single-pivot.

It has 135mm rear travel, mullet wheels and our award-winning, bullshit-busting, handmade steel frame that’s made with Reynolds 853.

That perfect compliant steel ‘feel’ creates a one-of-a-kind ride feel that’ll handle everything from your local singletrack to your once-in-a-lifetime season in the mountains.

Just two bearings to maintain. Zero marketing gimmicks or next-best-thing shithousery.

Review

NSMB
“The Twist is a very simple but well thought out tool that does its job deceptively well. It is an absolute blast to get loose with; I honestly haven’t had this much fun on a bike in a long while. It “feels” really good. “

Review

Bike Radar
“It’s an eager climber that’ll more than happily spin up just about any incline comfortably. On natural, technical terrain its smooth, forgiving feel and supple rear suspension help to keep it glued to tricky lines with confidence.”

Review

Singletrack
“If you want a bike for hammering the heck out of a couple of square kilometres of woodland, the Twist is the one. With the added benefit of being a blast on the occasional obligatory daytrip to some McTrailCentre or other, where it is also a freaking riot.”

Starling Cycles V3 Frame Design

Our bikes eliminate complexity.

They are the counter-argument to mountain biking’s obsession with ‘more’.

With more pivots and more space-age materials. More acronyms and more marketing bullshit. The misconception that more tech means more fun. 

We make unapologetically simple bikes. We include only what’s necessary, nothing more. Zero marketing gimmicks and next-best-thing shithousery.

We’ve stripped away the bullshit and left tough, long-lasting, beautiful and hassle-free mountain bikes. Bikes made to ride, not polish and preen. Simple to ride and bags of fun.

But simple doesn’t mean basic, and it certainly isn’t easy. It takes a whole heap of experience, expertise, testing, refinement and raw passion to make bikes this good, and this simple.

Our full suspension frames are made using high-end, recycled steel. They have a smart and simple adjustable shock mount to vary travel. They have an aluminium seat-post insert to eliminate stuck seat posts. There’s a tough-as-nails anti-flare headtube, a neatly integrated chain guide, a machined main pivot piece that’s strong, stiff and easy to maintain. And they have SRAM UDH hangers, of course.

And to give you the confidence you need, our frames are covered by our 7-year warranty and crash replacement service. They can be repaired, refurbished, repainted and often upgraded to keep them charging hard for years to come.

Features

  • V3 frame design with updated technology.
  • 29″ wheels.
  • 135mm rear travel.
  • Adjustable shock mount also allows 135mm and 165mm travel (new shock required).
  • Front triangle hand-built in Bristol, UK, using Reynolds 853 heat-treated tubing.
  • Rear triangle hand built by ORA, Taiwan, using heat-treated Chromoly.
  • UDH derailleur hanger.
  • Up to 200mm rotor.
  • Fits standard tapered forks.
  • Boost rear axle spacing (fits non-boost with spacer).
  • Seat tube reinforcing strut on XL and XXL.
  • Stainless & numbered dropper port.
  • Starling headtube gusset.
  • Bottle mount in frame on medium & above.
  • 7-year warranty/crash replacement service.
  • Frame repair, refurbishment and repaint service.

Starling Cycles are made by real flesh-and-blood humans. The perfect blend of precision and passion.

Our frames are hand-crafted with quality, lightweight steel for an unmistakable feel and undeniable speed.

Our single-pivot suspension design eliminates complexity. A blast to ride and a breeze to maintain.

Geometry and sizing

Frame SizeSmallMediumMediumPlusLargeX Large
Shock210×55210×55210×55210×55210×55
Rear Travel135135135135135
Max Rear Tyre2.8″2.8″2.8″2.8″2.8″
Fork Length150mm150150150150
Rider Size Range5’2″ – 5’6″5’6″ – 5’9″5’9″ – 5’11”5’11” – 6’1″6’1 – 6’4″
157cm – 167cm167cm – 175cm175cm – 180cm180cm – 185cm185cm – 193cm
Reach425450465485515
Stack629629629629638
Head Angle65.065.065.065.065.0
Seat Tube Length375410430440480
Head Tube Length110110110110120
Chainstay435435435435435
Wheelbase11951218123712501288
BB drop34/1534/1534/1534/1534/15
Eff. Seat Angle78.078.078.078.078.0
Eff. Top Tube*557596611628663
Max Post Insertion250280300310340
Standover #820824832839843
* Effective ST Angle measured at 750mm from BB Centre.
# Standover measured at top tube mid point.
$ Relative to rear 29″ axle/27.5″ rear axle

Technical

Travel 135mm
(adjustable to 165mm)
Shock 210x55mm
Headset Top ZS44/28.6
Headset Bottom EC44/40
Seat Tube 31.6mm
BB 73mm Threaded
Seat Clamp 34.9mm
Chain Device Integrated 28T-34T
Bash Mount ISCG05
Rear Axle 148x12mm Boost
Max Tyre 27.5 x 2.8″
Brake Mount Post Mount 180mm
Max Disc 203mm
Front Shock Hardware 30x8mm
Rear Shock Hardware 35x8mm
Main Pivot Bearings 6902 2RS
Derailleur Hanger Replaceable SRAM UDH T-Type Compatible

 

Reviews

1 2
Murmur photo review
Jamie
Love my Murmur - a crazy capable, versatile and reliable bike.
1 2

2 reviews for Twist

  1. Twist photo review
    Jake D
    Having put over 4000km's on this thing I can safely say it climbs and descends with absolutely no fuss! It's so playful on the descents and brings me ...More
    Having put over 4000km's on this thing I can safely say it climbs and descends with absolutely no fuss! It's so playful on the descents and brings me so much joy that I got rid of my other bikes (including an e-bike) because this things just ticks all the boxes!
    Twist photo review
    Dominic G
    Had my Twist for a bit over three years now. Still loving how it performs. How quiet it is. How easy it is to work on. Ride it 3-5 times a week and it...More
    Had my Twist for a bit over three years now. Still loving how it performs. How quiet it is. How easy it is to work on. Ride it 3-5 times a week and it always makes me smile. No idea why just feels right.
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