Storck casts itself on to the cutting edge of time trial/triathlon bike design with the introduction of its latest carbon fibre Aero 2 at this year's Eurobike show.
Frame tubes are expectedly aero-profiled throughout and the layout features several of the latest tricks employed by some of Storck's competition: the down tube is dropped and cut-out to smooth airflow coming off of the front wheel, the fork crown smoothly transitions into the frame behind it, the sleek stem is positioned inline with the level top tube, and the top of the seat stays closely resemble those of the Scott Plasma 3 and Felt DA with its cross-shaped profile and full rear wheel scallop.
As is fast becoming the norm, Storck's Aero 2 is also rife with component integration. The Scapula F fork – borrowed from German compatriot THM-Carbones – tucks the carbon brake calipers neatly within the deep carbon blades while a similar treatment at the back finds the linear-pull arms hidden inside the seat stays to maintain the sleek lines. The stem is a proprietary bit, too, and is also molded together with the base bar and extension mounts.
In addition, Storck says that the Aero 2 will be a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2-only frameset – there are no provisions for conventional shifter wires – with a dedicated battery mount on the trailing edge of the seatpost and internal wire routing to keep the frame surfaces mostly free of airflow disruptions.
Up top, the seatpost looks to continue the integrated theme but is actually a conventional telescoping unit, albeit a cleanly shaped carbon aero piece (unlike the original Aero's round post and aero cover) with a hidden binder flush-mounted in the top tube. Likewise, there's a standard threaded bottom bracket shell down below to maintain maximum crankset flexibility.
Marcus Storck (L) chats with Yozo Shimano at Eurobike
Claimed weight on the Storck Aero 2 frame is 1.2kg (2.65lb) plus another 350g for the Scapula fork and 220g for the proprietary post. Storck will only offer the Aero 2 in two sizes, though, and pricing is set at a staggering US$10,000 for the frame, fork, seatpost, headset, bar/stem, and brake calipers.
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