Interview

Starling Cycles Return 27.5″

Starling Swoop 27.5″ Made Available, We Ask Why

We recently received news that British Mountain Bike company Starling Cycles has opened up their order books for their Swoop – a 27.5″ full suspension machine that can be configured for either 160mm or 130mm travel. We had to know why, so fired some questions through to Starling’s head honcho, Joe McEwan.

While he may not have claimed to have solved all mountain biker’s issues, or found the magic formula to make a 27.5″ wheel the fastest down a race stage, we still thought the rationale and demands were interesting to share.

The Loam Wolf (TLW) : You’ve brought back the Swoop! In a time where just about everyone has left a 27.5″ front wheel behind, why have you decided to make it available again?

Joe McEwan of Starling Cycles (JM): There’s still lots of people who want 27.5″ bikes, we have continued to sell them. We are just changed the way we manufacture and sell them to make it more batch orientated.  This is much more efficient for us, and gives us a regular opportunity to market the bikes again!

TLW: What kind of rider do you expect to buy one?

JM: Typically the smaller wheels are more suited to riders who like to move the bike around.  As you know, the smaller wheels have less gyroscopic stability, so make it easier to manouevre the bike.  Also, the Swoop has shorter chainstays than our other bikes which adds to how it rides.

This suits rider who ride with that style, those hop and pop, looks for every downslope and rut to generate speed.  If you ride like this, the bike that suits you will be the best for you.  There’s no point forcing it and riding a 29er if you don’t suit the riding style.

TLW: A dual 27.5″ bike seems like a freerider’s dream. Is the Swoop rated for bikepark and big dirt jump riding?

JM: Yep, the frame has similar dowtube, top tube and gusset as our DH bike, so is pretty strong but not quite DH bike strength. Our sponsored rider, Boosted Bryn, hits some pretty big stuff on it…

TLW: Has it been influenced by smaller riders at all? Do you think junior and smaller adult riders stand to gain the most from the Swoop?

JM: Yes, obviously the smaller wheels suit smaller riders.  And the shorter stays give a more balanced bike for smaller front triangle sizes.  In fact we don’t make an XL Swoop, as we feel it becomes too unbalanced.

TLW: What kind of ride would you choose to take the Swoop on personally, as a 5’11″(total guess, sorry if I offended, haha!) rider?

JM: Rob, I’m bang on 5’11”, good guess.  Personally the Swoop doesn’t suit my riding style.  I’m fairly static on the bike and like to carve lines and plough through the rough stuff, rather than seek out the most exciting line choice.  I ride a Murmur and love it!  If I was to ride a Swoop, it would be to try and learn to jump properly or change the way I ride, but I’m too old a dog for that!!

About The Starling Swoop

Rare Species

We don’t get many Swoop orders nowadays, riders seem to prefer mullet or 29″.

But, we love the bike and we love 27.5″ wheels. So much that we don’t want to write it off. It’s fun, it’s fast, it’s shreddy.

So, the Swoop sits in our ‘Rare’ collection of bikes. That’s our collection of lesser-spotted birds – bikes that are made in limited batches, available for a short time and then not seen again for some time.

You see, the Swoop uses our 27.5″ rear triangle, and a unique front triangle that isn’t shared with any of our other bikes.

Where the Murmur and Twist share the same front triangle, it’s easier to build bikes in batches. We can make those frames, and then decide what model they become once an order is placed. That’s not the case with the Swoop – they have to be made to order, and where they require specific tooling it’s time-consuming and expensive to make one or two at a time.

So, it makes sense to add them to our Rare collection and make them in larger batches.

Basically, if you want a Swoop, now’s your chance. It won’t come around again anytime soon!

Let’s Swoop

The Swoop order window is open till 3rd September. We’re offering them as frames, with bolt-on additional components such as shocks, forks, headsets etc.

Complete bikes are also possible, but, get in touch if you want one.

Tap the link to check out the product page for Rare Starling Cycles Swoop.