It’s time for a new bicycle brand to make its bow on the review circuit at RoadCyclingUK. Introducing to you, the Storck Aernario Basic.
Storck is a German brand founded by Markus Storck in 1995. It’s a company proud of its engineering heritage having given the world the first full-carbon fork and first full-carbon cranks, but if it’s an unfamiliar brand to you, Storck has a new distributor in the UK, which will supply 30-40 bricks and mortar shops, so expect the firm’s prescence to grow on these shores.
The Storck road range is made up of six frame platforms: the featherweight Fascenario, the aerodynamic Aernario, the all-round Fenomalist, the mid-range Scentron and Scenero, and the lightweight aluminium Visioner.
Delve deeper into the Aernario range and there are five frames. The Basic is the most affordable and the limited edition, 5.38kg Signature, which we saw at last month’s Core Bike Show, is the most expensive. The tube profiles remain the same through the range but the carbon fibre layup changes and, as a result, the Basic carries a little more weight. It’s no heavyweight, however, with claimed weight 990g for a 51cm frame.
The chassis
While the Aernario is Storck’s aero road bike, it’s not in-your-face-aero and at first glance, the integrated seatclamp is the Aernario’s only obvious wind-cheating feature. It doesn’t have the teardrop tube profiles of the Cervelo S5, to name one example, or the Kammtail shape of the Trek Madone, to cite another. Instead, the Aernario relies on what Storck call ‘sectional aerodynamic tube shapes’ to provide ‘ground parallel’ aerodynamics. What does that mean in reality? The downtube has a triangular profile with a rounded leading edge but if you were to cut it through the ‘ground parallel’ (horizontal) plane, it would have a more pronounced teardrop profile.
How effective is that? The Aernario Basic doesn’t come with any wind tunnel data but, if it did, we wouldn’t be able to substantiate it in any case. More important, however, is Storck’s belief that the Aernario Basic combines aerodynamic prowess with low weight and ride comfort. Weight we’ve covered, while Storck say the Aernario’s CFD-derived tube shapes don’t sacrifice comfort like more extreme aero profiles. The hidden seatclamp is also said to improve comfort, in that, by removing the collar, more seatpost is exposed, which means more of the seatpost is allowed to flex.
Other frame features include internal cable routing compatible with both mechanical and electronic groupsets and an oversized 86.5mm bottom bracket which promises plenty in the way of stiffness. A Storck Stiletto 330 fork, which gets its name from the 330g claimed weight, slots into a tapered headtube. The rear-racing dropouts mean that the chain must be handled when installing or removing the rear wheel.
The Aernario Basic is available in six sizes, from 51cm to 59cm, and each frame has proportional tubing, which, Storck say, means every frame size has the same stiffness-to-weight ratio, giving the tallest rider the same ride quality, stiffness and comfort as the smallest rider.
Our machine is a 55cm and any doubts over Storck’s intention for the Aernario Basic are cast aside by a glance at the geometry table. It’s undoubtedly racy, with a low 139mm headtube, matching 73.5 degree head and seat-tube angles, and short 399mm chainstays, which should offer snappy acceleration.
Storck UK require that every dealer must provide a full bike fit service for the customer to ensure the bike fits correctly for the type of riding they will be doing. Once the correct frame size has been selected, the shop will build the bike, incorporating the customer’s fit requirements, including saddle height, saddle fore/aft position, stem length, handlebar width and cleat position. That seems an honourable commitment to customer service on behalf of Storck.
The components
That’s the frame covered; onto the build. The Aernario Basic is available as a frameset only for £2,899 or in eight Shimano and Campagnolo builds, from £4,399 with Shimano Ultegra mechanical to £8,299 with Campagnolo Super Record EPS.
Our machine is specced with Shimano Ultegra Di2 for £5,199. That also gets you Storck finishing kit (carbon fibre seatpost and handlebar, and an aluminium stem), a Storck-branded Selle Italia SLS Monolink saddle and Mavic Ksyrium Equipe S wheels, wrapped in the French brand’s own Yksion Comp tyres. That makes for an all-up weight of 7.28kg on the RCUK scales.
That’s the vital statistics covered, now it’s time to hit the road to see how the Storck Aernario Basic performs. Check back soon for a full review.
Price: £5,199
Sizes: 51cm, 53cm, 55cm, 57cm, 59cm
Colour: Gloss black and blue
Website: Storck Bicycle UK
