MF builds his dream bike(s): a Starling and a Jones.

Amazing. Best thread in ages

I 100% you were trolling everyone. Did make me giggle

Although I'd consider putting the cranks in line with each other. 😁

I thought the crank offset was to counter the oval chainring...

Instant sub - I fancied a Jones for ages when toying with my Cotic/singlespeed rigid MTB aspirations. This is NICE.

Jones is killer and Starling will be awesome as they always are. My fave MTB bike in recent years is a Starling.

I am going to say though a dropper post on an MTB is a must now unless you are either full XC or full DH. Even the XC crowd have adopted them though.

1 Attachment

• Starling.jfif

What's changed exactly about riding a bike on dirt that makes a dropper post a 'must' now?
We managed fine without them for decades riding the same terrain.
I'm not disputing that they have a use, but they're certainly not essential by any stretch.

I rode for years without one, I was riding MTB before they were even a thing, but man they are just so much nicer to ride with.

Keeps the flow going not having to stop before a descent or if you want to play on a little section.

A lot of the places I ride now you could get away with a QR post, such as Wrekin, where it is straight up straight down. Even on short flats or sharp climbs though I might put it up even if it just makes 50m of pedaling easier.

So they're not a must then. You just prefer them for your own personal preference based on the fact that you DO prefer to drop your post at the top of descents etc? 😉

Nah they are a must, as its a fucking faff putting you post up and down, especially when its muddy. Ha.
Everything is preference, I know you're yanking my crank as well which is fine, but there is a reason we don't see 26inch wheels, v brakes and standard posts on most MTBs now.

But don't forget, not everybody changes their saddle height to go downhill. I know I never did. My downhill bike was the only bike I ever had a different saddle height on.
But, to each their own.👍🏻

Once you get used to using a dropper you never want to ride without one again (on a mtb)

Do you normally run it at full height on MTB rides? Where do you normally ride? Just intrigued. Also have you run one before? I assume must be a decent rider having a DH bike.

don't see 26inch wheels

This is something I've wondered about. Is there really that much difference between 26" and 27.5"?

(I realise all associated parts are now much harder to find so it's basically a moot question)

My mtbs always had the saddle at full height. When I lived in Scotland I was riding at Mabie, Ae, Dalbeattie etc, and rode anywhere I could find when I was younger. I just never even thought about dropping my saddle.
My DH bikes were lower because they only went downhill. But any of my other mtbs had the saddle at full height all the time.
I barely get to touch dirt these days though as I'm always working. But I think if I was building this Starling I'd also have put a rigid post on it.

This is how people end up with emtbs and a gut. 😂

I am going to say yes but it's subjective. It's just smoother and I think you can feel the increased contact patch.

I would happily ride a 29 or 27.5 as my main MTB but I wouldn't go back to 26 for general MTB unless I had to. I run Mullet now which is by far my preferred.

Fair enough. Some ace places to ride. Last time I rode with someone on a standard post was on a group ride over Risca, Machen. It was a faff as we kept having to wait for them to put their post up and down. Dude was a very good rider though.

Both my DH bikes had 24" wheels as they were Brooklyns.
Now there's a wheel size I wouldn't want to go back to! 😂

Ha. I retract my previous statement. I would go back to smaller wheels if I could have a BMW.

Gee, thanks all for the lovely comments!

Now have about 60 miles on the Jones, and first thing to change will be to remove the tubes and go tubeless. The rims will be fine for that but the XR4s are a bit baggy so no convinced they'll seal, will keep an eye out for a nice pair of 29 tyres to replace them with that'll handle some winter XC action.

Otherwise, the ride quality is really great, especially with the eeWings on. Feels very sure-footed, and firm over chunky stuff (it is still rigid after all!) but very compliant over small chatter. So far it's everything I had hoped it'd be.

With all this dropper malarky going on, it's worth clarifying that I am not anti-dropper - I own a very nice BikeYoke one with a Wolftooth lever. If I measured my rides by speed down the trails then it'd be on the bike in a heartbeat. But I don't. I like my bikes to be as simple as possible, with as few parts to go wrong and ruin a ride as possible (hence singlespeed and rigid for so many years). A dropper adds complexity that I can more than happily live without, and if it saves a bit of weight too then even better!

Feel like you need these... https://www.bicyclepubes.com/merch/p/dropper-post-stickers

I feel like these are the ones I really need! https://www.bicyclepubes.com/merch/p/mountainbikingistooscarystickers

I like my bikes to be as simple as possible

Isn’t the starling full sus? Feels like simplicity is completely out of the door if so.

Yes, it is - granted it's a concession compared to the Stooge and the Jones, but I do like a bit of variety, just on my own terms!

following this, I’ve always liked Starling and those brakes look sick, sounds like a crazy bike.