After teasing us with the down country Murmur, UK’s Starling Cycles has announced that they are “making it official” and released the Mini Murmer. The Mini Murmur is a 120mm rear-travel trail/XC/down country/do-whatever bike that Starling says is “seriously fun and seriously fast”.
Adding to the Mega Murmur and the Murmur, the Mini Mumur takes Starling’s award-winning, steel, handmade, single-pivot frame and morphs it into a “zippy trail rocket”. Saying that it has “all of the feel of steel, built around 120mm rear travel, go-for-it geometry, and lightweight components”.
The Mini Murmur will be available as a frame-only or complete bike option. The complete bikes will be spec’d with “DT Swiss’ F232 ONE air suspension, fast Michelin rubber, DT Wheels, and lightweight Hope components.”
Not everyone needs a blaze o’ glory, coil-sprung enduro bike, and that’s where the Mini Murmur steps in. Starling hopes the Mini will offer an extra avenue into Starling for more riders. It offers a load of versatility, making it perfect for a shreddy lunch run or a quick lap on the local loop. Starling says it’s a strong climber and zippy singletrack shredder” and that it’s made for all-day, big climbing, epic adventures… for huge days of “up” and “down”.
Mini Murmur Details
The Mini Murmur is built around Starling’s handmade steel frame. It uses their adjustable shock mount which translates to Starling achieving huge versatility from their design. They can adapt their frames into “long-travel, big mountain crushers or short-travel razzers, like the Mini Murmur”.
The complete-build Mini Murmur uses a lightweight, DT shock in 210x50mm length, which provides 120mm rear travel. The frame’s front triangle is handmade in the UK using Reynolds 853 heat-treated tubing. The rear triangle is also handmade, but by ORA in Taiwan, using heat-treated chromoly.
Like all of Starling’s Core full suspension bikes, the Mini has a UDH drop out, through axle, adjustable shock mount, and all of their V3 frame features. It’s a steel frame, so it can be repaired, refurbished, recycled, and repainted. Starling points out that it’s “made to last and to reject throw-away, new-bike-every-season bullshit”.
Mini Murmur Spec List and Retail
Retail: £2150 (frame without shock)
Frame with DT shock: £2549
Complete bike, incl. VAT: £7650
- Fork: DT Swiss F323 One 120mm
- Shock: DT Swiss R535 120mm
- Wheels: DT Swiss XMC 1501
- Tires: F/R Michelin Wild XC
- Crankset: Hope Carbon 165mm / 32T Hope 30mm
- Bottom Bracket: Hope 30mm
- Chain: Shimano 8100 (XT)
- Cassette: Shimano 8100 (XT)
- Derailleur: Shimano 8100 (XT)
- Shifter: Shimano 8100 (XT)
- Brakes: Hope XCR 4 Piston F/R
- Rotors: 180mm Hope Floating F/R
- Grips: Sensus Lite
- Bar: Renthal Fatbar Lite V2 T6 Alloy
- Stem: Hope TR 40mm
- Headset: Hope
- Top Cap: Hope
- Seat Clamp: Hope
- Seat Post: Bike Yoke Divine
- Dropper Remote: Bike Yoke
- Saddle: Fizik Alpaca X5
Starling Cycles Mini Murmur Geo
Starling Customer Support Details
“In an age of folding brands and brutally fussy warranty departments, we want to show the customer that they come first. And we want to make simple and beautiful things that last for years, don’t become obsolete overnight, and don’t need to be scrapped when you crash them.”
All Starlings V3 frames come with a 7-year warranty against manufacturer defects. they are also covered by a crash-replacement service. Crash it and damage it, and they’ll fix it. You pay for shipping, they pay for labor and materials.
The warranty and crash replacement service applies to the original owner. However, all owners, new or non-original, have access to their repaint, refurbish and repair services. If your frame is looking worn out and tired, you can send it to Starling for fresh bearings, paint, and graphics.
If your frame is damaged, they can repair it and sometimes even upgrade it. They can repair flared head tubes, dented tubes, and broken or bent frame features, such as. tabs or brackets. Saying that “they can’t do everything”, but they’re confident that they can keep your frame running for several years.
Check out all of the Murmurs at the link below.