British mountain bike maker Starling Cycles is celebrating its 10th anniversary after growing from a garden shed operation in Bristol into a niche manufacturer with more than 1,500 frames in use around the world.
Starling began in 2016 after aerospace engineer Joe McEwan switched careers to pursue mountain bike frame making full time. But the company’s origins go back to 2013, when McEwan began building frames in his garden shed alongside his aerospace job and family life.
Having initially built bikes for his children and friends, McEwan developed full-suspension mountain bike frames and began refining his designs before establishing Starling Cycles. The company’s early products attracted attention from the mountain bike media, including Dirt Magazine, whose Steve Jones described Starling’s Murmur prototype as the fastest bike he had ridden that year.
Starling subsequently moved from the garden shed into a dedicated workshop in 2018, expanding its workforce and continuing to develop its frame designs. A decade on, the company says more than 1,500 Starling frames are now in use worldwide, with customers across the UK, Europe and the US. It has also established a network of dealers and is expanding its presence in Germany. While retaining manufacturing activity in Bristol, Starling works with manufacturing partners in Taiwan and Czechia to produce its frames.
The company has focused on relatively simple, repairable and durable bicycle designs, positioning itself against the increasing complexity and short product lifecycles seen across parts of the bicycle market.
McEwan said the company has faced a challenging market over the past decade, including the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the growth of e-bikes and increased competition from low-cost bicycles. Despite these pressures, Starling has continued to pursue a niche manufacturing model based around long-lasting products that can be repaired, refurbished and repainted rather than replaced.
Looking ahead, McEwan said the company intends to continue developing its range while retaining its approach to manufacturing.
The anniversary comes as Starling continues to operate at relatively small scale, with the company aiming for measured growth rather than expansion at the expense of its manufacturing model.
“We’re making simple, beautiful bikes that last for years and can be repaired, refurbished and repainted,” McEwan said. “It’d be nice to grow a little, but not at the expense of doing things our way or getting up to our eyeballs in debt.”
The company says it plans to continue developing its range of human-powered mountain bikes while maintaining its manufacturing presence in Bristol.
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