You know we’ve got an affinity for all things Starling Cycles over here, and that love resonates with the readership. Justin sent in his 51st birthday present to himself for this week’s Readers’ Rides: a balleur Starling Murmur V3 build! Let’s check it out!
Hi guys, have always been a big fan of the site and finally built a bike which I think is pretty special.
This is my 51st birthday present to myself! I thought long and hard about buying a new Specialized Stumpjumper; carbon frame, carbon wheels, and carbon components, electronic gears, Horst link, and all that, but decided to go for something a little different that might just end up being a “forever bike”.
I like to build bikes. For the longest time, I’ve dreaded the idea of a “forever bike” because there’s only so much space, and I detest the concept of perfection. The idea that if I were to acquire the perfect bike, I might lose the excitement of N + 1 and the motivation to build more bikes.
I own some really nice bikes. The stable is currently at 9; My 80’s steel Paino road bike is a keeper as it’s clocked up so many forever memories and out of all my bikes it’s got the greatest stories; everything from finding and convincing the guy (Peter from Star Enamellers) who originally painted the bike in the 80’s for Frank Paino to repaint it for me, through to finally meeting Frank Paino himself and getting his approval on my build.
In terms of emotion and experience, everything else (with the exception perhaps to my ’90s MTBs as they’re wall art that remind me of my childhood) dwindles in comparison to the Paino. The Amflow e-MTB is off its tits and has truly helped to get me back out on the trails, but it’s an e-bike, and I highly doubt it’ll last. The Specialized S-Works SL8 Tarmac is the most expensive build I’ve ever built (an insane $18k AUD for the base bike before modification). It’s a great bike with more performance than I could ever harness, but I have little to no emotional connection to the bike or the brand.
All that said, I think I’ve found a “forever bike” in this Starling Murmur. It was love at first sight. A heart thing more than a mind thing. I have little doubt that for the money spent a 2026 Specialized Stumpjumper would do the job and then some, but I’ve always hurled myself down the path less travelled by.
Before even taking delivery of the frame, I reached out to Starling via email, and a few days later, I surprisingly got a response from the owner and frame designer Joe McEwan (turns out Joe was a skater too!). With my weight and terrain in mind, he’s been incredible in helping me decide on the rear shock for the frame, which in turn will dictate the rest of the build.
I place a lot of value on being able to converse with the frame designer. If I ever had a problem with my Specialized S-Works SL8 Tarmac, I’d simply file a warranty claim, and they’d grab another frame off the shelf and send it out to me, whereas Joe’s concept of repairing frames (and further developing them on the fly) and keeping the frames going at all costs in order to not be wasteful ticks a bigger box in my eyes.
Boutique and handmade using Reynolds 853 tubing, brazed in a small workshop in Bristol, UK, it’s the “forever bike” formula I’ve tried to avoid until I got older, but hey, I’m 51 next month! I’m here, the time is now.
To me, this bike has more character, style, and above all, it better reflects my personality. It’s wildly future-proof too in that Starling has designed the Murmur front triangle (handmade in Bristol) to be the same across 3 different models, and it’s the rear swingarm (handmade by Ora Engineering in Taiwan) that can be swapped out for the Murmur to become a Twist (MX/Mullet setup) or Mega Murmur (Enduro rig).
Build Spec:
- Frame: Starling Murmur V3 Medium (3817g)
- Shock: Cane Creek DB Kitsuma G2 (Silver Ltd.) 210×55, 57×350 VALT Spring (766g)
- Fork: RockShox Lyrik Ultimate RC2 D2 150mm (2012g)
- Mud Guard: RockShox (38g)
- Chain Guide: Funn (13g)
- Chainstay Protector: Ride Wrap Chainstay Armour (10g)
- Thru Axle: (50g)
- Hanger: (13g)
- Headset: Chris King InSet 7 (143g)
- Top Cap: Chris King (17g)
- Shifter: Shimano XT SL-M8000 + cable (138g)
- Cables: Nissen mesh (121g)
- Derailleur: Shimano XTR RD-M9100-SGS + Garbaruk cage + 11T/16T pulleys (247g)
- Crankset: Middleburn RS8 165mm + X-type uno boost chainring 30t (597g)
- BB: Chris King Threadfit 24 + #4 Fitkit (87g/5g)
- Pedals: HT Components ME03 Alloy (265g)
- Cassette: Garbaruk, 11-Speed 10-50T, XD (311g)
- Chain: SRAM GX 12-Speed (270g)
- Brakes: Hope Tech 4 V4 (585g)
- Brake Cables: Hope Goodridge stainless steel braided (107g)
- Brake Adapters: Hope H, Hope N (32g/25g)
- Brake Rotors: TRP RS01E 2.3mm 203mm/180mm + Project 321 bolts (235g/183g/20g)
- Handlebar: PNW Range Alloy, 31.8mm/50mm Rise 760mm (317g)
- Grips: OneUp Thick Grips (144g)
- Stem: Starling Clutch 35mm, 0° rise, 31.8mm clamp, 40mm stack (250g)
- Top Cap: Chris King (15g)
- Spacers: Starling 2 x 10mm (15g)
- Dropper: PNW Loam 175mm 31.6mm silver + OneUp Ti bolts + cable (536g/9g)
- Dropper Remote: Hope Dropper Lever + Shifter Mount (40g/10g)
- Seatpost Clamp: Burgtec Rhodium 34.9mm (21g)
- Saddle: Fabric Scoop Elite (256g)
- Wheelset: Wingman Origin, Project 321 G3, Pillar Sandvick T302, valves + tape (1050g/1224gg)
- Tyres: MAXXIS Forekaster 29 x 2.4 WT 3C MaxxTerra TR EXO (912g/928g)
We’d like to thank all of you who submitted Readers Rides builds to be shared here at The Radavist. The response has been incredible and we have so many to share over the next few months. Feel free to submit your bike, listing details, components, and other information. You can also include a portrait of yourself with your bike and your Instagram account! Please, shoot landscape-orientation photos, not portrait. Thanks!