Starley Bikes created quite a stir when we first saw them last November. The company (named after the inventor of the bicycle, John Kemp Starley) had a range of carbon road and mountain bikes and wheels to show us and our readers were keen to know more. So BikeRadar spoke to them at the London Bike Show to find out what they've got in store over the next few months.
Firstly, they've upgraded their JKS T2 time trial bike to the T1. The main aero improvements are to the brakes, which are now mounted behind the fork and below the chainstays.
And after feedback from testers Paul Hawkins (third in Ironman UK) and Joe Skipper they'll be making the front end a lot more adjustable than it currently is. The ability to move elbow pads and extensions around is key when you're optimising your aero position, and we're happy to see more companies adopting this into their designs.
In the not too distant future, Starley plan on selling a disc brake road bike. This is in line with a strong current trend in road bikes. Whether it's a long term winner or not remains to be seen.
Off road, Starley have a couple of hardtail models already, the SM1 (29in) and SM2 (26in). They've just finished developing a full suspension 26in frame so you can expect to see that for sale soon.
Finally, they're offering a reverse decal colour scheme – essentially full frame decals with a little carbon showing through -– if you want your carbon bike to look a little different. The green machine we saw at the show wasn't to everyone's taste but there are plenty of colour options. The cost of this is an extra £150.
Current waiting times are around two weeks for a standard bike build and four weeks for a custom one.
For more information see starleybikes.com.
Starley SM1 29er