DMR Trailstar frame review

The Trailstar has been a favourite of framewreckers for years, and the latest version is more versatile than ever.

With a massive, aluminium-sized tapered down tube, thickwall reinforced head tube, big throat gusset and even a steel ISCG chainguide mount ring on the bottom bracket, this is by far the heaviest frame on test here and no friend on uphills.

It’s quite simply in another league when it comes to the amount of hammer it’ll handle, though, and it certainly won’t shy away from anything you’re brave/stupid enough to try.

It’s no stumpy, sawn-off jump bike, though (DMR does a whole range of those). This is a proper BSX/XC frame that’s long enough to pedal your lungs out. Revised geometry means it’s ready to take a 120-130mm fork without getting too steady to turn tricks, making it a fantastic option for those who want extra strength (and single chainring security) in a standard format trail frame.

Build quality is excellent, there are three colour options and the new ‘Swopout’ dropouts let you switch between vertical geared, horizontal 10mm or 14mm singlespeed or even Maxle 12mm screw thru axles on the same frame. It doesn’t have any bottle mounts and only comes in two sizes, which is a bit of a shame on a bike that’d be so good for big blokes.