QUICK HITS
• 165mm Single Pivot Suspension
• 29” Wheels Only
• Fixed Geometry
• HTA 64
• STA 77.2 (effective)
WE DIG
WE DON’T
ABOUT THE STARLING MEGA MURMUR
The Mega Murmur takes Starling’s classic Murmur trail bike, and “Mega”fies it. With the same front triangle combined with a 10mm longer rear triangle and a longer shock, the Mega Murmur provides 165mm rear travel to go with a 170mm fork and pair of 29” wheels. Starling says its targeted to be the hard-hitting enduro mountain bike in their range, particularly excelling for taller riders on “bigger” terrain.
FRAME AND FEATURES | The Mega Murmur is one of Starling’s V3 frames, featuring all their latest technology and features developed over the last ten years. The front triangle is manufactured in their Bristol, UK, headquarters in small batches to ensure the highest quality. It’s manufactured from Reynolds 853 steel, which is produced in Germany using 100% recycled raw material. Following the front triangle being welded, it is then heat treated to offer the best strength and fatigue life. The rear end is made by a third party in the UK from heat-treated Chromoly steel.
For their V3 frames, Starling added a UDH derailleur hanger; alloy seatpost insert to prevent seizing, and anti-flare head tube to boost resilience. The pivot bearings now sit in the rear end, giving a wider bearing stance and facilitating easier service. Starling has made provisions to fit a water bottle within the front triangle on medium frames and above.
Standards include a threaded 73mm bottom bracket; EC44/ZS44 headset; 180mm post mount rear brake with compatibility for up to 200mm, and Boost rear axle spacing. The headtube is given their classic gusset, and there’s a bolt-on brace to tie the rear end together and boost stiffness. A neat integrated chain guide bolts onto the rear triangle to keep the chain in check, and there’s ISCG 05 tabs in place to add protection if desired.
Cable routing on Starling frames is fully external, aside from the last portion of the dropper seatpost. This is done in a bid to provide the easiest possible service. There are multiple points for cable ties to fix the cables in place, keeping rattle and movement to a minimum.
Starling stands by their frames, providing a 7-year warranty and crash replacement service to original owners. Furthermore, they offer a frame repair and refurbishment service, keeping any Starling frames going for as long as possible.
SUSPENSION | Starling keeps it simple with their suspension, using a classic single pivot to deliver 165mm of rear wheel travel. As standard, this is intended to be paired with a 170mm fork up front.
Starling positions the single pivot to be slightly above and in front of a 32T front chainring, giving the suspension kinematic they consider optimal.
GEOMETRY | The Mega Murmur is offered in a choice of four sizes, from the “Medium Plus” to an XXL, and is claimed to fit riders from 5’8” (172cm) to 6’8” (203cm).
The chainstay length and effective seat tube angle are consistent through the size range, at 455mm and 77.2° respectively. The head tube angle is claimed at 64.1° as standard, and the bottom bracket has 28mm of drop below the axles. When measuring the head angle with the spec tested, it sat at a slacker 63 degrees.
The size large tested had a 485mm Reach and fairly tall 647mm Stack height. The resulting wheelbase was 1270mm.
BUILD SPECS | Starling is typically the kind of manufacturer that you’ll find riders creating custom builds with. However, in addition to the £2,150 frame only option – which includes the choice of five standard colors – you can also purchase a full build from Starling. This full build option is decked out in high quality components from brands that Starling trusts, and retails for £7,200.
Over the course of this long-term review, the Mega Murmur received many different spec setups, since it was used as a test bed for component reviews. In its final guise as pictured, it tipped the scales at 38.4lbs (17.4kg), though was down at around 36lbs (16.3kg) at its lightest. Of course, it’s not a lightweight machine, however both of these build weights did not have any corners cut in terms of durability or performance for aggressive enduro mountain biking. Interesting to note is the axle to crown height of the 180mm travel Formula Belva enduro dual crown is similar to that of a 170mm single crown fork, and Starling reckoned the frame would be suitably strong for a dual crown fork since it utilizes the same tubing and gussets as their DH machine.
