Hi,

Been lurking here for a while and this is my first post. I am looking to make a frame/bike change as I have grown weary of the poor shifting performance from my Stevens SLR. I enjoy the bike itself but the shifting issues have become too much. The bike is running SRAM Red and has been to a multitude of mechanics and used a few different cable systems all with the same outcome, I would simply change to Di2 if it was a compatible frameset but is not. I also ride a Cannondale System Six with Red for training and crits so I have an appreciation for just how good SRAM shifting can be.

I am looking at replacing it with a Storck Absolutist (2012) as Storck bikes have always been an unattainable dream, however I have found a frame for a good price and it is compatible with both mechanical and Di2 so should be fairly future proofed in that sense. I can also transfer all my current components over without hassle. Where I am stuck is in which size to get, I am 182cm tall (short legs, longer torso) currently riding a 56cm SLR with a slammed stem and find this very comfortable. I recently did a 12 hour day on it so no real complaints there. These dimensions but me at the upper end of the Absolutists 55cm or the lower end of the 57cm, normally I would go with the 55cm size but the extremely short headtube concerns me. I could go to the 57 which jumps up in headtube size but the TT length looks quite stretched out.

Any Stork owners out there that can advise on if to go with the smaller or larger frame? I prefer to run lower bars but also don't want a stack of spacers under the stem. Due to the boutique nature of Storck in Aus, test rides are not really possible on both sizes either.

Thoughts much appreciated.

If you don't want a stack of spacers, it looks like the 57 is the way to go. You might have to run a 10-20 mm shorter stem on the Storck though, so that may not work well if you are already running a shorter stem on the Stevens.

That said, Storck has got one of the craziest geometries in the business...

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Actually, I just drew up the geometry for the Stevens, and got a reach of 388 mm and stack of 562 mm. Looking at the Storck geometry chart, the reach for a 55 is 401 mm and the stack is 552 mm (the Storck must have a tall fork or something). So it looks like you could get away with a 55 using a 10 mm spacer and 10 mm shorter stem. On the other hand, the 57 has a slightly longer reach (405 mm) but quite more stack (574 mm), so it could probably be made to work as well but you might need a stem with more negative rise to achieve the same position as your Stevens.

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Excellent, thanks for crunching the numbers like that. I hadn't realised that they do use a slightly taller fork (just googled it). I am currently running a 120mm stem on the Stevens so could easily go to 110mm and 10mm of spacers is not too bad. Looks like the 55cm is the way to go.

Much appreciated!

Further thought, it seems that Storck recommend running an inline seatpost with their frames, something about power delivery and it would seem that they lengthen the TT to account for this. So I could possibly still need a 120mm stem but at least I know I will fit on the 55cm without a huge stack of spacers.

Again thanks

Ignore Storcks comment about inline seatposts - the seat tube angle is the same as the Stevens so you will need the same amount of offset on the post for the Storck. Using stack and reach removes the confusion caused by the effect that different STA has on TT length.

I don't know the specifics of your saddle position so the hoods reach and bar drop below are just indicative. But it's clear that going 1cm shorter on the stem and 1cm taller on spacers will match your position within a mm or two

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Agreed; if you are comfortable with the amount of setback you have now, I wouldn't change it because Mr. Storck thinks you should. Sometimes I wonder if he is trying to put everyone in a TT position, even on a road bike...

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Again, thanks for the help.

This information has been excellent, I have just ordered the 55cm.

Will have to let you know how the build goes.

Cheers