Would you consider buying a steel mountain bike frame? Or did carbon become the go-to material for all bikes out there? Joe McEwan is an enthusiast. A person with strong beliefs, strong opinions, and a mission. He founded and still owns Starling Cycles. His brand will enter its 10th anniversary next year. 10 years of simplicity and elegance in steel single-pivot frames. Challenging times in the bike industry don't mean there will be no growth, because Starling will do exactly this. Serving the customers better and helping you get your steel dream bike.

Join us on the Testpilot podcast in a passionate discussion about bike technology, staying true to your beliefs, the fun we all have on bikes, expanding business, and, of course, the unique ride feel of a steel mountain bike.

If you use Spotify or Apple Podcast, you may also subscribe to our channels there. Easier to put the episodes on your speaker while driving to the riding spot.

Bristol, Taiwan, and the Czech Republic

While the podcast will give you an insight to Starling Cycles the company itself is about to change – but not like you might think it will. There won’t be carbon frames anytime soon. Joe and his team will still provide you with the frames made from Reynolds 853, the steel lover is a fan of. But they will get help.

Shortening lead times to serve customers quicker, providing demo rides, and teaming up with bike shops to have the bikes on the floor will mark a huge step forward for the brand. While starting literally in the shed behind the house, Joe now teamed up with Fort Frames in the Czech Republic to be able to fulfill demand. A couple of years back, Starling started to source the rear triangles of their core models out of ORA in Taiwan.

Will this change the core values of Starling Cycles?

Joe assured us in the podcast that they will still do plenty of frames at their Bristol operation. Including pushing forward the refining of their brazed steel frames, prototyping and the models Beady Little Eye, Swoop, and Sturn will remain UK made.

Below the full statement from Joe himself:

“Joe here from Starling Cycles.

Starling is almost 10 years old. It started in the shed at the bottom of my garden and has gradually evolved into a ‘proper’ bike business with staff, an established workshop and customers all over the world. I’m really proud of it.

And now it’s time to take another big step forward. I want to make it easier for you to buy a Starling, keep the business strong and independent and stick around for another 10 years. No easy task in today’s bike industry!

From now on, Starling’s Core front triangles (the 29” Murmur and mixed-wheel Twist) will be handmade by Fort Frames in the Czech Republic, using Reynolds 853 tubing. Core rear triangles will continue to be manufactured in Taiwan by ORA.

RARE frames such as the Beady Little Eye, Swoop, and Sturn will continue to be built at home in Bristol, which we’re really excited about.

Moving Core manufacturing to the EU was a big decision, but is a really positive one. It allows us to build larger batches of frames, whilst staying true to our handmade ethos.
It means that we can finally hold stock of frames here at Starling, rather than building to order. No more waiting 12 weeks for your frame, no more hanging around and time off the bike. You can order, and we’ll have your lovely new frame in the post almost immediately.
We can also now build a network of Starling dealers around the world, something that’s really important to us. We know loads of you prefer to buy in person through a shop, custom-build and demo-ride. We couldn’t do that before, and now we can. Bike shops are great, support your local one if you can.
And this also means more time, energy and capacity to focus on our RARE bikes - our weird and wonderful, small batch and prototype stuff. We’ll focus the Bristol workshop on making stuff like the 27.5” Swoop, the Sturn DH bike and single-speed Beady Little Eye. Maybe we’ll even get to work on that gearbox bike you’re all asking for?
We’ll also continue to do all of our design, testing and ‘business stuff’ here in Bristol. All our assembly and frame prep will stay here in the UK, and we’ll keep running our repair and refurb services from the Workshop. Our staff will stay the same, and we’ll keep running Starling in exactly the same way as ever.
So, who is Fort Frames?

Fort is one of the world’s best steel frame builders. They’ve been making handmade mountain bike frames for thirty years, and already work with some of the most respected UK and European brands. They completely understand what we’re about and are masters of their craft.

We’ve visited them, seen them work and trust them to build a frame that’s exactly to our spec. They’re using Reynolds 853 as we've always done and are building to the exact same quality as we do here in Bristol. For the customer, it’s every bit as fun, simple, reliable and ‘Starling’ as ever.

This change isn’t about getting rich or taking over the world. It’s about keeping Starling strong and sustainable, without having to take on crazy investment, selling out to big business or reaching beyond our means.

It’s about setting Starling up for the future and being able to remain strong, independent and very “us” for years to come. All while continuing to make beautifully simple mountain bikes that are zero hassle and a blast on the trails.

And that’s it, it's hopefully nothing too drastic, but is something we wanted to communicate clearly and honestly with the world.

Starling frames are due to land in stock in November 2025 in all sizes, available via StarlingCycles.com. They can be purchased with or without shocks, and complete builds are available on request.

More at StarlingCycles.com.