Review: Storck Absolutist 0.9

December 31st, 2008 by Review Man View Comments

About Storck:

Storck has been a premier brand in Europe for a number of years, but they are just starting to make inroads into America. They are working hard to add dealers and increase their presence here. As part of their greater exposure, Storck recently announced that they would be sponsoring the Vanderkitten racing team for the 2009 season.

We had a chance to speak to them at Interbike and talk about the history of the company and learn about their new models. Company president and founder Marcus Storck is relatively young, but has been involved in the bicycle industry for more than 30 years. He started racing at age 6 and was also 6 when he sold his first bike in his parent’s shop. He started running his own location of their store at age 14 and started his own company at age 22. Storck Bicycles was formed in 1995.The company rolled out 3 new bikes at Interbike this year – the Fenomalist, a high performance, incredibly stiff race frame; the Absolutist 1.0, an entry level, yet high performance bike; and the Rebellion 1.3 mountain bike. Our Absolutist 0.9 was a carryover from the 2008 line.

The Absolutist 0.9

We laid the groundwork at Interbike for getting a bike to test, and were quite pleased when a Serfas bike box containing an Absolutist 0.9 showed up on our doorstep in mid-November. The bike went together quite easily, even though the rear-entry dropouts briefly stymied us. The bike was quite striking, with stocky, yet nicely shaped tubes forming the front triangle and beefy stays attached to a significant monostay. On the front end, the Stiletto Aero fork was, visually, the largest I’ve ever seen and I’m sure that it, along with the larger diameter lower bearing, contributed to the front end stiffness.

The build kit consisted of a SRAM Red gruppo and a cockpit (handlebars and seatpost) from FSA. It’s my understanding that the bike is usually equipped with an FSA steam as well, but our test bike had a Thomson Elite stem to tune the size for me. Wheels were Zipp’s highly reliable Team CSC model equipped with Schwalbe Stelvio tires. The saddle was a carbon fiber Selle Italia SLR that didn’t really suit me, but I was able to live with it. I put my pedals on, and I was ready to go.

On The Road:

It seems that the day that the bike arrived (too late to ride) was the last good day of fall. Bitter cold temperatures, rain, snow and sleet dominated the weather until last weekend. Although we were blessed by temps in the sixties, it was tempered by a strong wind out of the west. That wind quickly taught me that I needed to pay close attention to this bike. At first, the stiff breeze was able to easily knock me off of my line — I quickly learned to pay close attention to the bike, but felt for a while that I was holding on to the bars with a death grip. As I spent a little more time on the bike, I got used to the skittish nature of the bike and eased up the tension.

The “skittishness”, once I grew accustomed to it, revealed itself to be surefire handling and control. Even on wet pavement, the 0.9 handled one of my favorite twisty downhill runs with aplomb. This is a bike that would serve the criterium racer very well.

The remainder of my test loop consisted of bike paths, roads and some winding climbs in the Miami River Valley just west of my office. The oversized carbon tubing affably soaked up rough pavement and the overall stiffness of the frame made small hills seem to disappear and larger climbs significantly easier. I had to make some adjustments to my riding style as the lightness of the frame combined with the responsive handling made the bike “rock” under me more. There is no doubt, however, that the bike felt quick and that it accelerated smoothly and easily.

Final Thoughts:

The Absolutist 0.9 would be an excellent bike for the sprinter or criterium specialist that wants a light, stiff bike with sports car handling and performance. If you favor charity rides or longer supported tours, this bike would likely leave you fatigued – the quick handling requires your utmost attention.

As built, this bike weighed a little less 15 pounds and sells for around $6700 USD, making it fairly competitive with the high end offerings from Trek, Giant or Specialized. Storck pointed out that U.S. distributor The Hawley Company stocks 15,000 unique parts and can custom build the bike to any spec that is desired. That said, if you are looking to roll up to the start line of your local crit with something truly different and special, and the best combination of stiffness and lightness, this might be the bike for you.

Price: $6,700 USD; also available as a frame/fork/headset for $3,200.
Weight: 14.72lbs as received/15 lbs. as tested
Pros: The ultimate in stiffness/weight at this price point, not everyone will have one, razor quick handling and acceleration
Cons: You can get a lighter bike at this price, the quick handling can feel sketchy at times, rear entry dropouts take some getting used to
Rating: 4 bikes

Test Bike Details:

Frame/Fork: Storck Absolutist 0.9/ Storck Stiletto
Groupset: SRAM Red
Cockpit: FSA
Saddle: Selle Italia SLR
Wheelset: Zipp Team CSC

About Storck USA/The Hawley Co.:

For over 12 years Storck has been developing innovative ground breaking and timeless products that have won numerous tests and design awards.

This year they have created several new products that offer the best compromise of longevity, lightweight and strength on- or off-road. Characteristic for Storck: the continuous re-development of existing technologies, the application of the most modern materials available and award winning design.

Numerous innovations that are standard features today were developed, patented and introduced by Storck. No other manufacturer takes such intensive care of its products and their designs are never out of date. The bikes must match the individuality of their owners this is why you can configure your own personal dream bike and truly experience the fascination of owning a Storck.
In a very competitive high end bike market, Storck is thriving. They have experienced annual growth of 30% and new dealers are being added in the U.S. every week. They recently opened a new concept store in Seoul, Korea and plan to open four more stores in Europe over the next several months.

Their growth and success have caused some growing pains. They have outgrown their current facilities in Bad Camberg, Germany and are in the process of building a new 4-story facility in Idstein. The new building will include a showroom, offices, a distribution center, assembly and testing facilities.