Greetings all! First off, thanks to everyone who has come by, ripped a '
spro' with us, watched races, gone on rides, and yes, bought some goods! 2012 is already shaping up to be a banner year for Blacksmith Cycle, complete with the soon to be announced launch of a new race team, a custom bike collaboration, and many other exciting events that we'll reveal soon.
I treated myself to a little Christmas gift and took this Storck for a wee spin out to Oakville to my family Christmas dinner. It's a bit of a tradition for me to ride out there no matter what the weather to make sure that I end the calender year with a roll.
The Build - 2012 Storck Fenomalist Di2 size 54, Full Dura Ace Di2, Enve Cockpit, AX Lightness post, Enve 45 Clinchers with DT240 hubs, Sapim CX rays, Vittoria Open Corsa EVO 23mm, Time I-click carbon pedals, Ciamillo Negative G brakes, Fizik Curve Chameleon Saddle
The Weight - 15.08lbs with pedals and cages
Technical Details - Unidirectional Bladder molded carbon with an emphasis on stiffness to weight ratio. With a frame and fork that weigh a legitimate 1200 gms, it's pretty easy to build a sub 15lb bike. Even with the clinchers on there it's still just a shade over. The bike is so stiff that Storck has chosen a regular 1 1/8 headset and a standard 68mm BSA bottom bracket. Anything oversized would be like Schwarzennegger somehow being impregnated with Lou Ferigno's child in
Junior. As a result, the Fenomalist is a surprisingly comfortable ride over longer distances, while maintaing a razor sharp handling profile and incredible power transfer.
The Ratings...
Ride Quality/Comfort: 9/10 - for a full out race-bike it's about as comfortable as it gets
Front End Stiffness: 9/10 - even without a tapered head-tube, it cuts like a knife
BB Stiffness: 9/10 - you can put it down without question
Style/Aesthetics: 10/10 - I love the matte carbon and ghosted logo's. Subtle hints of blue pep it up.
Technology/Weight/Value: 8/10 - at 12k for this build, it's by no means an inexpensive ride, but you are getting the best of everything. It certainly impressed my mom. (Easy tiger).
Total - 45/50 - a whole lot of technology in a sexy german package. Like a robot Heidi Klum.
The Good: If you wanna go fast, or if you only go fast you want this bike. Or this brand in general. Storck just makes fast, stiff, responsive race bikes at reasonably good prices. The Fenomalist also comes in a non Di2 version that knocks the price down considerably.
The Bad: There's not a whole lot of bad goin' on here. Maybe like
Michael Jackson bad. Or Bad Bad
Leroy Brown bad. I guess sometimes it makes me think of
German techno. And that's bad.
One thing to note is that all Storcks have a slightly rear-ward facing dropout, which makes wheel changes a little finicky at first, but you get used to it.
The Skinny: Markus Storck is a bit of a mad scientist (in looks and in spirit). He's spent years refining the carbon that is used in the construction of his bikes and it shows. Storck doesn't recommend this bike to people who want a Sunday cruiser, unless you cruise at 35km/h plus. Coupled with Di2 this bike is just mean. It is all at once fast and confidence inspiring, a technological showpiece that doesn't disappoint at any discipline.
All the best to you and yours in 2012...picture me rollin.
Bike-Pile
That's right, I'm wearing women's shoes. The Fizik R3 Donna to be exact. Why? I find the heel cup in the men's version too spacious, and the women's version just right. To be honest I actually like the styling of the women's shoe better as well. I can appreciate a nice set of Jimmy Choo's when I see them.
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