Six points on the frame.
Press a dot to see what the part is and why it is built that way, from Starling’s Tech Journal. Or .
Unofficial concept demo · built by Osman El Moghraby · not affiliated with Starling Cycles
Single pivot
One pivot. Two bearings.
- Layout
- Single pivot
- Bearings
- 6902 2RS
- To maintain
- 2
Simple beats complex. Fewer bearings means less to service and a more sensitive back end. Starling put it plainly: “A badly maintained single-pivot will always work better than a badly maintained multi pivot.”
Adjustable shock mount
Move the mount. Change the travel.
- Rear travel
- 135mm
- Shock
- 210 × 55
Stock setting. The published geometry is measured here.
Move the mount, fit a different shock, and the travel changes with it. One frame covers several bikes. You do not buy another frame to get another bike.
Head tube gusset
Take the load out of the joint.
- Gusset
- Starling head tube gusset
- Head tube
- Anti-flare
- Headset
- ZS44/28.6 top · EC44/40 bottom
A welded joint concentrates heat and stress into a small radius. That is where frames fail. The gusset spreads the load out of that zone instead of trusting the weld to carry it.
Reynolds 853 front triangle
Compliance, on purpose.
- Tubing
- Reynolds 853
- Made in
- EU
- S, M+, XXL
- Handmade in Bristol
The compliance is doing a job here, not being tolerated. It is the bottom-out control a progressive linkage would otherwise provide. Starling measured it against a carbon frame rather than asserting it.
Rear triangle
Hard bottom-outs stay smooth.
- Material
- Heat-treated chromoly
- Built by
- ORA, Taiwan
- Chainstay
- 455mm, every size
- Rear axle
- 148 × 12 Boost
- Mullet
- Rear wheel swap
The compliant rear triangle is what keeps hard bottom-outs smooth. A reviewer went looking for bad lines and could not make it harsh.
Dropout and hanger
Standard parts. Seven-year warranty.
- Hanger
- SRAM UDH, T-Type, replaceable
- Chain device
- Integrated, 28–34T
- Brakes
- Post mount, 203mm max rotor
Standard parts you can buy anywhere. Seven year warranty behind them. Nothing proprietary to be stranded by in five years.
Travel
One frame, four settings. Move the shock mount, fit a different length shock.
135mm rear · 210 × 55 shock
Stock setting. The published geometry is measured here.
Published geometry is for 135mm with a 210 × 55. Starling don’t publish figures for the other three settings, so this page shows none. Their own line on what moves: “A longer fork slackens angles, a shorter fork steepens them.” Fork: 150mm standard.
The mount movement on the photo is illustrative. The photo is one fixed setup.
Size and geometry
Six sizes for riders from 5′2″ to 6′8″ (158–203cm). Starling don’t publish a height-to-size mapping, so neither does this page. The numbers are here so you can decide.
| Size | Reach | Stack | Head | Seat tube | Chainstay | Wheelbase | BB drop | Standover |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S RARE | 425 | 602 | 65.0° | 375 | 455 | 1203 | 46 | 820 |
| M CORE | 450 | 629 | 65.0° | 410 | 455 | 1228 | 43 | 825 |
| M+ RARE | 465 | 629 | 65.0° | 430 | 455 | 1247 | 34 | 832 |
| L CORE | 485 | 629 | 65.0° | 440 | 455 | 1260 | 34 | 839 |
| XL CORE | 515 | 638 | 65.0° | 480 | 455 | 1298 | 34 | 843 |
| XXL RARE | 545 | 647 | 65.0° | 510 | 455 | 1328 | 34 | 862 |
CORE — M, L, XL. EU stock, 3–5 days. RARE — S, M+, XXL. Handmade at Starling in Bristol to order, 8–12 weeks.
455mm chainstay and 65.0° head angle on every size. Max tyre 29 × 2.6″. 73mm threaded BB.
One pivot, not four
The Murmur’s swingarm turns on a single pivot with two 6902 2RS bearings. Schematic, not to scale, no particular other bike.
“A badly maintained single-pivot will always work better than a badly maintained multi pivot.”Starling Cycles, Tech Journal
Single pivot — Murmur
1 pivot · 2 bearings — 6902 2RS, the two you maintain.
Four-bar — generic
4 pivots · 8 bearings at two a pivot.
Fewer bearings means less to service and a more sensitive back end. Starling’s argument, in their words, is in the article: single pivot, steel and coil
About this page
This is a concept, built by Osman El Moghraby. It is not a Starling Cycles page and Starling have not endorsed it. The frame photo is theirs and comes down the moment they ask.
Every specification, figure and quotation here is taken from starlingcycles.com — the Murmur product page and the Tech Journal. Nothing has been added. Where Starling don’t publish a number, this page doesn’t show one.
The point is simple. The writing already existed. It wasn’t on the bike.
- Why single pivot, steel and coil
- Are steel frames flexier than carbon?
- Which shock length for your frame
- The best way to join steel tubes
- V3 frames walkthrough
Osman El Moghraby · osman.elmoghraby@gmail.com