Singletracks Mountain Bike News

Joe McEwan is a career aerospace engineer and carbon composites expert who founded Starling Cycles in 2014. The brand’s bikes are developed, engineered and handmade for the demands of UK trails, and the bikes have been well received among both the media and athletes. Find out why Joe thinks carbon fiber is almost the McDonalds of bikes, and also: What first piqued your interest in building steel bikes? Have you tried building bikes with other materials? Can the average rider feel a difference between a steel frame and say carbon fiber or aluminum? Do fat tires and suspension limit the effect when it comes to mountain bikes? How does tube shape and bracing affect ride feel? Why do you use Reynolds over tube stock from other suppliers? How is the tubing sized in terms of lengths? What is the cost of raw tubing? How do you go about making a steel tube stiffer in one direction than the other? Are there any design considerations that are unique to steel full-suspension frames? Why are most steel FS