Starling Cycles Stainless Steel Roost Hardtail: Is it a Forever-Bike?

You might expect a UK-based frame company to start out with hardtails and potentially move on to full suspension bikes, but that wasn’t the path for Starling Cycles founder Joe McEwan. This new Roost hardtail is the brand’s first rigid-rear MTB offering, and it’s built with stainless steel to stick around the stable for a long while. The Roost uses a mixed-wheel configuration, and it’s optimized for a 140mm fork, though Starling says that 120-160mm will work.

The stainless steel tubes are crafted in Taiwan by ORA, and paired with the external BB and cable routing this bike should be about as simple to maintain as they get. The aesthetically pleasing chainstay yoke makes space for up to 2.8″ tires in the rear with mud clearance to spare. The rear end is also Boost and non-Boost compatible to suit your current wheel setup, which is an option McEwan mentioned in our recent interview about axle spacing.

The feet-to-hands measurement (reach) across the three Roost sizes is 440, 475, and 505mm respectively. Seat tube lengths grow significantly between sizes, so shorter riders may want to measure their current bike and compare before ordering a size up. The chainstay length varies by frame size, at 425mm on the medium, 430mm for a large, and 435mm for the tallest riders. The head tube leans to 64° with the recommended 140mm fork mounted, and the seat tube angle is 76° before sag. All of those numbers should make for a super fun trail experience with very little maintenance.

This sweet-looking hardtail is available as a frameset for £1,220, and there are several full-build options to choose from. Pre-orders are open now, with frames expected to ship in early April of 2022.