THE DIRT
I had the pleasure of visiting the Starling HQ in Bristol, England, to collect my Mega Murmur frame. It’s a neat operation, complete with the skateboard mini ramp that’s a sign of any good bike brand. Starling mechanic James did a great job of assembling the bike with my components, and I was ready to hit the trails in no time.
SETUP | The Mega Murmur was an interesting bike to get set up. A linear suspension leverage curve necessitates slightly different setup when compared to the progression that’s typically found on a linkage-equipped bike. As such, when ridden with a coil shock, Starling recommends going two spring rates higher than you might be used to, in order to obtain the necessary support for the end of the stroke. This altered the dynamic ride height, with a taller bottom bracket due to the reduced sag that resulted. Because the static bottom bracket drop is reasonable, but not extreme, it can feel that the Mega Murmur is fairly tall at sag. However upon successive harder impacts, the Mega Murmur settled into the travel and gave no issues with ride height.
The Mega Murmur was a great candidate for a progressive coil spring, ramp chamber or hydraulic bottom out equipped coil, or an air shock. We experimented with the stock Ohlins coil sprung shock, as well as a Formula Nebbia air shock (which turned out to be faulty following considerable time spent trying to obtain a comfortable setup). The progression present in that air sprung shock allowed for more rear sag to be used, which offered an improved “in the bike” feeling. However, once the Ohlins coil shock was dialed in, the handling characteristics were very enjoyable. Around 24% sag offered a good compromise of sensitivity and support, though the rubber bottom out bumper was still called into play more often than Ohlins may have foreseen.
CLIMBING | When a company combines a solid climbing position with a well-balanced kinematic, the climbing performance can easily exceed expectations. For a big dual crown-equipped steel enduro bike, the Mega Murmur was a solid climber. In the saddle, there was enough anti squat to minimize rear end movement sufficiently that the lockout lever became a nicety rather than a necessity. When standing up and giving the pedals some hammer, the rear end was more inclined to move, but it was by no means a slouch going up.
The high overall build weight was as much of a factor of its build kit as it was the frame, with Starling claiming their frame weights to be in the region of 3.6kg. I’d assume the Mega Murmur and its longer rear end to be closer to the 4kg mark, which is comparable with the likes of the RAAW Madonna. Combine either of these frames with a lighter weight wheelset with faster rolling tires, and I think you’d be surprised at how reasonable the climbing performance is. But I’d urge you to take the hit on climbing, in order to spec the Starling properly to unlock the full descending prowess.
Combining the fairly well centered seating position with the relatively long rear end, there was plentiful weight on the front wheel to make technical climbing efforts pleasant. The front end was in a spot that proved to be easy enough to handle, especially with the reduced sag that accompanied the coil-sprung rear end setup. As such, the Mega Murmur was a happy climber, especially when maintaining some momentum and tempo on the way up.
DESCENDING | Let’s talk about the question that was presented every single time I talked to a fellow rider about the Starling – the rear end stiffness. “How can those skinny seatstays possibly be strong and stiff enough?” is something I became very sick of hearing by the end of testing. Especially because my positive responses were often met with some disbelief. However, I’m pleased to say that looks can be deceiving, and the Mega Murmur’s rear end was not the most flexible I’ve tested this year. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a hyper stiff, berm slashing machine, but it was very much in the usable range, even for a heavier rider like my 220lbs (100kg) self.
What the slightly compliant rear end may have lost in ultimate precision and “sharpness” in a handful of high side-load scenarios, it made up for with comfort and traction. The rear of the Mega Murmur had a beautifully calm feeling, which delivered a ton of confidence and control in high frequency roughness. Grip levels were great, and the Starling held a line through the gnar as well as the best of them. With the aftermarket VHS chain protection tape keeping chain slap to a minimum and the well-controlled cable routing preventing rattles, the overall ride was dialed. It really paid to sweat the details to eliminate rattle from your bike as best as you can – a reminder for every rider out there.
