""It's really fun to ride. But in my opinion, 32" doesn't make mountain biking more fun, more affordable, or more accessible to more people," Joe McEwan, Starling's founder, said. "In the short term, people with money can gain an advantage (if there is one), but this is lost if everyone is forced to change wheel size and we end up back where we started.""
"Starling started with their Murmur frame, adapting the front triangle to accommodate the larger wheel. As you might imagine, the front of the Murmur needed to go up fairly significantly, thanks to the roughly 40mm higher axle on a 32" wheel."
"And, despite initial cynicism (and perhaps some that is still present) to 32" wheels, Starling said, "Why not?" Taking advantage of being a relatively small brand working with steel tubing, they felt opinion without experience is shaky ground."
Starling Cycles introduced the Big Bird, a 32"-wheeled variant built from the Murmur frame with a larger front wheel. The front triangle was raised significantly to account for roughly a 40mm higher axle, producing a 15mm shorter reach compared with the Murmur. The rear triangle was carried over unchanged, reflecting a preference for a mixed-wheeled ride feel. Starling positioned the project as experimental, citing small-brand flexibility and steel tubing advantages. The founder noted the ride is fun but cautioned that 32" wheels may not make mountain biking more affordable or broadly accessible long-term.
Read at Bikerumor
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]