Storck

Visioner C SL Road Bike Frameset - 2015

If the technology underwriting the racing platform of the Visioner C SL Road Bike Frameset situates it in the mid-range of Storck's line, then it's certainly in good company. From the Scenero G2 to the Fascenario, there may be no stable of carbon bikes as heavily feted as Storck's, and the Visioner C SL represents that pedigree well by reproducing the Fascenario's race-worthy geometry at a self-sponsored price point.

The frame is built of unidirectional carbon fiber and incorporates all of the signature details of Storck's focus on high stiffness and low weight that have percolated throughout the industry. The Visioner C SL's drivetrain spine — from the head tube through the down tube and bottom bracket and into the chainstay — is strategically built-up to handle the stress of power transfer. The seatstays, on the other hand, are thinned, slightly flattened, and lead into the seat tube just below the top tube, which increases vertical compliance and feeds vibration back into the frame rather than into the saddle.

The Visioner C SL also features Storck's proportional tubing construction pattern, which changes the dimensions of the tubing for each size in order to accommodate the different requirements and keep stiffness and handling the same. Many manufacturers are content with smaller sizes that are stiff and track well, but larger sizes that get torsionally noodly because of the long tubes and different angles. Not Storck. From the 55 to the 63cm frame, each Visioner C SL enjoys the same stiffness-to-weight ratio.

The frame is finished with Storck's Stiletto fork. True to Storck form, the Stiletto has been dominating the awards circuit since its introduction in 1999 with a paradoxical blend of high stiffness and low weight that has yet to be consistently topped. The combined claimed weight of 300g for the fork and 850g for the frame make this supposedly "mid-tier" frameset more than equal to many other makes' top-end race bikes.