The geometry Starling selected for the Mega Murmur delivered a great compromise of stability and agility. The size large tested exhibited great balance, letting the rider sit in a neutral position and attack the trail ahead. It wasn’t the kind of machine that begged to pop and play or spend time on the back wheel, but instead an enduro bike that favored high speeds and gnarly terrain.
With quality dampers on both ends, it was only the most awkward and severe impacts that delivered any notion of unsettling the steel machine. Even on the highest speed runs of the French Alps such as the classic Le Pleney black, the Mega Murmur provided confidence and composure to let me open up the taps. Whether it was the air-sprung rear and deeper sag, or the higher riding coil shock, the result was a rear end that was surprisingly comfortable and effective for “just a single pivot” – no doubt thanks in part to the steel rear end.
The steel rear end highlighted its flex on a couple of huck-to-flat moments. With the air removed from the shock, there was ample clearance between the seat tube and rear tire at bottom out. However, a few particularly hard hits on the trail forced the rear tire to scrub some paint off the back of the seat tube. In this way, it is possible that the Starling’s rear end actually delivers more than the 165mm quoted travel. In practice there were no issues aside from some scarring to the paint, but it’s a quirk worth noting.
FINISH AND VALUE | The finish quality of the Starling Mega Murmur was excellent for the most part, with the details fairly well covered. There’s a few elements that do feel a little “garage build” in their execution, such as the plates for the front shock mount and the bolts that hold it to the frame. Otherwise, it was all clean, tidy, and well aligned.
Cable routing was solid and simple, though the way the cables sit against the inside edge of the head tube gusset isn’t great – I’d love to see this area revised. Otherwise, although the external routing wasn’t the “clean” and “modern” solution, its functionality and no-fuss performance made up for it. The water bottle mounting setup can lead to dropped bottles with a standard cage, but a Fidlock setup proved to function perfectly, and I was able to get the bigger bottle in the frame without fouling. Seatpost insertion depths are excellent, with most riders easily getting a 200mm, if not longer.
As a single pivot design, there’s a lot of force going through a couple of bearings. Starling didn’t cut corners with this area, and has made a suitably stiff and stout connection. They survived the year of abuse without needing to be replaced, and still turned relatively smoothly and freely at the end of testing. Even more impressively, following an initial snug-down after the first few rides, they did not come loose, and the same goes for the brace and shock hardware.
Looking across the size range, no size-specificity means the largest sizes will begin to feel less balanced than the size large on test. The medium+ size is likely to feel even more planted at the front and less playful, but is not likely to be overly extreme. Riders looking for increased playfulness can opt to get the shorter rear end from the Murmur. Otherwise, there’s no stand-out, quirky numbers, though it’d always be nice to see some geometry adjustment options. The Headset does offer the possibility to adjust the head angle by up to 2 degrees though, if the rider desired.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
STARLING MEGA MURMUR vs. RAAW MADONNA
Since I mentioned the RAAW Madonna as a competitive bike of a similar weight, I figure it makes sense to compare the two. The biggest two standouts are frame stiffness and the dynamic geometry. The RAAW felt more stout and more deeply sunk into the bike, whereas the Starling rode higher and allowed the wheels to find their way through the rough. I’d say I could likely ride the Madonna more aggressively, but I don’t imagine the clock would tell all that much by the end of a race track – the Starling is absolutely a bike I could see putting down a heater run between the tape.
The Wolf’s Last Word
Balanced, comfortable and beautifully simple, the Starling Mega Murmur is an excellent example of how good things can be when the details are stressed but the execution is not complicated. The Mega Murmur is a bike that can be pushed hard and eats up rough terrain, but demands a slightly different suspension setup to most, and won’t be ideal for the cutty lovers. 
Price: £2,150 (Frame Only) – £7,200 (Full Build)
Website: Starlingcycles.com
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