Not sure if this has been covered before.
Starling have made the move to Taiwan in what is probably the only realistic way to grow the business without having huge funding to setup a streamlined operation in the UK.
It doesnt bother me one bit that they are made in Taiwain but there was something more special about it being UK made and I have wanted one for quite a while now to replace my 29er FS frame - The only thing I was hoping to see was that making them overseas would bring the price down a fair bit but looks like they are over £1800 still.
Odd naming convention too. Usually if something is a "factory" model its the top spec one, not the budget one churned out in the far East
After checking, it does appear that the price is a lot lower as things have crept up since the year or two ago since I looked at one - They are £2040 without shock for the UK made model so probably about £450-£500 cheaper when you take the shock into account.
Its about the same price as a transition sentinel now which I suppose is a comparable bike, I do prefer the Starling though.
I think its a great idea. Custom Geo built in the UK is how i read it and the Factory, is built in just that a "factory" £1800 with a shock seemed reasonable to me, some nice design features. I am going to try and get a go on one this year.
"Odd naming convention too. Usually if something is a “factory” model its the top spec one, not the budget one churned out in the far East"
I think calling a top spec model "factory" is the odd convention!
kind of looses its limited appeal now (to me)
some people love them. I wouldn't
yeah doesn't appeal to me but all good if that's your bag
Having just received my UK made Starling a few weeks ago, I can definitely say that one of the key factors to me getting one was the UK made custom geometry. Whilst doing this will maybe remove some of the exclusivity of the brand, I think it's definitely the right idea from a business perspective. I'm very happy that mine is custom, and at least there are subtle frame differences so that I'll always be able to differentiate the UK bikes from the Taiwanese ones! Good luck to Joe, I hope it's a huge success for him!
I think calling a top spec model “factory” is the odd convention!
Suspect it depends on what your past experience is, to me
Production = run of the mill buy it in the shops
Factory = super dooper unobtainable or at least limited availability
I think calling a top spec model “factory” is the odd convention!
Depends on your background. In motorcycle racing, the "factory" or "works" bike is e.g. Honda Racing Corp.'s team bike, with all the factory's support, not a bought machine, run by a satellite team. Probably the same of cars and that, I don't know
So as name for top model, fair enough, but with that^ info, it's even more odd to call the top model Factory, if it's a frame being sold for punters to build and ride/race off their own bat.
Odd naming convention too. Usually if something is a “factory” model its the top spec one, not the budget one churned out in the far East
I like it, it's the one that's made in a factory, versus made in a shed.
Fortunately I seem to fall between sizes, or I'm sure I'd be tempted.
"Works" makes more sense to me. "Factory" just makes me think of Orange bikes and Fox suspension's branding, no-one else.
This is made in a factory vs made in a workshop (shed until recently!) What else should it be called? If you call it production that's confusing because we tend to refer to prototype, pre-production and production as the processes of getting a product to market.
Looks like a good solution to the capacity problem Joe was having!
Given a large number of Starlings are called a murmuration, maybe the name for the mass produced should be called 'Murmuration' instead for differentiation and to reduce the confusion as to whether 'Factory' is better or worse?
*nevermind, im being a blind ****
Strange that Stanton are going the other way and bring stuff in house and UK built.
Strange that Stanton are going the other way and bring stuff in house and UK built.
Different companies with different problems? Starling obviously needed more capacity than one man in a shed could cope with after all the good press. Stanton already make their hardtails in the far east but wanted to launch an even more premium product in a FS frame, nothing to say Stanton won't offshore production of their FS bike or Starling won't find a way to get them made competitively in the UK. Cy/Cotic attempted it and thought it would be competitive but IIRC struggled to get the factory setup for mass production, so maybe now Shand/Trillion are expanding, Stanton are starting, and Sterling are growing we'll reach a critical mass where a factory producing several brands is actually a viable option. As opposed to one man in a shed making one frame at a time expanding to become several men in a slightly bigger shed making one frame each at a time which doesn't have quite the same efficiency savings as someone like Orange with a proper production process.
Maybe 'Factory' is a bit tongue in cheek!
Neither bike is better than the other. Both bikes ride the same. It's just whether you get on with the limited 'Factory' sizing or not. If so, you're lucky and you'll save a few £££.
There's a couple of nice details on the UK made frame not on the Taiwanese one to differentiate (stainless lasercut stealth port, bird detail in HT gusset and integrated seat clamp), but they have no impact on the ride.
What is the price of the factory frame with a shock? I think it is £1800 without?
£1850 with shock.
Strange that Stanton are going the other way and bring stuff in house and UK built.
Not strange, poor choice of words.Just interesting that 2 UK brands building a similar product in different ways, and I think it's really pleasing to see UK bike companies pushing on and doing well.
Would like at see a Factory Swoop, but I'd happily take an off the peg Starling, well as long as I didn't have to pay for it with real money.
Once these come into stock they should be a good option for people who don't need custom geo. At the moment, 'Autumn' feels just as far away as his custom ones and the difference in price doesn't seem to be that vast.
Would love to try one!
Price difference is approx £650 when you take the shock into account.
As I currently fit very nicely on a 460mm reach bike with a traditional seat tube angle, I wonder if 485mm reach with the 77deg ST would work for me?
PS. played with the bike builder last night, the add-on bits are very reasonably priced. Kudos to Joe for that.
They do look like a good option, only thing i wasn't sure on was the Metric Shock. Does this tie you to Rockshox or are other brands doing this 'standard' now?
I thought they were 200x57?
"I thought they were 200×57?"
The factory models take metric shocks and are slightly shorter (140mm) rear travel.
All the major brands do Metric shocks now, including Rockshox, DVO and Fox that can be supplied with the Starlings.