Another week, another great review for the Starling Cycles Roost – our stainless steel, handmade hardtail mountain bike frame. This time, it’s The Loam Wolf.
You’re almost certainly up to speed already, but if you’re wondering “what is the Starling Cycles Roost?” let’s get you filled in.
The Starling Cycles Roost is a handmade, stainless steel hardtail mountain bike frame. It’s designed and tested here at Starling Cycles and made by our partners at ORA Manufacturing in Taiwan who are masters in building stainless frames.
The frame is designed to be versatile, capable of taking anything from a 120mm to a 160mm fork and being built up as a light-and-whippy XC ripper to a more hardcore, gravity-focused smasher. It has mixed (or mullet) wheels and fits boost and non-boost wheelsets alike. You can learn more about it here on our website.
With the latest batch of Roost frames in stock, we invited LoamWolf’s roving reporter Rob Johnson down to Starling for a visit.
Rob spent some time learning how Starling’s full suspension frames are manufactured (don’t miss his article and video all about that), we took him for a ride at our favourite trails and then sent him on his way with a complete Starling Roost to test on his trails.
And what did the LoamWolf’s Starling Cycles Roost review come up with..?
Aside from a few grumbles about his knees (not much we can do about those, Rob!) it was a glowing review.
Rob started out by exploring the reasons behind why the Roost is how it is:
“Starling wanted to put out an offering that would stand the test of time and satisfy the needs of riders who want to add a hardtail to their stable to compliment a full suspension bike”
… and then looked at the fine details of material, manufacturing and geometry:
“numbers on the Roost were selected to offer what they consider to be the ideal blend of snappy fun and confident stability, avoiding any pointed numbers that would make it a handful for riding on the opposite end of the spectrum“.
And then, it was on to the trails, exploring the comparison with a full suspension and the difference great geo and steel compliance can make:
“The Roost corners very well. The low BB really comes into its own, and it feels fairly well-balanced between the wheels. Where some hardtails have left me struggling a touch with the timing and balance of the bike in turns, the Roost was intuitive and had me feeling confident to push hard in smoother turns from the get-go”.
“A competent climbing, commendable cornering and lush-looking frame, the Starling Roost is a great example of an all-rounder hardtail that’ll look great for a long time. If you’re in the market for a fun-loving hardtail and are on board with the premium price in order to get that stunning raw finish for the long haul, it’s a stellar option”.
You can read the full Loam Wolf Starling Cycles Roost review here.
You can learn more about the Starling Cycles Roost here.
