Vital MTB Staff Build: Starling Murmur 18

New bike day is always special, and for this editor, today is a little more so than usual. When starting to think about a long-term test bike and component review platform for 2024, I knew I wanted something less ordinary. I've always been drawn to the elegant simplicity of a steel-framed, single-pivot bike, and for me, Starling Cycles really embodies this whole approach. Since this is going to be my main, shorter-travel trail bike, I opted for a size L, full 29-inch Murmur in its 135 mm travel form (the same frame can be converted to 150 mm with a shock swap). A few color options were explored before we settled on a sort of dark bronze front triangle mated to Starling's traditional black swingarm (you can opt to have the swingarm painted too, but the "signature" Starling look is the black swingarm). This neutral color scheme will work well with all kinds of different color components, which will come in handy as I will be using this bike to test a lot of parts throughout the year ahead. For now, I've built the bike up with some of my preferred bits, cruise on down the page to see how it all came together and stay tuned for a long-term review to follow at some point down the line. Get your drool bibs out!

The Frame

Starling makes frames in the UK, where the front triangles are welded up using Reynolds 853 heat-treated steel tubing. The swingarms are made in Taiwan using heat-treated chromoly. The front triangles are joined together using brazing as opposed to the more commonplace TIG welding. Brazing uses a brass filler which spreads the joint out over a larger area and also generates less heat during the welding process, both of which help create strong, uniform joints. It also makes for smooth and good looking welds. The frames are quite simple, but definitely have that "boutique" feel to them.

One of the things on my must-have list of frame features is UDH compatibility, because I definitely want to run SRAM's Eagle Transmission drivetrain. Starling updated their rear triangles to UDH as of the end of 2023, and they also implemented a 180 mm rear postmount at the same time. Other neat frame details include bolt-in main pivot bearings, which makes it very easy to swap bearings when that time comes, and a nifty little integrated chainguide. All in all, I was stoked when I unboxed the frame and started putting together the build. For those who care, the air shock build came out at 16.88 kgs (~37 lbs), with pedals and sealant.

Suspension

Italian suspension specialist EXT dropped a couple of great products over the past months, which have found their way over to this new build. Version 2.1 of the Era has finally unlocked the true potential of this fork, and the new Aria air shock seemed like a great candidate to run on the Murmur frame to get started. It features a hydraulic bottom out system as well as a dual chamber positive air spring which allows you to really dial in the spring rate progression of the shock to suit the frame and your riding style. I also have a Storia Lok v3 coil shock available (which actually only weighs 100 grams more than the Aria here), and Starling says the Murmur will work great with coil despite being quite a linear frame. Early testing suggests this is indeed the case, stay tuned for more.

Drivetrain

As mentioned above, I really wanted a frame with UDH compatibility so I could run SRAM's excellent GX Transmission. I've paired it up with a Hope crank running their recently updated, T-Type compatible chainring, and Deity's T-MAC pedals.

Brakes

Vital's 2022 Product of the Year, Hope's awesome Tech 4 brake was an obvious choice for me. I love everything about this brake, from the ample power to the fantastic modulation and the light lever touch.

Cockpit

Deity makes great cockpits and my all-time favorite grip (the Supracush), and the silver parts selected matched up with this frame color perfectly. Ya gotta admit it's pretty classy looking...(I just need a Hope Tech 4 adapter for the SRAM AXS pod to really clean it all up...)

Wheels and Tires

DT Swiss supplied a complete wheel build featuring some new spokes and some other things we can't tell you about just yet. No secrecy required on the rubber side though, it's a classic Maxxis DHF/Dissector combo with EXO casing up front and EXO+ out back for a little more flat protection when things get rowdy. Tried and true, a great set-up for a trail bike!

Miscellaneous

I'm continuing my testing of the new KS Lev Circuit wireless dropper, stoked on one less cable to route (although cable routing is external on Starling's frames, it's still nice to not have to faff about with cables these days). I paired it up with one of my favorite saddles, the BikeYoke Sagma (note: I had to resort to the Sagma Lite version, not the one with the elastomers as the rail system on that one won't clear a wireless dropper head). Fun fact: for the first time I can remember, I've actually moved my saddle BACK a tiny little bit on the rails. After asking for steeper and steeper seat tubes for YEARS, I've finally found a frame where I can run the saddle more towards the middle of the rails. Whoddathunkit?! As for the rest of the finishing kit, I went with Hope for the BB and headset (shoutout to Hope for the split crown race making headset installation super easy). A Deity seat clamp in matching silver again, et voila! That's a wrap!

On The Trail

Well it's early days yet, but I've had this bike up and running for a few weeks by now, and so far, I couldn't be happier with how it has all turned out. I'll have a longer-term review done once I've been able to put in enough miles on it, but in the meantime, first impressions are everything I was hoping for. Quick and fun, with that little extra je-ne-sais-quoi of steel frame compliance...we're definitely off to a great start. Stay tuned for more!

About The Reviewer

Johan Hjord - Age: 50 // Years Riding MTB: 18 // Weight: 190-pounds (87-kg) // Height: 6'0" (1.84m)

Johan loves bikes, which strangely doesn’t make him any better at riding them. After many years spent practicing falling off cliffs with his snowboard, he took up mountain biking in 2005. Ever since, he’s mostly been riding bikes with too much suspension travel to cover up his many flaws as a rider. His 200-pound body weight coupled with unique skill for poor line choice and clumsy landings make him an expert on durability - if parts survive Johan, they’re pretty much okay for anybody. Johan rides flat pedals with a riding style that he describes as "none" (when in actuality he rips!). Having found most trail features to be not to his liking, Johan uses much of his spare time building his own. Johan’s other accomplishments include surviving this far and helping keep the Vital Media Machine’s stoke dial firmly on 11.

Photos by Johan Hjord (bike shots) and Nils Hjord (action)