Storck Durnario Platinum

Storck's Durnario Platinum is the German company's lightweight endurance bike, and at 6.4kg and with a buttery smooth ride it delivers on both fronts. This £8,250 test bike came with the brand new Shimano Dura-Ace 9100 mechanical groupset (review here). It is possible to get essentially the same frame (identical tube shapes, heavier carbon layup by about 360g) with a Shimano 105 groupset for a much more affordable – in comparison – £2,649. But this review is all about the lightest 790g Durnario frame.

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Ride and handling

The first thing that strikes you about the Durnario Platinum is how smooth and refined the ride is. It's outstandingly supple, soaking up all the ripples and imperfections of even the most badly surfaced British roads. There are no gimmicks or tricks here, no decoupled seat tubes, rubber inserts or suspension dampers, instead just a simple reliance on wide tyres and cleverly shaped tube profiles and carbon fibre layup.

It rides beautifully. The Durnario has a fluid composure over the roughest roads I could point its Schwalbe One tyres at. It's not a soft bike, though, there's a real connection to the road surface that means you're not at all isolated from what is passing underneath the tyres, and the Durnario reacts nicely and naturally to your input.

It's agile and very sporty. The balance of the bike is good, and the low stance of the geometry, which has more in common with a race bike than most endurance bikes, puts you in a racy attack position that promotes rapid progress. The steering feels well weighted, with a level of response not normally found in an endurance bike. The wheelbase is a bit longer than a race bike, not as long as many endurance bikes, and it's a length that makes the Storck nimble and a delight to thread and weave through bends, and ensures it never becomes too fidgety at higher speeds or descents.

It makes near-effortless progress, knocking out 100 miles easily. On short, fast rides you get all the pace and control you'd expect from a race-ready bike. Its low weight is a real benefit on long, gradual climbs and the stiffness of the frame is evident on steeper escarpments, though front wheel flex did result in occasional brake rub. For tackling really long and hilly rides on long-distance outings, this bike was a flattering partner.

Despite the low weight, there's no jumpiness or skittishness to the way it handles fast descents or high-speed corners. It's very stable and has a reassuringly planted feel that massages your confidence to happily propel the Durnario along at rapid speeds. Through fast descents, it is rock solid and lets you take some liberties through the turns.

The brakes are the only limiting factor to how much speed you dare take on the descents, something highlighted because I came to the Storck straight from the new Canyon Endurace CF SLX whose hydraulic disc brakes provide more control and confidence in its ability to stop, in all sorts of weather. But while it can't stop as quickly, the Storck isn't inhibited by the current weight penalty of disc brakes, the Canyon being nearly 1kg heavier with a broadly similar build.

The geometry produced, for me, a position I was perfectly at home on, but some might find the 138mm head tube, 547mm stack and 401mm reach (the vertical and horizontal measurements from the centre of the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube) too aggressive compared with a similar size endurance bike from Cannondale, Giant or Specialized. It really feels like a race bike with wide tyres, and shows that an endurance bike isn't just about tall head tubes. If you're coming from a race bike and want a similar position, you'll be right at home. It goes to show there's no fixed blueprint for an endurance bike, and if you are put off by the geometry of most endurance bikes, the Durnario might be right for you.

Frame and build kit

The Durnario is positioned in the Storck range as an endurance bike, melding the properties of the Aernario and T.I.X cyclo-cross bike. Key details of the new bike include space for up to 32mm tyres and the use of specially shaped tubes, and particular attention paid to the carbon fibre layup to provide improved rider comfort. The frame is offered in six sizes and the tube shaping and layup are specific to each size.

Storck calls the tube shaping Directional Depending Stiffness, and the simple idea is that the tubes have been engineered to provide some vertical deflection, or flex, while maintaining a high lateral stiffness. The top tube and down tube have a flattened oval shape and the seatstays are flattened and curved throughout their length, and meet the seat tube well below the top tube.

The sloping top tube meets the seat tube with the seat clamp integrated inside the tube, allowing more of the seatpost to be exposed for further deflection. To combat front-end compliance Storck has specially shaped fork blades and even the handlebar is shaped in a way to provide more vibration damping. Other details include full internal cable routing, a press-fit bottom bracket and a tapered head tube. There are no mudguard mounts, though.

Despite these concessions to comfort, the Durnario still carries the Storck hallmark of being incredibly light. The frame is a claimed 790g and the fork is 280g. That's as light as many WorldTour race bikes that aren't designed for comfort or able to take wide tyres. The complete bike weight as tested was just 6.4kg, making it easily one of the lightest bikes to pass through the road.cc office.

The test bike was fully loaded with the best kit and all of it hugely flattering to the performance provided by the frameset, and resulting in an eye-watering £8,250 price tag. Yes, I know, it's a lot of money, but essentially the same frame and fork with a Shimano 105 build costs £2,649, so if you want this frame (okay, slightly heavier) at a more reasonable price, it's an option.

That 'best kit' on the test bike includes the brand new Shimano Dura-Ace 9100 mechanical groupset. I won't go into detail about its performance but instead point you at my first ride review, but suffice to say it's flawless and as close to perfection as mechanical shifting gets. 

Contributing to the bike's low weight are the DT Swiss RC 28 Spline C Mon Chasseral carbon fibre clincher wheels. As a set they cost a staggering £2,250 but weigh just 1,250g, which means they really do flatter the overall package. I did experience some front wheel flex during out-of-the-saddle climbing, and the braking performance with SwissStop Black Prince pads is adequate in the dry and on par with top-level carbon wheels. The 28mm wide Schwalbe One tyres are grippy and fast rolling.

Storck's own RBC 220 compact shaped carbon fibre handlebar has an ovalised top section that provides a very comfortable position for cruising, and ergonomically shaped drops, though personally I'd prefer a slightly longer lower section for resting my hands on.

Completing the bike is the novel Selle Italia SLS Monolink saddle, which uses a single carbon fibre rail attached to a special seatpost. It's a design that is said to provide a lighter setup than a conventional saddle and seatpost. While it's been around for a few years, its take-up by bike companies has been slow, probably because it limits saddle and seatpost choice. I'm reasonably fussy about saddle choice and the narrow shape isn't near the top of my list, so I was pleasantly surprised to find it comfortable even on a six-hour ride, probably because the single rail allows quite a bit of flex along the saddle.

Conclusion

With its lack of mudguard mounts and disc brakes, the Durnario doesn't offer the practicality and all-weather dependability that other endurance bikes do, but it's one of the finest and smoothest road bikes I've reviewed. For conquering long days in the mountains, gran fondos and sportives, the Storck Durnario Platinum is a top choice.

There's no easy way to get around the £8,250 price, though. You've either got that sort of money to spend on a bike (lucky you) or you haven't. That puts it firmly in superbike territory, and as a demonstration of what is possible with no financial limits, it surely doesn't get much better than this.

> Read more road.cc reviews of the latest road bikes here

So, should you buy it? Well, if you value dependable year-round all-weather braking, the Canyon Endurace CF SLX (which is just 900g heavier) is arguably a better choice. And much cheaper. But if sheer performance, speed, comfort, ride satisfaction and climbing rate are of greater importance, the Storck is an epic bike. Its racy position and oh-so-smooth ride make it one of the best bikes you can buy, regardless of the price. A race bike with wide tyres. It's hugely impressive.

Verdict

Stunningly light endurance ride wth race bike handling that doesn't fail to impress, except in everyday practicality