Storck Scenero review

Storck's Scenero is a worthy winner of the Cycling Plus Bike Of The Year award. It was the favourite of a large number of our testers, and looks likely to make a £2,000-sized hole in the bank balance of at least one.

Ride & handling: Fast, efficient, light-handling and unflappable

The Storck is something of a slow burner. Initially it feels ‘right’ – solid and purposeful. But give it time, rack up the miles and you begin to fully appreciate the Scenero’s qualities. The handling is light but not twitchy, and your efforts are always rewarded, whether climbing, sprinting or seated.

On descents It’s solid, stable and completely unflappable, the deep drops allowing you to get into a deep tuck and make the most of gravity. And (national stereotype alert!) as you’d expect from a German bike, it all feels teutonically ‘efficient’, enabling you to maintain pace with seemingly less effort.

Unusually and somewhat surprisingly, different testers who loved the Storck had contrasting opinions of why they loved it. One of our more competitive riders described it as “a bike with a one track mind that only wants to be battered and still keeps coming back for more”. In contrast, a fitness rider thought the Scenero a “subtle bike, one that needed to be gently coaxed to get the best out of it”.

Opposite views, but these two were among the testers who had the Storck as their favourite. Some riders would thrash the Storck up hills, others would sit down and dig in, but again the Scenero seemed to have the magical quality of allowing both types of riders to get the best from it. Slower climbers grinningly reeled in climbers who’d normally get the better of them, while faster climbers climbed quicker than they might normally have.

Ignore the Storck’s near-mystical ability to entrance those who rode it, and what you have is a classic Euro road bike, albeit a very, very exciting one with a real spark. A bike for fast rides of all lengths and types. A bike that’s more than the sum of its parts. A bike that rewards your efforts and dedication. Not a bike for pootling.

Frame & equipment: Quality chassis and great attention to detail

First impressions of the Storck are that it looks a million dollars. It might be Storck’s ‘entry-level’ carbon fibre bike, but it’s no cheap branding exercise. It has plenty of the German company’s signature touches such as rear facing all-carbon dropouts, and oversized chainstays which help your pedal power get to where it needs to.

The tubing is size specific – so a 63cm frame will ride in exactly the same manner as a 47cm – and it has a low riding position, with a short head tube and long top tube. The brilliant Stiletto carbon fork weighs less than 400g and would set you back £300 on its own. In fact, the sum of the Scenero’s parts is close to £2,500, so even at two grand it's a bit of a bargain.

Like on many bikes at this price, Shimano 105 forms the heart of the kit. But by routing the gear cables behind the handlebar, Storck have produced a lighter shift, revealing their attention to detail. The DT Swiss wheels are good too, if not outstanding for the price.

Origin: BikeRadar.com Road Bikes & Gear